Jupiter-C: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Part of the Redstone rocket family}}

The '''Jupiter-C Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM)''' was designed by the [[Army Ballistic Missile Agency|Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA)]]

{{More citations needed|date=October 2007}}

{{Infobox rocket

| image =Jupiter c pad.jpg

| caption =Jupiter-C on the launch pad at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]]

| name =Jupiter-C

| function =[[Sounding rocket]]

| manufacturer =[[Chrysler]] for the ABMA

| country-origin = United States

| height = {{convert|69.9|ft|m}}

| diameter = {{convert|5.8|ft|m}}

| mass = {{convert|64,000|lb|kg}}

| stages =3

| capacities =

{{Infobox rocket/payload

|___location = [[Sub-orbital]]

|kilos = {{cvt|11|kg}}

}}

| status =Retired

| sites =[[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 5|LC-5]] and [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 6|6]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida]]

| launches =3 (all suborbital)

| success =1 (suborbital)

| fail =1 (suborbital)

| partial =1 (suborbital)

| first =September 20, 1956

| last =August 8, 1957

| stagedata =

{{Infobox rocket/stage

|type = stage

|stageno = First

|name = [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]] (stretched)

|engines = 1 North American Aviation (Rocketdyne) 75-110-[[A-7 (rocket engine)|A-7]]

|thrust = {{convert|42439|kgf|lbf kN|abbr=on|order=flip}}

|SI = {{cvt|235|isp}}

|burntime = 155 s

|fuel = [[LOX]]/[[Hydyne]]

}}

{{Infobox rocket/stage

|type = stage

|stageno = Second

|name = [[Sergeant (rocket)|Sergeant]] cluster

|engines = 11 [[solid fuelled rocket|Solid]]

|solid = yes

|thrust = {{convert|7480|kgf|lbf kN|abbr=on|order=flip}}

|SI = {{cvt|214|isp}}

|burntime = 6 s

}}

{{Infobox rocket/stage

|type = stage

|stageno = Third

|name = [[Sergeant (rocket)|Sergeant]] cluster

|engines = 3 [[solid fuelled rocket|Solid]]

|solid = yes

|thrust = {{convert|2040|kgf|lbf kN|abbr=on}}

|SI = {{cvt|214|isp}}

|burntime = 6 s

}}

}}

The '''Jupiter-C''' was an American research and development vehicle<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1957.html |title=Redstone Arsenal Historical Information – 1957 |publisher=United States Army |access-date=2015-05-15 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095241/http://history.redstone.army.mil/ihist-1957.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/space-jupiter.html |title=Redstone Arsenal Historical Information – Jupiter |publisher=United States Army |access-date=2015-05-15 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095238/http://history.redstone.army.mil/space-jupiter.html |url-status=live }}</ref> developed from the [[Jupiter-A]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spaceline.org/rocketsum/jupiter-c.html|title=Rockets and Missiles|website=SpaceLine.org|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref> Jupiter-C was used for three [[Uncrewed vehicle|uncrewed]] [[sub-orbital spaceflight]]s in 1956 and 1957 to test [[Re-entry vehicle|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.<ref>Yanek Mieczkowski, 'Cheerleader in Chief, in Eisenhower’s Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige, pp. 105–106.</ref>

The vehicle consists of a modified [[Redstone ballistic missile]] topped by three solid-propellant upper stages. The tankage of the Redstone was lengthened by eight feet to provide additional propellant. The instrument compartment is also smaller and lighter than the Redstone's. The second and third stages are clustered in a "tub" atop the vehicle, while the fourth stage is atop the tub itself. The second stage is an outer ring of eleven scaled-down Sergeant rocket engines; the third stage is a cluster of three scaled down Sergeant rockets grouped within. These are held in position by bulkheads and rings and are surrounded by a cylindrical outer shell. The webbed base plate of the shell rests on a ball-[[bearing (mechanical)|bearing]] shaft mounted on the first-stage instrument section. Two electric motors spin in the tub at a rate varying from 450 to 750 rpm to compensate for thrust imbalance when the clustered motors fire. The rate of spin is varied by a programmer so that it does not couple with the changing resonant frequency of the first stage during flight.

