Bumper 5, launched February 24, 1949 |
|
| Function | Sounding rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Army Ballistic Missile Agency |
| Country of origin | Germany/United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 62 feet |
| Diameter | 5 feet, 5 inches |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | White Sands Proving Ground, Cape Canaveral |
| Total launches | 8 |
| Maiden flight | May 13, 1948 |
| Last flight | July 29, 1950 |
After a July 1946 suggestion by Colonel Holger N. Toftoy to combine the V-2 rocket and WAC Corporal, the US Bumper missile program was inaugurated on June 20, 1947:
Over-all responsibility for the Bumper program was given to the General Electric Company and were included in the Hermes project, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was assigned responsibility for the theoretical investigations required, the design of the second stage and basic design of the separation system. The Douglas Aircraft Company was assigned responsibility for fabrication of the second stage and detail design and fabrication of the special V-2 rocket parts required. The program was officially concluded in July 1950 after 8 launches.[1]
Six Bumper launches, as well as other V-2 test launches, were from White Sands Proving Grounds. In 1949, the Joint Long Range Proving Ground was established at Cape Canaveral on the east coast of Florida. The July 24, 1950 Bumper 8 launch became the first of hundreds of launches from "the Cape."[2]
| Rocket number | Time | Launch site | Pad | Maximum altitude (kilometres) | Remarks |
| 1948 | |||||
| Bumper 1 | May 13, 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 127.3 | Bumper 1 Premature cut-off of WAC 2nd stage |
| Bumper 2 | August 19, 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 13.4 | Bumper 2 First stage failed due to propellant flow interruption |
| Bumper 3 | September 30, 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 150.3 | Bumper 3 WAC stage failed |
| Bumper 4 | November 1, 1948 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 4.8 | Bumper 4 Explosion in tail of V-2 |
| 1949 | |||||
| Bumper 5 | February 24, 1949 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 393 | Successful flight. Separation of stages at 32.2 km |
| Bumper 6 | April 21, 1949 | White Sands | Pad 33 | 49.9 | Premature V-2 cut-off; WAC stage failed to fire |
| 1950 | |||||
| Bumper 8 | July 24, 1950 | Cape Canaveral | Pad 3 | 16.1 | Low-angle atmospheric flight over 320 km range. First rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. |
| Bumper 7 | July 29, 1950 | Cape Canaveral | 16.1 | Low-angle atmospheric flight over 320 km range | |