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Re: (meteorobs) OT Fwd: First object in space



Title: Re: (meteorobs) OT Fwd: First object in space
In this regard, some might find these pages of interest.
 
http://www.ufx.org/gfb/zwickoralhist.htm
 
http://www.ufx.org/gfb/chron.htm
 
(technical comments or corrections from experts are welcome - please contact me offlist)
 
Joel Carpenter
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ed Majden
To: meteorobs@atmob.org
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: (meteorobs) OT Fwd: First object in space

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Richardson
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.

References: