When was MW 18014 launched?
MW 18014 launched on the 20th of June 1944 from the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde. It was a German A-4 test rocket flown on a vertical trajectory rather than toward orbit.
Questions about MW 18014
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How high did MW 18014 fly?
MW 18014 reached an apogee of 176 kilometers, well above the 100-kilometer Kármán line that was later defined as the boundary of outer space. It then fell back to Earth rather than achieving orbital velocity.
Why is MW 18014 called the first spaceflight?
MW 18014 is considered the first sub-orbital spaceflight and the first human-made object to reach outer space, because its climb carried it above the Kármán line. It never reached orbital velocity, so it returned and impacted Earth.
What reliability problems did the A-4 rocket have before MW 18014?
Early A-4 rockets could reach only about 90 kilometers and suffered a design fault in the forward part of the outer hull that caused frequent mid-flight failures. As many as 70 percent of test launches failed, and one rocket suffering pogo oscillations veered off course and killed four launch troops when it crashed back into its own pit.
Who was Wernher von Braun and what happened to him during the A-4 program?
Wernher von Braun was the technical director of the A-4 rocket program at Peenemünde. He was detained for two weeks starting on the 15th of March 1944, one of several disruptions that also included Allied raids under Operation Hydra and attempts to privatize the program in June 1944.
Did MW 18014's altitude record last?
No, MW 18014's altitude record did not last. A later A-4, also called a V-2, launched in the same June 1944 test series and reached 189 kilometers, though the exact date of that flight was never recorded.