The sign by the Jupiter missile. It reads
SM-78 Jupiter
The Jupiter was a surface-to-surface intermediate range
ballistic missile (IRBM) designed by the Army's Ballistic Missile Agency. It
had a limited range of approximately 1,500 miles.
Built by the Chrysler Corporation and powered by a Rocketdyne liquid-fueled
engine developing approximately 150,000 lbs. of thrust [heroicrelics: the
sign is illegible, but the History of the the Jupiter
Missile System cites a thrust of 150,000 lbs.],
Jupiter attained a velocity of 10,000 M.P.H. and reached
altitudes of up to 300 miles. It is 8 feet, 9 inches in diameter and weighs
110,000 lbs. Guidance was provided by a self-contained inertial system which
was programmed and set before launching. Modifications allowed the
Jupiter to also serve as a space launch vehicle - a Juno II rocket
helped place the Pioneer spacecraft into a solar orbit in
1958.
Of course, the ABMA also designed the Redstone and began the Saturn program; it
eventually became NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Chrysler also built the Redstone and later the S-I and
S-IB stages of the Saturn I
and Saturn IB rockets.
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