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dsc33341.jpg

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.

 
Sign by Jupiter at Air Power Park
Time picture taken Sat Jun 23 12:06:46 2007
Location picture taken Air Power Park
Hampton, VA
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