V-2

A-4

Mission Profile

The V-2 (A-4) was a single-stage German ballistic missile in the Aggregat family, the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile and the first human-made object to reach space, developed under the Aggregat programme at Peenemünde. Standing 14 m tall with a 1.7 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 12.5 tonnes, it generated 270 kN of thrust from its ethanol/liquid oxygen engine. First flying successfully in October 1942, the V-2 was used as a weapon against Allied cities during World War II but its technology directly spawned the American and Soviet space programmes, making it the ancestor of virtually every modern rocket.