 Viking 10 was launched in May | |
| National firsts | |
|---|---|
| Spaceflight |  France |
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights |  Aerobee RTV-N-10b Nike-Nike-T40-T55 A-1 R-1D Véronique-NA |
| Retirements | Aerobee RTV-N-10b R-1D Véronique-NA |
The year 1954 saw the conception of Project Orbiter, the first practicable satellite launching project, utilizing the Redstone, a newly developed Short Range Ballistic Missile.
A variety of sounding rockets continued to return scientific data from beyond the 100 kilometres (62 mi) boundary of space (as defined by the World Air Sports Federation),[1] including the Viking and Aerobee rockets, University of Iowa and Naval Research Laboratory ship-launched rockoons, and derivatives of the Soviet R-1 missile. The French also launched their first sounding rocket into space, the Véronique-NA.
1954 also marked a year of development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The United States prioritized the development of its Atlas while the Soviet Union authorized the draft proposal for the R-7 Semyorka, its first ICBM.
- ^ Voosen, Paul (24 July 2018). "Outer space may have just gotten a bit closer". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aau8822. S2CID 126154837. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2019.