5. The Redstone Rocket
The Mercury-Redstone rocket, derived from the U.S. Army’s Redstone ballistic missile, was selected to carry the first American into space. It stood 83 feet tall and was powered by a single Rocketdyne A-7 engine, producing 78,000 pounds of thrust. In comparison, the Soviet Union’s Vostok-K rocket, based on the R-7 Semyorka ICBM, was 125.85 feet tall and capable of delivering 4.7 tons to low Earth orbit. (nasa.gov)
