PGM-11 Redstone

SSM-A-14/M8/PGM-11 Redstone[1]
Redstone No. CC-56, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 17 September 1958
Type	Tactical ballistic missile 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) (85 production models)
Variants	Block I, Block II
Specifications
Mass	61,207 pounds (27,763 kg) at ignition
Length	69.3 feet (21.1 m)
Diameter	5.83 feet (1.8 m)
Blast yield	W39 warhead, 3.75 megatons of TNT (15.7 PJ)
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
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 to 201 miles 92.5 to 323.5 kilometres
Flight altitude	28.4 to 58.7 miles 45.7 to 94.5 kilometres
Boost time	97 seconds to 155 seconds
Maximum speed	Mach 5 – Mach 6 (6,100–7,400 km/h; 3,800–4,600 mph; 1.7–2.0 km/s) 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[citation needed]

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 US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test, Hardtack Teak.^[2]

The Redstone was a direct descendant of the German V-2 rocket, developed primarily by a team of German rocket engineers brought to the United States after World War II. 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.^[3]

The Redstone spawned the Redstone rocket family 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 solid-fueled 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.