MW 18014

MW 18014
Mission typeTest launch
OperatorWehrmacht
Apogee176 km (109 miles)[1][2]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMW 18014
Spacecraft typeA-4/V-2[nb 1]
ManufacturerMittelwerk GmbH
Launch mass12,500 kg
Start of mission
Launch date20 June 1944
Launch sitePeenemünde Army Research Center
End of mission
DisposalImpact
Destroyed20 June 1944

MW 18014 was a German A-4 test rocket[nb 1] launched on 20 June 1944,[1][2][3] at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde. It was the first human-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apogee of 176 kilometres (109 mi), well above the Kármán line that was established later as the lowest altitude of space.[4] It was a vertical test launch, and was not intended to reach orbital velocity, so it returned and impacted Earth, making it the first sub-orbital spaceflight.

  1. ^ a b M.P. Milazzo; L. Kestay; C. Dundas; U.S. Geological Survey (2017). "The Challenge for 2050: Cohesive Analysis of More Than One Hundred Years of Planetary Data" (PDF). Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop. 1989. Planetary Science Division, NASA: 8070. Bibcode:2017LPICo1989.8070M. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  2. ^ a b Bright, Michael; Sarosh, Chloe (2019). Earth from Space. Introduction: Ebury Publishing. ISBN 9781473531604. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Peenemuende". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2005-04-25. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  4. ^ Williams, Matt (2016-09-16). "How high is space?". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-05-14.


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