PGM-11 Redstone

The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American <a href="/facts/Ballistic_missile/Pl6juY73">ballistic missile</a>. A <a href="/facts/Short-range_ballistic_missile/EIosQMpz">short-range ballistic missile</a> (SRBM), it was in active service with the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> in <a href="/facts/West_Germany/oCydk787">West Germany</a> from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of <a href="/facts/NATO/dCeTddMY">NATO</a>'s <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a> defense of Western Europe. It was the first US missile to carry a live <a href="/facts/Nuclear_weapon/QVdBcMdm">nuclear warhead</a>, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test <a href="/facts/Hardtack_Teak/l1agyYk6">Hardtack Teak</a>.
The Redstone was a direct descendant of the German <a href="/facts/V-2_rocket/8WHk8jsw">V-2 rocket</a>, developed primarily by a team of <a href="/facts/List_of_German_rocket_scientists_in_the_United_States/VBx1IxjX">German rocket engineers</a> brought to the United States after World War II. The design used an upgraded engine from <a href="/facts/Rocketdyne/3sGkwgd8">Rocketdyne</a> that allowed the missile to carry the 6,900 lb (3,100 kg) <a href="/facts/Mark_39_nuclear_bomb/QzXIRNbB">W39</a> and its reentry vehicle to a range of about 175 miles (282 km). Redstone's prime contractor was the <a href="/facts/Chrysler/kMHhMgYx">Chrysler</a> Corporation.
The Redstone spawned the <a href="/facts/Redstone_(rocket_family)/CnPFjtdd">Redstone rocket family</a> which 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 <a href="/facts/Solid-fuel_rocket/RpgdYKIU">solid-fueled</a> <a href="/facts/MGM-31_Pershing/oJPdKfLP">MGM-31 Pershing</a>. Surplus missiles were widely used for test missions and space launches, including the first US man in space, and in 1967 the launch of <a href="/facts/WRESAT/wjuwfeSW">Australia's first satellite</a>.

PGM-11 Redstone open-in-new

PGM-11 Redstone