Bumper Project

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The Bumper Project was an experimental United States rocket program that ran from 1947 to 1950 with 8 launches. This program was used to test two stage rockets. The first stage used captured German V-2 rockets; the second stage was a U.S. designed Wac Corporal.

The first launch (Bumper 1) took place at White Sands Proving Grounds on May 15, 1948 and reached an altitude of 79.1 miles. On 24 February 1949 Bumper 5 reached a then-record altitude of 400 km (250 miles) and a velocity of 8290 km/h (5150 mph). It carried a payload that measured atmospheric temperature. Bumper 8 was the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral. It was launched on July 24, 1950, followed five days later by Bumper 7. Neither launch was fully successful, but Bumper 7 set a speed record of 9112 km/h (8,213 feet per second or 2503 m/s.)