A member of the [[Redstone (rocket family)|Redstone rocket family]], Jupiter-C was designed by the U.S. [[Army Ballistic Missile Agency]] (ABMA), under the direction of [[Wernher von Braun]].<ref name="expinfo">

The upper-stage tub was spun-up before launch. During first-stage flight, the vehicle was guided by a gyro-controleld autopilot controlling both air-vanes and jet vanes on the first stage by means of servos. Following a vertical launch from a simple steel table, the vehicle was programmed so that it was travelling at an angle of 40 degrees from the horizontal at burnout of the first stage, which occurred 157 seconds after launch. At first-stage burnout, explosive bolts fired and springs separated the instrument section from the first-stage tankage. The instrument section and the spinning tub were slowly tipped to a horizontal position by means of four air jets located at the base of the instrument section. When the apex of the vertical flight occurred after a coasting flight of about 247 seconds, a radio signal from the ground ignited the eleven-rocket cluster of the second stage, separating the tub from the instrument section. The third and fourth stages were fired in turn to boost the satellite and fourth stage to an orbital velocity of 18,000 miles per hour.

{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/expinfo.html |title=Jupiter-C Explorer-I |publisher=NASA}}</ref> Three Jupiter-C flights were made. These were followed by satellite launches with the vehicle designated as Juno I (see [[Jupiter-C#Juno I|Juno I]] below or the [[Juno I]] article).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/space-redstone.html |title=Redstone Arsenal Historical Information – Redstone Rocket |publisher=United States Army |access-date=2015-05-15 |archive-date=2015-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095236/http://history.redstone.army.mil/space-redstone.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/space-explorer.html |title=Redstone Arsenal Historical Information – Explorer I |publisher=United States Army |access-date=2015-05-15 |archive-date=2015-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703022718/http://history.redstone.army.mil/space-explorer.html |url-status=live }}</ref> All were launched from [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral, Florida]].

== Description ==

When used as a satellite launching vehicle, the Jupiter-C is sometimes referred to as the <b>Juno-I</b>.

Each vehicle consisted of a modified [[PGM-11 Redstone|Redstone ballistic missile]] with two solid-propellant upper stages. The tanks of the Redstone were lengthened by 8&nbsp;ft (2.4 m) to provide additional propellant. The instrument compartment was also smaller and lighter than the Redstone's. The second and third stages were clustered in a "tub" atop the vehicle.

[[File:Redstone-jupiterc-mercuryredstone-compared.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]], '''Jupiter-C''' and [[Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle|Mercury-Redstone]] rockets compared]]

[[File:Juno upper stages.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Second stage cluster]]

The second stage was an outer ring of eleven scaled-down [[MGM-29 Sergeant|Sergeant]] rocket engines; the third stage was a cluster of three scaled-down Sergeant rockets grouped within. These were held in position by bulkheads and rings and surrounded by a cylindrical outer shell. The webbed base plate of the shell rested on a [[bearing (mechanical)|ball bearing]] shaft mounted on the first-stage instrument section. Two electric motors spun in the tub at a rate varying from 450 to 750 rpm to compensate for thrust imbalance when the clustered motors fired. The rate of spin was varied by a programmer so that it did not couple with the changing resonance frequency of the first stage during flight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/juno.html |title=ABMA Juno I |publisher=Designation-systems.net |access-date=2013-03-25}}</ref>

=== General Characteristics ===

The upper-stage tub was visibly spun-up before launch. During first-stage flight, the vehicle was guided by a gyro-controlled autopilot controlling both air-vanes and jet vanes on the first stage by means of servos. Following a vertical launch from a simple steel table, the vehicle was programmed so that it was traveling at an angle of 40 degrees from the horizontal at burnout of the first stage, which occurred 157 seconds after launch.<ref>Juno V Space Vehicle Development Program Report No. DSP-TM-10-58, NASA, October, 1958.</ref>

* Weight (in pounds, as configured for [[Explorer 1]] launch, loaded/empty)

