Object Details
- Summary
- This is a full-scale reproduction of the Jupiter-C launch vehicle built by the Reynolds Metals Company. It has a replica of the Explorer I satellite on top. The Jupiter-C launched the Explorer I on January 31, 1958 as the U.S.'s first artificial satellite.
- The Jupiter-C was a modified Army Redstone liquid-fuel rocket with solid-fuel upper stages and a slightly more powerful main stage engine. The Explorer 1 instruments recorded cosmic rays, micrometeorites, temperatures, and radiations. This rocket was transferred to the Smithsonian by the Army in 1959.
- Alternate Name
- Jupiter-C Rocket (Replica)
- Key Accomplishment(s)
- Launch Vehicle for First U.S. Artificial Satellite
- Brief Description
- This is a full-scale reproduction of the Jupiter-C launch vehicle with a replica of the Explorer I satellite on top. A Jupiter-C rocket launched the Explorer I satellite on January 31, 1958.
- Data Source
- National Air and Space Museum
- Manufacturer
- Reynolds Metals Company
- Date
- 1958
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the U.S. Army
- Materials
- Body, mainly aluminum; some steel including rocket engine and launch stand; exhaust vanes, carbon phenolic.
- Dimensions
- Overall: 66 ft. 7 3/16 in. × 5 ft. 10 in., 64200lb. (2030 × 177.8cm, 29120.9kg)
- Type
- CRAFT-Missiles & Rockets
