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Subject: Re: (meteorobs) OT Fwd: First
object in space
For those who might be interested i remember the following item which I
read as a kid in Sky and Telescope:
On October 16, 1957 the USAF
successfully launched pellets at a speed faster than 15 km/sec (some 3.5
km/sec faster than the velocity necessary to escape from the earth) with an
Aerobee rocket. The nose section of the rocket ascended to a height of 87 km
where shaped charges blasted the pellets into space. It is claimed that the
Superschmidt Telescope at Sacremento Peak photographed the trajectory with a
rotating shutter. These little metal pellets would therefore be the first
objects to be shot into interplanetary space, months before the first launch
to escape velocity (Luna 1, January 1959).
I posted a message to the
rec.aviation.military news group and asked a question about the altitudes
reached by V2 and A4 rockets fired at the UK during WWII. Apparently
the V2 reached altitudes of 50 to 60 miles before falling back to
earth. The A4, a later version of the V2 reached 97 km or around the
altitude where meteors become visible.
Ed Majden
Courtenay,
B.C.