** Overall (takeoff): 64,000/10,260

At first-stage burnout, [[explosive bolt]]s fired and springs separated the instrument section from the first-stage tankage. The instrument section and the spinning tub were slowly tipped to a horizontal position by means of four air jets located at the base of the instrument section. When the apex of the vertical flight occurred after a coasting flight of about 247 seconds, a radio signal from the ground ignited the eleven-rocket cluster of the second stage, separating the tub from the instrument section. The third stage then fired to raise the [[apogee]]. Through this system, designed by [[Wernher von Braun]] in 1956 for his proposed [[Project Orbiter]], the Jupiter-C obviated the need for a guidance system in the upper stages.<ref>Juno V Space Vehicle Development Program Status Report, DSP-TM-11-58, NASA, November, 1958.</ref>

** Stage 1 62,700/9,600

** Stage 2 1,020/490

===Juno I===

** Stage 3 280/140

{{Main|Juno I}}

** Stage 1 80/31.5

The [[Juno I]] was a satellite launch vehicle based on the Jupiter-C, but with the addition of a fourth stage, atop the "tub" of the third stage and the use of Hydyne as fuel. The Juno name derived from Von Braun wishing to make the satellite launch appear as peaceable as the [[Vanguard rocket]], which was not a weapon, but was developed from a weather study rocket, the [[Viking rocket|Viking]]. Since the Juno I was the same height as the Jupiter-C (21.2 meters), with the added fourth stage being hidden inside the shell, this vehicle which successfully launched the first orbital satellite of the United States is often incorrectly referred to as a Jupiter-C.

==Encrypted serial number==

The Jupiter-C was part of the [[Intermediate-range ballistic missile|IRBM]] project, and the sequence of manufacture of the rockets (which are not necessarily launched in order, and may be uprated as solutions to technical problems are worked out in tests) was considered a military secret. So the designation painted on the sides of the rocket was not a serial number in [[clear text]], but employed a simple transformation cypher that the staff would be sure not to forget. The key was taken from the name of the design and test base: [[Huntsville, Alabama]], giving HUNTSVILE, with duplicated letters dropped: H was used for 1, U for 2, ..., E for 9 and X for 0. For example, the Jupiter-C / Juno I modified to launch [[Explorer 1]] had "UE" painted on the side, indicating it was S/N 29 (U→2, E→9).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spaceline.org/rocketsum/jupiter-c.html|title=Rockets and Missiles / Jupiter C Fact Sheet|website=www.spaceline.org|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4402/ch1.htm|title=SP-4402 Origins of NASA Names|website=history.nasa.gov|access-date=2018-12-26}}</ref>

== General characteristics ==

* Weight as configured for [[Explorer 1]] launch, loaded/empty

** Overall, takeoff: 64,000&nbsp;lb (29,000&nbsp;kg)/10,230&nbsp;lb (4640&nbsp;kg)

** Stage 1 62,700&nbsp;lb (28,400&nbsp;kg)/9,600&nbsp;lb (4,400&nbsp;kg)

** Stage 2 1,020&nbsp;lb (460&nbsp;kg)/490&nbsp;lb (220&nbsp;kg)

** Stage 3 280&nbsp;lb (130&nbsp;kg)/140&nbsp;lb (64&nbsp;kg)

* Propulsion

** Stage 1: [[Rocketdyne]] A-7 engine

*** Thrust, 83,000&nbsp;lbf lb(370&nbsp;kN)

*** burning time, 155 secondss

*** specific impulse, 235 secondss (2.30&nbsp;kN·s/kg)

*** propellants, liquid oxygen, as oxidizer, and "Hydyne" (60% unsymmetrical, dimethylhydrazine and 40% diethylenetriamine),alcohol as fuel

*** propellant feed, turbopump type

*** turbopump drive, 90% hydrogen peroxide decomposed by catalyst bed to produce steam

** Stage 2: Eleven [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]] scaled-down [[MGM-29 Sergeant|Baby Sergeant]] rockets

