List of rockets of the United States

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Launchers

1940s

Sounding rockets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral</span> Cape on the Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States

Cape Canaveral is a cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River. It is part of a region known as the Space Coast, and is the site of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Since many U.S. spacecraft have been launched from both the station and the Kennedy Space Center on adjacent Merritt Island, the two are sometimes conflated with each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jupiter-C</span> Part of the Redstone rocket family

The Jupiter-C was an American research and development vehicle developed from the Jupiter-A. Jupiter-C was used for three uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflights in 1956 and 1957 to test re-entry nosecones that were later to be deployed on the more advanced PGM-19 Jupiter mobile missile. The recovered nosecone was displayed in the Oval Office as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's televised speech on November 7, 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juno I</span> Four-stage American expendable launch vehicle (1958–59)

The Juno I is a four-stage American space launch vehicle, used to launch lightweight payloads into low Earth orbit. The launch vehicle was used between January 1958 to December 1959. The launch vehicle is a member of the Redstone launch vehicle family, and was derived from the Jupiter-C sounding rocket. It is commonly confused with the Juno II launch vehicle, which was derived from the PGM-19 Jupiter medium-range ballistic missile. In 1958, a Juno I launch vehicle was used to launch America's first satellite, Explorer 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsville, Alabama</span> City in North Alabama, US

Huntsville is a city in Madison County and Limestone County, Alabama, United States, with a small portion extending into Morgan County. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city proper in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redstone Arsenal</span> United States Army post

Redstone Arsenal (RSA) is a United States Army post and a census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a garrison for various tenants across the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and NASA. RSA has benefited from decisions by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The Redstone Arsenal CDP had a residential population of 837 as of the 2020 census. The base contains a government and contractor workforce that averages 36,000 to 40,000 personnel daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PGM-11 Redstone</span> American short-range ballistic missile

The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe. It was the first US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test, Hardtack Teak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral Space Force Station</span> Military rocket launch site in Florida

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.

Project Orbiter was a proposed United States spacecraft, an early competitor to Project Vanguard. It was jointly run by the United States Army and United States Navy. It was ultimately rejected by the Ad Hoc Committee on Special Capabilities, which selected Project Vanguard instead. Although the project was canceled on 3 August 1955, the basic design was used for the Juno I rocket which launched Explorer 1, the first satellite launched by the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn (rocket family)</span> Family of American heavy-lift rocket launch vehicles

The Saturn family of American rockets was developed by a team of former German rocket engineers and scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. The Saturn family used liquid hydrogen as fuel in the upper stages. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo Moon program. Three versions were built and flown: the medium-lift Saturn I, the heavy-lift Saturn IB, and the super heavy-lift Saturn V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William E. Thornton</span> American astronaut (1929–2021)

William Edgar Thornton was an American NASA astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from University of North Carolina and a doctorate in medicine, also from UNC. He flew on Challenger twice, the STS-8 and STS-51-B missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Space Command</span> Unified command of the U.S. Department of Defense

The United States Space Command is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers and greater above mean sea level. U.S. Space Command is responsible for the operational employment of space forces that are provided by the uniformed services of the Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thor-Able</span> 1958-1960 US space rocket system

The Thor-Able was an American expendable launch system and sounding rocket used for a series of re-entry vehicle tests and satellite launches between 1958 and 1960. It was a two-stage rocket, consisting of a Thor IRBM as a first stage and a Vanguard-derived Able second stage. On some flights, an Altair solid rocket motor was added as a third stage. It was a member of the Thor family and an early predecessor of the Delta.

The Lockheed X-17 was a three-stage solid-fuel research rocket to test the effects of high mach atmospheric reentry. The first stage of the X-17 carried the rocket to a height of 17 miles (27 km) before burning out. The rocket would then coast on momentum to about 100 miles (160 km) before nosing down for reentry. The second stage engine would then fire before jettisoning and igniting the third and final stage. On April 24, 1957, an X-17 reached a speed of 9,000 miles per hour (14,000 km/h) at Patrick AFB. Ultimately the X-17 would be traveling towards Earth at up to Mach 14.5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XSM-73 Goose</span> Cruise Missile

The Fairchild SM-73 was a planned sub-sonic, jet-powered, long-range, ground-launched decoy cruise missile. XSM-73 was the designation for the development version. Development began in 1952 with conceptual studies and ended when the program was canceled in 1958 after 15 test flights but before any operational deployment. The operational concept was to base squadrons of XM-73s at various locations in the United States and if necessary launch the aircraft as part of a strategic bomber attack. The aircraft would fly autonomously under inertial guidance towards the target area, using radar reflectors and electronic countermeasures to imitate American bombers and thus confuse and saturate enemy air defenses. The program was cancelled because the missile was not able to simulate a B-52 bomber on radar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral Light</span> Lighthouse in Florida, USA

The Cape Canaveral Light is a historic lighthouse on the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The light was established in 1848 to warn ships of the dangerous shoals that lie off its coast. It is located inside the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and managed by the Space Launch Delta 45 of the U.S. Space Force with the assistance of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation. It is the only fully operational lighthouse owned by the United States Space Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Range</span> American rocket range

The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range has also supported Ariane launches from the Guiana Space Centre as well as launches from the Wallops Flight Facility and other lead ranges. The range also uses instrumentation operated by NASA at Wallops and KSC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redstone Test Stand</span> United States historic place

The Redstone Test Stand or Interim Test Stand was used to develop and test fire the Redstone missile, Jupiter-C sounding rocket, Juno I launch vehicle and Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle. It was declared an Alabama Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979 and a National Historic Landmark in 1985. It is located at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama on the Redstone Arsenal, designated Building 4665. The Redstone missile was the first missile to detonate a nuclear weapon. Jupiter-C launched to test components for the Jupiter missile. Juno I put the first American satellite Explorer 1 into orbit. Mercury Redstone carried the first American astronaut Alan Shepard into space. The Redstone earned the name "Old Reliable" because of this facility and the improvements it made possible.

This Pershing missile bibliography is a list of works related to the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile Systems and the Pershing II Weapon System.

Launch Complex 43 (LC-43) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida was a launch complex used by American sounding rockets between 1962 and 1984. It supported 2,038 sounding rocket launches. In 1984, sounding rocket launches moved to LC-47, and LC-43 was demolished to make way for Launch Complex 46, which was built near the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 47</span> Sounding rocket launch complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida

Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 47 is a launch pad for sounding rockets located at the north end of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It is the smallest launch complex at the Space Force Station. The complex features a small blockhouse a few yards from the pad, containing vehicle-specific hardware. Between 1984 and 2008, 531 sounding rockets were launched from pad 47. All weather rocket operations were relocated here from Launch Complex 43 in 1984 in order to make room for the construction of Launch Complex 46.

References

  1. "The United States Army | Redstone Arsenal Historical Information". history.redstone.army.mil. United States Army. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. "JUNO I FACT SHEET". spaceline.org. Cliff Lethbridge. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. "ATLAS B FACT SHEET". spaceline.org. Cliff Lethbridge. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  4. Delta II Data Sheet