In 1957, an American woman scientist invented a liquid fuel Hydyne which helped United States create history and make space travel a reality. Mary Sherman Morgan developed the rocket fuel at a time when the United States was trying to improve its missile technology. The Soviet Union had launched Sputnik, increasing pressure on the US to place a satellite into orbit. Engineers could not redesign the Redstone rocket engine within the available time. Morgan was asked to work on its fuel instead. Her work led to Hydyne, a new propellant mixture that provided more performance than the existing fuel. Hydyne later powered the Jupiter-C and Juno I rockets. On January 31, 1958, a Juno I rocket carried Explorer 1 into orbit.
