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.
Pioneer 0 was a failed United States space probe that was designed to go into orbit around the Moon,carrying a television camera,a micrometeorite detector and a magnetometer. It was part of the first International Geophysical Year (IGY) science payload. It was designed and operated by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division as the first spacecraft in the Pioneer program and was the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country,but the rocket failed shortly after launch. The probe was intended to be called Pioneer,but the launch failure precluded that name.
Pioneer 1 was an American space probe,the first under the auspices of NASA,which was launched by a Thor-Able rocket on 11 October 1958. It was intended to orbit the Moon and make scientific measurements,but due to a guidance error failed to achieve lunar orbit and was ultimately destroyed upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. The flight,which lasted 43 hours and reached an apogee of 113,800 km,was the second and most successful of the three Thor-Able space probes.
Pioneer 4 was an American spin-stabilized uncrewed spacecraft launched as part of the Pioneer program on a lunar flyby trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit making it the first probe of the United States to escape from the Earth's gravity. Launched on March 3,1959,it carried a payload similar to Pioneer 3:a lunar radiation environment experiment using a Geiger–Müller tube detector and a lunar photography experiment. It passed within 58,983 km (36,650 mi) of the Moon's surface. However,Pioneer 4 did not come close enough to trigger its photoelectric sensor. The spacecraft was still in solar orbit as of 1969. It was the only successful lunar probe launched by the U.S. in 12 attempts between 1958 and 1963;only in 1964 would Ranger 7 surpass its success by accomplishing all of its mission objectives.
Pioneer P-30 was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe,but the mission failed shortly after launch on September 25,1960. The objectives were to place a highly instrumented probe in lunar orbit,to investigate the environment between the Earth and Moon,and to develop technology for controlling and maneuvering spacecraft from Earth. It was equipped to estimate the Moon's mass and topography of the poles,record the distribution and velocity of micrometeorites,and study radiation,magnetic fields,and low frequency electromagnetic waves in space. A mid-course propulsion system and injection rocket would have been the first United States self-contained propulsion system capable of operation many months after launch at great distances from Earth and the first U.S. tests of maneuvering a satellite in space.
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.
The PGM-17A Thor was the first operative ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was named after the Norse god of thunder. It was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was 65 feet (20 m) in height and 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter.
The Delta rocket family was a versatile range of American rocket-powered expendable launch systems that provided space launch capability in the United States from 1960 to 2024. Japan also launched license-built derivatives from 1975 to 1992. More than 300 Delta rockets were launched with a 95% success rate. The series was phased out in favor of the Vulcan Centaur,with the Delta IV Heavy rocket's last launch occurring on April 9,2024.
The PGM-19 Jupiter was the first nuclear armed,medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). It was a liquid-propellant rocket using RP-1 fuel and LOX oxidizer,with a single Rocketdyne LR79-NA rocket engine producing 667 kilonewtons (150,000 lbf) of thrust. It was armed with the 1.44 megatons of TNT (6.0 PJ) W49 nuclear warhead. The prime contractor was the Chrysler Corporation.
Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17),previously designated Launch Complex 17 (LC-17),was a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS),Florida used for Thor and Delta launch vehicles launches between 1958 and 2011.
Space Systems Command (SSC) is the United States Space Force's space development,acquisition,launch,and logistics field command. It is headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base,California,and manages the United States' space launch ranges.
Thor was a US space launch vehicle derived from the PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Thor rocket was the first member of the Delta rocket family of space launch vehicles. The last launch of a direct derivative of the Thor missile occurred in 2018 as the first stage of the final Delta II.
Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) is an active rocket launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base,in California,USA. It consists of two launch pads:SLC-2E,used by the PGM-17 Thor and several of its derivatives from 1958 to 1972,and SLC-2W,which is currently used by the Firefly Alpha after historically being the west coast launch site of the Delta II.
Juno II was an American space launch vehicle used during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was derived from the Jupiter missile,which was used as the first stage.
The Atlas-Able was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets,and was used to launch several Pioneer spacecraft towards the Moon. Of the five Atlas-Able rockets built,two failed during static firings,and the other three failed to reach orbit.
The Delta B,or Thor-Delta B was an American expendable launch system used for nine orbital launches between 1962 and 1964. A derivative of the Thor-Delta,it was a member of the Delta family of rockets.
The Delta L,Thor-Delta L,or Thrust-Augmented Long Tank Thor-Delta was a US expendable launch system used to launch the Pioneer E and TETR satellites in 1969 (failed) and HEOS satellite in 1972. It was a member of the Delta family of rockets.
Launch Complex 12 (LC-12) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,Florida was a launch pad used by Atlas rockets and missiles between 1958 and 1967. It was the second-most southern of the pads known as Missile Row,between LC-11 to the south and LC-13 to the north. Along with Complexes 11,13 and 14,LC-12 featured a more robust design than many contemporary pads,due to the greater power of the Atlas compared to other rockets of the time. It was larger,and featured a concrete launch pedestal that was 6 metres (20 ft) tall and a reinforced blockhouse. The rockets were delivered to the launch pad by means of a ramp on the southwest side of the launch pedestal.
