Bumper (Rakete)
Start einer Bumper-Rakete
Bumper (auch RTV-G-4 genannt) ist die Bezeichnung einer A4-Rakete mit aufgesetzter WAC-Corporal-Rakete. Sie wurde am 24. Februar 1949 erstmals erfolgreich gestartet. Ihre Gipfelhöhe betrug 400 km.
Bei der Bumper handelte es sich um die erste mehrstufige Rakete mit flüssigen Treibstoffen. Die erste Stufe war eine modifizierte A4-Rakete, die gegen Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges in Deutschland erbeutet wurde, während die zweite Stufe eine modifizierte Version der amerikanischen WAC-Rakete war. Insgesamt wurde die Bumper sechsmal von der White Sands Missile Range und zweimal von Cape Canaveral aus gestartet. Von den acht Versuchen gelangen allerdings nur drei. Dabei wurden sowohl Höhen- als auch Geschwindigkeitsrekorde aufgestellt:
- 24. Februar 1949: Höhenrekord: 403 km
- 29. Juli 1950: Geschwindigkeitsrekord: 5260 km/h
Start von Bumper 8
Flüge der Bumper-Rakete
| Raketennummer | Startdatum | Startplatz | Pad | Maximale Höhe | Bemerkung |
| 1948 | |||||
| Bumper 1 | 13. Mai 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 127,3 km | Vorzeitiger Brennschluss der WAC-Rakete |
| Bumper 2 | 19. August 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 13,4 km | Versagen der ersten Stufe aufgrund der Unterbrechung des Treibstoffzuflusses |
| Bumper 3 | 30. September 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 150,3 km | Versagen der WAC-Rakete |
| Bumper 4 | 1. November 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 4,8 km | Explosion im Heck der A4 |
| 1949 | |||||
| Bumper 5 | 24. Februar 1949 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 403 km[1] | Erster erfolgreicher Flug, Stufentrennung in 35 km Höhe |
| Bumper 6 | 21. April 1949 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 49,9 km | Vorzeitiger Brennschluss der A4, keine Zündung der WAC-Rakete |
| 1950 | |||||
| Bumper 8 | 24. Juli 1950 | Cape Canaveral | Pad 3 | 16,1 km | Weitstreckenflug über 320 km, erster Raketenstart von Cape Canaveral aus |
| Bumper 7 | 29. Juli 1950 | Cape Canaveral | 16,1 km | Weitstreckenflug über 320 km | |
Siehe auch
Weblinks
- Erster Raketenstart von Cape Canaveral – Astronomy Picture of the Day vom 1. Oktober 2008.
- http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/rtv-g-4.html
Einzelnachweise
- ↑ Heinz v. Diringshofen, Rolf Engel: Raumfahrtforschung. 1. Januar 1952, doi:10.1515/9783486778755.
Auf dieser Seite verwendete Medien
Bumper.jpg
On February 24, 1949 a high altitude test vehicle called BumperWAC launched from White Sands Proving Ground. It reached arecord altitude of two hundred and fifty miles- the "firstrecorded man-made object to reach extraterrestrial space." Thisrecord held until 1957. Its first stage was a V-2 (German A-4)rocket, the warhead replaced by a launching compartment. Afterthe V-2 shut down, there was a high altitude "bump," whichprovided the name for the rocket. The photo shows the secondstage, a modified WAC Corporal sounding rocket, mounted in thenose cone. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible fordesign study, development, and testing of the Bumper WAC incooperation with General Electric and Douglas Aircraft, for theArmy Ordnance Department. Bumper WAC was the world's first largetwo-stage liquid propellant rocket.
On February 24, 1949 a high altitude test vehicle called BumperWAC launched from White Sands Proving Ground. It reached arecord altitude of two hundred and fifty miles- the "firstrecorded man-made object to reach extraterrestrial space." Thisrecord held until 1957. Its first stage was a V-2 (German A-4)rocket, the warhead replaced by a launching compartment. Afterthe V-2 shut down, there was a high altitude "bump," whichprovided the name for the rocket. The photo shows the secondstage, a modified WAC Corporal sounding rocket, mounted in thenose cone. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible fordesign study, development, and testing of the Bumper WAC incooperation with General Electric and Douglas Aircraft, for theArmy Ordnance Department. Bumper WAC was the world's first largetwo-stage liquid propellant rocket.
Bumper8 launch-GPN-2000-000613.jpg
A new chapter in space flight began in July 1950 with the launch of the first rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida: the Bumper 8. Shown above, Bumper 8 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 flown many years later. Launched under the direction of the General Electric Company, the Bumper Project was used primarily for testing rocket systems and for research on the upper atmosphere. Bumper 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 and launched Explorer 1.
A new chapter in space flight began in July 1950 with the launch of the first rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida: the Bumper 8. Shown above, Bumper 8 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 flown many years later. Launched under the direction of the General Electric Company, the Bumper Project was used primarily for testing rocket systems and for research on the upper atmosphere. Bumper 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 and launched Explorer 1.