AeroVia LogoAeroVia
Back to Vehicle Families

Jupiter Rocket Family

Jupiter was a U.S. Army intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and produced by Chrysler. Its liquid-propellant first stage also served as the booster for NASA's Juno II launch vehicle, which combined Jupiter with clustered solid upper stages for early lunar probes and Explorer satellites.

Jupiter Rocket Family
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center · NASA asset; NASA’s 0100074 catalog identifies Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Jupiter-C/Explorer 1 launch, and no third-party photographer or copyright holder. NASA current Images and Media Usage Guidelines generally permit factual or informational/editorial use with NASA attribution and without implying NASA endorsement. Commercial, promotional, merchandise, logo/insignia, or other protected-rights uses may require separate clearance. · Source
Follow this vehicle family

Future launches and major activity directly linked to this vehicle family.

Identity

Aliases
PGM-19 JupiterJupiter IRBM family
Family Name
Jupiter
Full Name
Jupiter Rocket Family
Status
retired
Type
rocket

Details

Description
Jupiter was a U.S. Army intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and produced by Chrysler. Its liquid-propellant first stage also served as the booster for NASA's Juno II launch vehicle, which combined Jupiter with clustered solid upper stages for early lunar probes and Explorer satellites.
Dimensions
Diameter
…
First Flight Year
1,957
Last Flight Year
1,961
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      Single Rocketdyne S-3D on the Jupiter liquid-propellant first stage.
    Name
    Jupiter IRBM
    Notes
    Single-stage Jupiter ballistic-missile configuration with one Rocketdyne S-3D engine.
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      Single Rocketdyne S-3D on the stretched Jupiter first stage.
    • Count
      11
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      second-stage
      Variant Notes
      Cluster of eleven scaled-down Sergeant motors; canonical identity remains the Baby Sergeant family.
    • Count
      3
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      third-stage
      Variant Notes
      Cluster of three scaled-down Sergeant motors; canonical identity remains the Baby Sergeant family.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      fourth-stage
      Variant Notes
      Single scaled-down Sergeant motor on the fourth stage.
    Name
    Juno II
    Notes
    Four-stage Jupiter-derived satellite-launch configuration: S-3D first stage followed by clustered Baby Sergeant second, third, and fourth stages.
Rocket Specs
Reusability
expendable

Links

Official Url
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sp-4012v2.pdf

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 13, 2026 at 12:48:40 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 13:31:37 UTC
Image
Download
Jupiter Rocket Family - AeroVia