1944年6月20日,一枚编号为MW 18014的科学试验导弹升空。导弹没有按照通常的弹道飞行,而是一直竖直向上,直至飞到176千米的太空。
按照国际航空联合会的规定,地面以上100千米的地方为卡门线(为纪念钱学森的导师,JPL的首任主任冯·卡门博士)。超过卡门线再往上即为太空。
这枚没有装弹头的V-2成了飞到太空的第一枚火箭,并完美地完成了一次亚轨道飞行。
MW 18014 was a German V-2 rocket test launch that took place on 20 June 1944,[1] at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde. It was the first man-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apoapsis of 176 kilometers, which is above the Kármán line[2] (the currently accepted boundary of Earth's atmosphere, at 100 km above the surface). It was a vertical test launch. Although it reached space, it was a sub-orbital spaceflight and therefore returned to Earth in an impact.