*** Thrust, 16,500&nbsp;lbf lb(73&nbsp;kN)

*** burning time, 6.5 secondss

*** specific impulse, 220 lb-secs (2.16&nbsp;kN·s/lbkg)

*** propellant, polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate ([[solid propellant]])

** Stage 3: Three JPL scaled-down [[MGM-29 Sergeant|Baby Sergeant]] rockets

*** Thrust, 54,400500&nbsp;lbf lb(24&nbsp;kN)

*** burning time, 6.5 secondss

*** specific impulse, 235 lb-secs (2.30&nbsp;kN·s/lbkg)

*** propellant, same as for Stage 2

** Stage 4: One JPL scaled-down Sergeant rocket

*** Thrust, 5,400 lb

*** burning time, 6.5 seconds

*** specific impulse, 235 lb-sec/lb

*** propellant, same as for Stage 2

=== Flight History ===

[[September 20]], [[1956]]: Lofted an [[pound|86.5 lb]] payload (including a 30 lb dummy [[satellite]]) to an altitude of 680 miles, a speed of 16,000 mph, and a range of 3,300 miles from [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]].

[[May 15]], [[1957]]: Lofted an 300-pound scale Jupiter ablative nose cone to an altitude of 350 miles and a range of 710 miles.

[[August 8]], [[1957]]: Lofted a 1/3-scale Jupiter nose cone to an altitude of 285 miles and a range of 1,330 miles. Juno-I (four-stage configuration).

== Flight history ==

[[January 31]], [[1958]]: Orbited [[Explorer I]] satellite weighing 30.66 pounds with 18.35 pounds of payload, perigee 224 miles, apogee 1,575 miles. Explorer I ceased transmission of data on [[May 23]], [[1958]], when its batteries died, but remained in orbit for more than 12 years. It made a fiery reentry over the Pacific Ocean on [[March 31]], [[1970]].

* '''September 20, 1956''': Jupiter-C RS-27, lifted an 86.5-lb (39.2&nbsp;kg) payload (including a 30-lb (14&nbsp;kg) dummy [[satellite]]) to an altitude of 680&nbsp;mi (1,100&nbsp;km), a speed of 16,000&nbsp;mph (7&nbsp;km/s), and a range of 3,300&nbsp;mi (5,300&nbsp;km) from [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]], Florida.<ref name="expinfo"/><ref name="skyrocket">{{Cite web |title=Jupiter-C |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/jupiter-c.htm |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}}</ref>

* '''May 15, 1957''': Jupiter-C RS-34, lifted a 300&nbsp;lb (140&nbsp;kg) scale Jupiter ablative nose cone to an altitude of 350&nbsp;mi (560&nbsp;km) and a range of 710&nbsp;mi (1,100&nbsp;km).<ref name="expinfo"/><ref name="skyrocket" />

* '''August 8, 1957''': Jupiter-C RS-40, lifted a 1/3-scale Jupiter nose cone to an altitude of 285&nbsp;mi (460&nbsp;km) and a range of 1,330&nbsp;mi (2,140&nbsp;km); Juno I (four-stage configuration).<ref name="expinfo"/><ref name="skyrocket" />

== References ==

[[March 5]], [[1958]]: Attempted orbit of [[Explorer II]] (31.36 pounds with 18.83 pounds of payload) failed because fourth stage did not ignite.

{{Reflist|45em}}

{{Expendable launch systems}}

[[March 26]], [[1958]]: Orbited [[Explorer III]] satellite weighing 31.0 pounds with 18.53 pounds of payload, perigee 119 miles, apogee 1,740 miles. Down [[June 28]], [[1958]].

[[July 26]], [[1958]]: Orbited [[Explorer IV]] satellite weighing 37.16 pounds with 25.76 pounds of payload, perigee 163 miles, apogee 1,373 miles. Down [[October 23]], [[1959]].

[[August 24]], [[1958]]: Attempted orbit of [[Explorer V]] satellite (37.16 pounds with 25.76 pounds of payload) failed because booster collided with second stage after separation, causing upper stage firing angle to be off.

[[October 23]], [[1958]]: Attempted orbit of 12-foot inflatable Beacon satellite (31.5 pounds with 18.3 pounds of payload) failed when second stage separated prematurely from booster.

[[Category:1956 in spaceflight]]

<i>Source: Data Sheet, Department of Astronautics, [[National Air and Space Museum]], [[Smithsonian Institution]].</i>

[[Category:Sounding rockets of the United States]]

[[Category:Space launch vehicles of the United States]]