Jupiter Missile
Jupiter was the United States' first intermediate-range ballistic missile. In December, 1955, the Army and Navy announced a dual program to create a land and sea-based intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Jupiter IRBM was designed as a short missile to ease handling aboard ships. At the end of 1956, the IRBM program was transferred to the U.S. Air Force.
The Jupiter missile was used in a series of sub-orbital test flights. The most famous of these was a biological test flight conducted on May 29, 1959. An American-born rhesus monkey named "Able" and a South American squirrel monkey named "Baker" rode in the nosecone of the missile to an altitude of 360 miles and at a top speed of 10,000 miles per hour. Both monkeys survived the flight in good condition and proved that living creatures could pass through space and return safely to earth.
The Jupiter missile on exhibit is 67 feet tall and weighs 11 tons (22,000 pounds) stripped of its internal equipment.
Erected by Virginia Museum of Transportation, Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Animals •
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Location. 37° 16.372′ N, 79° 56.674′ W. Marker is in Roanoke, Virginia. It is in Downtown. It is on Norfolk Avenue Southwest 0.1 miles east of 3rd Street Southwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 217 2nd St SW, Roanoke VA 24011, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Mountain Region and in Southwest Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Virginia Museum of Transportation / Norfolk and Western Freight Station (a few steps from this marker); Warehouse Row (within shouting distance of this marker); Roanoke Railway and Electric Company
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 29, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,156 times since then and 54 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 29, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
