Posts: 383
From: McLean, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

Posts: 729
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 06-15-2005 08:39 PM               

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The letters were codes that signified the serial number of the rocket. The Jupiter C that launched Explorer 1 was missle 29 which was coded UE. The code system was as follows:
H = 1
U = 2
N = 3
T = 4
S = 5
V = 6
I = 7
L = 8
E = 9
X = 0

Basically, the code was based on the name Huntsville. The purpose of using a code like this rather than simply putting a number on the missle was one way to keep the Soviet Union from learning how many of the missles existed. The Jupiter C was a multi-stage Redstone, so Redstone IRBMs used the same code. One Redstone missle was labeled HE. However, it was missle 49, thus it should have had the letters TE, so the code broke down on one occasion. This information came from the book, "Sputnik - Shock of the Century," by Paul Dickson.