Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 11-20-2015 06:18 PM               

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On 3 October 1942, V-2 rocket V-4 was launched from Peenemunde launch pad P-VII. With a burn time of 58 seconds it covered a distance of 190 km. Too steep due to pitch program error, otherwise success. Altitude 85 to 90 km. Below the Karman Line, but described at the time as the first rocket to reach outer space.

Which was the first rocket ever to reach the Karman Line or a height of 100 km, respectively?

Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 11-23-2015 10:53 AM               

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Perhaps it was Bumper #5, a modified V-2, launched Feb. 24, 1949 from White Sands Proving Grounds, NM and which reached 244 m. altitude, as the first 'official' flight above the Karman Line (62.1 m. above sea level).

A V-2 missile launched during 1944 reportedly reached 117 m. And a captured V-2, under Project Blossom, launched the first animals (fruit flies) 68 m. into space from White Sands on Feb. 20, 1947.

Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 12-14-2015 09:31 AM               

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On June 20, 1944 an A-4 launched vertically from Peenemuende reached a height record of 174.6 km.

I wonder whether any A-4 rocket launched in 1943 or earlier in 1944 reached a height above 100 km. Candidates might be Jan. 25, 1943, April 14, 1943, May 26, 1943 or Oct. 21, 1943.