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Credit: NASA
Explanation:
A new chapter in space flight began on 1950 July with the
launch of the first rocket from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida: the Bumper 2.
Shown above, the
Bumper 2 was an ambitious two-stage
rocket program that topped a
V-2 missile base with a
WAC Corporal rocket.
The upper stage was able to reach then-record altitudes of almost 400 kilometers,
higher than even modern
Space Shuttles fly today.
Launched
under the direction of the
General Electric Company,
the Bumper 2 was used primarily for
testing rocket systems and for research on the
upper atmosphere.
Bumper 2 rockets carried small payloads that
allowed them to measure attributes including air temperature and
cosmic ray impacts.
Seven years later, the Soviet Union launched
Sputnik I and Sputnik II, the first
satellites into Earth orbit.
In response, in 1958, the
US created NASA.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day