First Rocket to Reach Outer Space Is Launched
On February 24, 1949, the first rocket to reach outer space was successfully launched from the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico. This historic event involved a two-stage rocket that combined elements from both the American WAC Corporal and the German V-2 rocket, which was initially developed during World War II. The V-2, notable for being the first long-range, high-speed rocket, was mass-produced by the Nazis for military purposes, particularly to target London. After the war, many V-2 rockets and German rocket scientists, such as Wernher von Braun, were brought to the United States to advance rocket technology.
During the launch, the first stage of the rocket was the captured V-2, which burned out after propelling the vehicle. The second stage, the WAC Corporal, then detached and ascended to an impressive altitude of 250 miles, officially marking the rocket's entry into outer space. This pioneering mission, known as Project Bumper, lasted less than seven minutes but represented a significant milestone in the field of space exploration, paving the way for future advancements in rocket technology and space travel.
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First Rocket to Reach Outer Space Is Launched
First Rocket to Reach Outer Space Is Launched
The first rocket to enter outer space was a two-stage rocket launched on February 24, 1949, from the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico in the United States. It was a combination of the American WAC Corporal rocket and the Nazi V-2.
During World War II the Nazis built the V-2, the first large, long-range, high-speed rocket. The liquid-fuel V-2 was successfully test-fired on October 3, 1942, at the secret north German island base of Peenemunde. Later in the war the Germans put the V-2 into mass production in order to launch missile attacks against London. After D-day in June 1944, the American army found and confiscated a large number of V-2s as German forces retreated across Western Europe. The Americans also recruited a large number of German scientists, including Wernher von Braun, the expert in rocket science who had designed and developed the V-2. Both the captured V-2s and the scientists were taken to the United States, where research was continued on building bigger and better rockets.
The first stage of the rocket that ultimately succeeded in leaving Earth's atmosphere was a captured V-2. The second stage was an American-built rocket called the WAC Corporal. The WAC Corporal was the latest in a line of rocket designs known successively as Private A, Private F, and the Baby WAC. It was only 16 feet long (the V-2 had been two stories tall). After the first-stage V-2 burnt out during a launch, the second-stage WAC Corporal separated and went on to a height of 250 miles above Earth's surface, sufficient to constitute entering outer space. The entire launch, part of the mission known as Project Bumper, lasted less than seven minutes, but it was a milestone in space exploration.