Redstone Missile at the Udvar-Hazy Center

Redstone

The Redstone was the U.S.'s first large-scale operational liquid-propellant missile. It had a range of 200-250 miles and carried either a conventional or nuclear warhead. The Redstone made its first successful flight in 1953. In 1961 the Mercury-Redstone rocket launched the first American into space, Alan B. Shepard. (Smithsonian Institution)