Warren, New Hampshire
WHY IS THERE A MISSILE HERE?
You are looking at an authentic Redstone Missile used by the US Army from 1958-1964 as a nuclear weapon, and by NASA from 1953-1961 as a space launch vehicle. In 1971, Warren native Sgt. First Class Henry "Ted" Asselin was ending his 22-year service in the US army, including two tours in Vietnam where he was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. His final post was at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
Though the Redstone had been replaced by the Perishing missile, the arsenal still had three Redstones on base. When Ted learned that these last Redstones were going to be destroyed, he got the idea of taking one home with him upon his discharge. "I thought of the children,' Ted recounted, "who were far removed from America's space program, except for television, and that seeing the real thing might interest some child in science and the space program. After all, Alan Shephard Jr. was a New Hampshire boy, and he made his historic suborbital flight back in 1961 aboard a Redstone."
The army brass agreed to give Ted a Redstone as long as he incurred the cost of its relocation. Though the town contributed $300 to the cause, Ted and his wife Sheila paid $2,000 out of their own pocket. In a borrowed truck and rented flatbed trailer, Ted arrived with the missile just before midnight on April 21,1971. It took 3 days to make the 1,300 mile journey from Huntsville, Alabama to Warren.
THE REDSTONE MISSILE SPECIFICATIONS
While one can get quite technical defining the difference between a missile and a rocket, a common distinction, and one that we use here, is that a missile carries an explosive and a rocket carries a capsule, satellite, or other space cargo. The missile before you is designated a PGM-11 Redstone by the U.S. Army, while the Redstone that propelled Alan Shepard on America's first human space flight was designated a Mercury Redstone by NASA. Though of the same family, they had different operating specs. The specs below are for the missile before you, the PGM -11.
Length: 69 ft. 4 in.
Height from foundation pad: 71 ft. 10 in.
Diameter: 70 in.
Thrust: 78,000 lbs.
Weight dry: 16,512 lbs.
Weight fueled: 61,346
Max payload: 6,305 lbs.
Max burn time: 119 sec.
Max speed during burn: Mach 4.8 (8,000 mph)
Max altitude: 57 miles
Maximum range: 175 miles
Warhead: W-39 thermonuclear (253 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima)
THE REDSTONE AND SPACE
Wernher von Braun's childhood dream was to develop rockets for space, not war. He envisioned humans one day traveling to the moon, and then Mars. The first step of this dream was accomplished on January 31, 1958 when a modified Redstone launched the first American satellite into orbit. This success led the Redstone to be chosen for launching the first primate and the first U.S. citizen into space. A chimpanzee named Ham splashed down after traveling aboard a Redstone on January 1, 1961.
New Hampshire native Alan Shepard made his space flight via a Redstone on May 5, 1961. Wernher von Braun, now the head of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, was in charge of the launch. Shepard was secured atop the Redstone at 6:10 in the morning for a scheduled 7:00 am blast off. However, a series of malfunctions delayed the launch. After hours strapped to his seat, Shepard asked to use the bathroom. Von Braun gave an emphatic "No". The time this would take could scrub the mission. Shepard then asked if he could relieve himself in his space suit. Because he had electrodes attached to his chest and neck to measure his heart rate and respiration, the NASA team worried that the electrodes could short out and injure their astronaut. Finally, after much back and forth, von Braun gave the go ahead and Shepard let go. After being informed of another delay, Shepard replied, "Why don't you fix your little problem and light this candle!" Lift off finally occurred at 9:34 am launching Shepard, and the Redstone before you, into history.
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