Early Launch Vehicle Comparison

This illustration compares the Redstone, Jupiter-C and Mercury Redstone launch vehicles. The Redstone ballistic missile was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile. Originally developed as a nose-cone re-entry test vehicle for the Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile, the Jupiter-C was a modification of the Redstone missile and successfully launched the first U.S. Satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit on Jan. 31, 1958.