Launch Complex 26

Launch Complex 26. Launch Pad 26A. , America's entry into the Space Race occurred on 31 January 1958 with the launch of Explorer I from Pad A of Launch Complex 26 (Pad 26A). It was boosted in orbit atop a Juno rocket as part of America's participation in the International Geophysical Year, a worldwide study of the Earth and its environment. Instruments abound Explorer I discovered the Van Allen radiation belt., Construction of Pad 26A began in 1956 and was operated by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) when it became operational in 1957. A total of ten Jupiter, two Redstone, and two Juno launch vehicles were fired from Pad 26A before it was deactivated in 1963. The rockets and missiles were placed on a launch stand located on a raised steel square at the center of the concrete pad area. A mobile steel gantry was used to service the rockets price to launch. A three-foot deep cableway still connects the pad to the Blockhouse that controlled the launch. Two sets of water cannons flanked the pad and were used for fire suppression in case of a launch mishap. Several of the original revetments and support buildings still surround the pad., (captions) , Launch Complex 26 was occupied by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in May 1957. Workers used a 111-foot mobile gantry to service rockets and protect them from storms. The ABMA launched 14 Redstone, Jupiter, Jupiter C, and Juno I rockets from Pad A through 1963., A Jupiter IRBM launched from pad 26A on 22 April 1961 at 9:07 AM EST. It was the first Jupiter missile fired by an Italian Air Force crew. Italian and Turkish NATO combat crews trained and test launched Jupiter missiles from Launch Complex 26., Dr. Kurt Debus, Dr. Albert Zeiler, and Dr. Hans F. Gruene pose in front of the U.S. Army Juno rocket prior to its launch on 31 January 1958. It carried /America’s first satellite, Explorer I, into orbit. All three Germans came to America through Operation Paperclip with Werner von Braun. They worked rocket launch operations for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the transferred to NASA., The Service gantry begins to move back and workers make final preparations on Pad A to launch Explorer I into orbit on 31 January 1958. Note the venting on the Juno rocket, indicating that it is fueled and soon ready for launch. The Juno rocket was a modified Jupiter C with a fourth stage.