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Redstone missile

SSM-A-14/M8/PGM-11 Redstone
Redstone 09.jpg
Redstone No. CC-56, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 17 September 1958
Type Surface-to-surface
Short-range ballistic missile
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service 1958–1964
Used by United States
Production history
Designer Army Ballistic Missile Agency
Designed 1950–1952
Manufacturer Chrysler Corporation
Produced 1952–1961
No. built 128 (ABMA: 27, Chrysler: 101)
Variants Block I, Block II
Specifications
Weight 61,207 pounds (27,763 kg) at ignition
Length 69.3 feet (21.1 m)
Diameter 5.83 feet (1.8 m)

Blast yield 3.5 megatons of TNT (15 PJ) or 500 kilotonnes of TNT (2.1 PJ)
thermonuclear warhead

Engine Rocketdyne North American Aviation 75–110 A-7
78,000 pounds-force (350 kN) thrust at sea level for 121 seconds
Payload capacity 6,305 pounds (2,860 kg)
Propellant ethyl alcohol, liquid oxygen, hydrogen peroxide
Fuel capacity alcohol: 11,135 pounds (5,051 kg), liquid oxygen: 25,280 pounds (11,470 kg), hydrogen peroxide: 790 pounds (360 kg)
Operational
range
57.5 miles (92.5 km) to 201 miles (323 km)
Flight altitude 28.4 miles (45.7 km) peak minimum to 58.7 miles (94.5 km) peak maximum
Boost time 97 seconds to 117 seconds
Speed Mach 5.5 maximum at re-entry interface
Guidance
system
Ford Instrument Company ST-80 inertial guidance
Steering
system
Carbon jet vanes, air rudders, spatial air jet nozzles, air vanes
Accuracy 300 metres (980 ft) CEP
Launch
platform
guided missile platform launcher M74

The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe. It was the first missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test, Hardtack Teak. Chief Engineer Wernher von Braun personally witnessed this historic launch and detonation.

Redstone was a direct descendant of the German V-2 rocket, developed by a team of predominantly German rocket engineers brought to the United States after World War II as part of Operation Paperclip. The design used an upgraded engine from Rocketdyne that allowed the missile to carry the W39 warhead which weighed 6,900 pounds (3,100 kg) with its reentry vehicle to a range of about 175 miles (282 km). Redstone's prime contractor was the Chrysler Corporation.

A major effort to improve Redstone's reliability produced one of the most reliable rockets of the era. Dubbed "the Army's Workhorse", it spawned an entire rocket family which had an excellent launch record and holds a number of firsts in the US space program, notably launching the first US astronaut. It was retired by the Army in 1964 and replaced by the MGM-31 Pershing. Surplus missiles were widely used for test missions and space launches, including the first US man in space, and in 1967 the launch of Australia's first satellite.


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