Juno II

American Jupiter IRBM-derived small-lift orbital rocket

Based on the Jupiter IRBM rather than the Redstone, Juno II had a rougher record than its predecessor — six of eleven launches between 1958 and 1961 failed. Its highlight was Pioneer 4 on 3 March 1959, the first US spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and enter solar orbit, passing within 60,000 km of the Moon.

Service1958–1961

1958first flight1959peak (4 launches)1961last flight

launches: 10
success · 4/10: 40%

Full Launch History


May 24, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 12 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Apr 27, 196100:00:00 UTC	Explorer 11 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Success
Feb 25, 196100:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 10 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Nov 3, 196000:00:00 UTC	Explorer 8 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Success
Mar 23, 196000:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Oct 13, 195900:00:00 UTC	Explorer 7 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Success
Aug 14, 195900:00:00 UTCFailure	Beacon 2 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Jul 16, 195900:00:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 6 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Failure
Mar 3, 195900:00:00 UTC	Pioneer 4 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	Success
Dec 6, 195800:00:00 UTCPartial failure	Pioneer 3 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	partial failure