ROCKETS, MISSILES, & LAUNCH VEHICLES A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z                    HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site Bumper WAC The world’s first two-stage liquid-propellant rocket and the first human-made object to achieve hypersonic speeds. Bumper WAC was a 19-meter-long, 1.9-meter-diameter marriage of the German V-2 and the liquid-propellant stage of the United States Army WAC Corporal. The WAC Corporal remained atop the nose of the V-2 for the first minute of flight. Then the V-2 shut down, having provided a high altitude "bump" for the second stage. Eight Bumper-WACs were built. The first six were launched from the White Sands Proving Ground starting on May 13, 1948, and the last two from Cape Canaveral (the first flights from the fledgling missile testing grounds). In 1949 the fifth flight of a Bumper WAC reached an altitude of 390 km, a record that stood until 1957. Although the missile was tracked by radar for most of its flight, more than a year passed before the smashed body section was located. The program was officially concluded in July 1950. The idea for the vehicle, capable of testing two-stage technology, reaching higher altitudes than ever before, and carrying out new upper atmosphere research, was put forward in July 1946 by Holger N. Toftoy, then Colonel, chief of the Research and Development Division, Office of the Chief of Ordnance. On June 20, 1947, the Bumper Program was inaugurated with overall responsibility being given to the General Electric Company. JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) carried out the necessary theoretical investigations, design of the second stage, and basic design of the separation system. The Douglas Aircraft Company was assigned responsibility for detail design, building the second stage, and making the special V-2 parts required. In the final design, the powder rocket booster normally used to launch the WAC Corporal was dispensed with. This was in order to limit the size of the combination missile and allow the smaller rocket to fit as deeply as possible into the V-2, yet retain enough space in the instrument compartment of the V-2 for housing the guidance equipment. Also fitted within the instrument section were the guide-rails and expulsion cylinders used as a launcher for the WAC Corporal. Related categories    • ROCKETS, MISSILES, AND LAUNCH VEHICLES    • HISTORY OF ROCKETRY Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP