The Redstone, Jupiter, and Juno

Abstract

REDSTONE WAS THE first large ballistic missile developed in the United States. From the Redstone came Jupiter, the nation's first intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM). Redstone and Jupiter compiled a noteworthy list of firsts in the early years of free man's effort to explore and understand the newly accessible environment of space. The measure of their technological success, still largely to be reckoned, is a tribute to the collective dedication and skill of the people who brought Redstone and Jupiter into being. This team of technicians and scientists first served the U. S. Army and then the U. S. civilian space agency. Our first assignment on Alabama soil was in 1950 with the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC) at Redstone Arsenal, then in charge of the entire Army missile program. While remaining at the same Huntsville facility, our development team became, in turn, the Guided Missile Development Division of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories (GMDD) until 1956, and then the Development Operations Division of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) from 1956 to 1960. In July 1960, this group, many of whom had been active in rocketry since the early 1930's, became the nucleus of the new George C. Marshall Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.' The basic Redstone and Jupiter missiles carried names appropriate to their different configurations and missions. The Redstone with modifications became the Jupiter A, Jupiter C, Juno I, and the Mercury-Redstone. Jupiter assumed the name Juno II when three upper stages were added and it became a space booster. Among the contributions of these rocket systems were the following milestones of rocketry and space exploration:2