The Jupiter-A was an American sounding rocket and test vehicle derived from the Redstone ballistic missile, developed in the mid-1950s by Redstone Arsenal and Chrysler. It was the first variant of the Redstone to fly, and served as a testbed for components intended for use in the PGM-19 Jupiter medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM).
Components tested aboard Jupiter-A flights included the Redstone ST-80 inertial guidance platform, Jupiter angle-of-attack sensors, warhead fuzing systems, and explosive bolts. The vehicle stood tall with a diameter of .
A total of twenty-five launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, using Launch Complexes 5 and 6, between September 1955 and June 1958. Description Jupiter-A was tall, with a body diameter of and fins extending in height.
The first two flights, RS-11 and RS-12 (launched on September 22, 1955 and December 6, 1955), were powered by a Rocketdyne NAA 75-110 A-3 engine. Starting with Jupiter-A RS-18 on March 15, 1956 the A-4 rocket engine was used. From October 2, 1957 the A-6 engine was used (the A-5 version never entered service).
The rocket used a fuel consisting of 75% ethanol cut with 25% water and liquid oxygen as oxidizer. Jupiter-A RS-22 tested an A-4 rocket engine burning Hydyne as fuel, with a mixture of 60% UDMH and 40% DETA.
Flight history Twenty-five Jupiter-A launch attempts were made between 1955 and 1958 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Flight No.Serial numberLaunch dateLaunch padNotesResult1RS-11 / RS-HHSeptember 22, 1955LC-6 First flight with full guidance system2RS-12 / RS-HUDecember 6, 1955LC-6 First flight successful with inertial guidance3RS-18 / RS-HLMarch 15, 1956LC-6The first launch of Jupiter A by the ABMA, a modified Redstone missile equipped with elements of the Jupiter IRBM's navigation and inertial control system.4RS-19 / RS-HEMay 16, 1956LC-65CC-13 / CC-HNJuly 19, 1956LC-5First missile built by the Chrysler Corporation6RS-20 / RS-UXAugust 8, 1956LC-67CC-14 / CC-HTOctober 18, 1956LC-68RS-25 / RS-USOctober 31, 1956LC-6Ground cutoff command given after 10 seconds of flight due to a yaw gyroscope malfunction.9RS-28 / RS-ULNovember 14, 1956LC-6LEV-3 guidance system used instead of ST-8010CC-15 / CC-HSNovember 29, 1956LC-611RS-22 / RS-UUDecember 19, 1956LC-6Hydyne fuel used12CC-16 / CC-HVJanuary 19, 1957LC-613RS-32March 14, 1957LC-6First missile shipped directly from Chrysler to the test site14CC-30 / CC-NXMarch 28, 1957LC-615CC-31 / CC-NHJune 26, 1957LC-616CC-35 / CC-NSJuly 12, 1957LC-617CC-37 / CC-NIJuly 26, 1957LC-618CC-38 / CC-NLSeptember 11, 1957LC-619CC-39 / CC-NEOctober 2, 1957LC-6First flight test of the Rocketdyne A-6 engine with a sea-level thrust of .20CC-41 / CC-THOctober 31, 1957LC-621CC-42 / CC-TUDecember 11, 1957LC-6Hardtack adapter kit test22CC-45 / CC-TSJanuary 15, 1958LC-6Hardtack gondola test23CC-46 / CC-TVFebruary 12, 1958LC-6Hardtack adapter kit test24CC-43 / CC-TNFebruary 27, 1958LC-625CC-48 / CC-TLJune 11, 1958LC-6
Gallery
See also
Jupiter-C Juno I
References