Jupiter IRBM System Operation
Immediately after the launch control officer pressed the firing button, the main
engine roared into life. It burned for 157.8 seconds, boosting the missile to a speed of
Mach 15.4 and an altitude of 73 miles. Two seconds after the main engine burned out
and fell away, the solid-fuel vernier motor fired. The vernier burned for approximately 12
seconds until the missile reached the desired velocity, whereupon the engine shut down
and detached from the reentry vehicle. Almost 10 minutes into the flight the missile, now
800 miles from its launch point and soaring at an altitude of 384 miles, reached the
apogee of its elliptical flight path. From there it began its gradual descent toward the
target. Total flight time from takeoff to impact: 15 1/2 minutes.