Jupiter-C Composite Reentry Test Vehicle

Jupiter-C was a three-stage U.S. Army research rocket built from an elongated Redstone first stage and clustered scaled-down Sergeant solid motors. Three flights from 1956 to 1957 tested high-speed trajectories and Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic-missile nose-cone reentry; the final round successfully recovered its test nose cone. Adding a live fourth stage transformed the design into the distinct Juno I satellite launcher.