66. X-4.
The fin-stabilized X-4 air-to-air missile was guided to its target by means of electrical impulses which passed through two wires connecting the rocket to the launch aircraft until detonation. Once the missile was on its way to the target bomber, the fighter pilot directed its course with a separate small control stick in his cockpit. Because the control wires streamed out ahead of the launching aircraft, the pilot was prevented from evasive maneuvering.
Launched from German fighter aircraft, usually a FW-190, the X-4 was powered by either a solid-propellant engine or a bi-propellant liquid-rocket engine. It carried a 20-kilogram (44-pound) warhead.
Jupiter-C
67. Jupiter-C launches the first American satellite, January 31, 1958.
Jupiter-C carried the first successful American artificial earth satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit on January 31, 1958. Jupiter-C launched additional Explorer satellites on March 26 and July 26, 1958.
Jupiter-C, or Juno 1, is a modified version of the Redstone Ballistic Missile and a direct descendant of the V-2 (A-4) rocket developed in Germany during the second World War.
The vehicle’s main stage is powered by a rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and a hydrazine mixture. The second and third stages are contained in the “tub” on the nose of the rocket. Both use scaled-down Sergeant solid-propellant rockets: eleven in the second stage and three in the third. A final Sergeant motor is attached to the base of the satellite to provide the velocity necessary to place the vehicle in orbit. An electric motor spun the entire “tub” prior to launch and during the climb into space in order to stabilize the satellite.