The Juno I was a satellite launch vehicle, derived from, and commonly confused with, the Jupiter-C sounding rocket. It is most well known for launching America's first satellite, Explorer 1.
It consisted of a Jupiter-C rocket, with a fourth stage mounted on top of the "tub" of the third stage. The fourth stage was fired after the third stage burnout to boost the satellite to an orbital velocity of 18,000 mph (8 km/s). The fourth stage would also ...
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The Juno I was a satellite launch vehicle, derived from, and commonly confused with, the Jupiter-C sounding rocket. It is most well known for launching America's first satellite, Explorer 1.
It consisted of a Jupiter-C rocket, with a fourth stage mounted on top of the "tub" of the third stage. The fourth stage was fired after the third stage burnout to boost the satellite to an orbital velocity of 18,000 mph (8 km/s). The fourth stage would also enter orbit itself.
The Juno I obviated the need for a guidance system in the upper stages, and was invented by Wernher von Braun in 1956 for his proposed Project Orbiter, which would have been just like the Jupiter-C but using the even smaller solid-fuel upper stages which were the only ones available at that time. His method was the simplest and most immediate method for putting a payload into orbit, but as it had no upper-stage guidance, it was not put into a precisely specified orbit. The name derived from von Braun wishing to make the...
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