Transport & space · 1944

V-2 rocket

The first large guided ballistic missile and the first object to reach space.

Germany's V-2, developed by Wernher von Braun's team, used alcohol and liquid oxygen for 25 tonnes of thrust. In June 1944 a vertical test launch crossed 100 km altitude. Built with forced labor, it killed thousands, and after the war its engineers and hardware seeded both US and Soviet space programs.

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