V-2 rocket engine on a test stand,Peenemunde,Usedom Island,Germany. The V-2 rocket,developed by Wernher von Braun,was,in October 1942,the first manmade object to enter space. It was used as an offensive weapon by Nazi Germany. The engine used ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen fuel,which were pumped to a thrust chamber using rotary pumps,driven by a steam turbine. The resulting reaction propelled it to a speed of 1300 metres per second and a height of 97 kilometres. The rocket would only burn for around 60 seconds,with the A4 acting as a supersonic projectile for the rest of the flight |