Juno I

Juno 1 Jupiter-C (modified)

Mission Profile

The Juno I (Juno 1, modified Jupiter-C) was a four-stage American launch vehicle in the Redstone family, a modified Jupiter-C with a fourth stage added for orbital satellite delivery under the Explorer programme. Standing 21.2 m tall with a 1.8 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 29.1 tonnes, it generated 370 kN of first-stage thrust and could deliver 11 kg to low Earth orbit. First flying in February 1958, the Juno I launched Explorer 1, America's first satellite, which discovered the Van Allen radiation belts and marked the United States' entry into the Space Age.