Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • yesterday
On July 24, 1950, the very first rocket to ever launch from Cape Canaveral blasted off into space.

The Bumper 2 was an experimental, two-stage rocket that could fly as high as 250 miles above the Earth. It was a V-2 missile base topped with a WAC Corporal rocket and launched under the direction of the General Electric Company. The mission's purpose was to test new rocket technologies and collect data about Earth's upper atmosphere.
Transcript
00:00On this day in space. In 1950, the very first rocket to ever launch from Cape
00:06Canaveral blasted off into space. The Bumper 2 was an experimental two-stage
00:11rocket that could fly as high as 250 miles above the Earth. It was topped with
00:15a V-2 missile base with a WAC Corporal rocket. It launched under the direction
00:19of the General Electric Company. At the time, NASA was not yet established. The
00:24mission's purpose was to test new rocket technologies and collect data about
00:27Earth's upper atmosphere. And that's what happened on this day in space.

Recommended