V-2 Rocket
The V-2 rocket was the world’s first long-range guided missile. It was developed as a retaliatory weapon which was used by the Germans near the end of the war as a last-ditch effort to turn the tide in their favor. The rockets were built by prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp, many of them having been taken from other camps because they possessed certain skills like welding. These prisoners were forced to work around the clock on the rocket and many ended up killed for attempting to sabotage it.
The rocket had one of the most powerful motors of the time as it was able to take the rocket 50 miles high and on a trajectory of 120 miles. It was fueled by liquid ethanol and oxygen and it was unlike anything that had ever been seen before. It was able to target cities and arrive in a matter of minutes, silently causing massive destruction. It was not only the size and power that made the V-2 a marvel of engineering but also the automatic guidance system. It was able to self-adjust while in the air to ensure that it hit its target. It was used as a devastating weapon but the technology had far greater implications. When the war ended, there was a rush by the Allied powers to do whatever it took to get their hands on the technology of the V-2 rocket. This led the rocket’s developer Wernher von Braun (who had no desire to work for Stalin) to surrender to the Americans. The Russians may not have gotten von Braun but they did get a V-2 factory and test range.
Wernher von Braun got right to work developing an intercontinental ballistic missile for the U.S. But the U.S. also provided another opportunity and that was to use his technology to reach space. When Alan Shepard became the first astronaut in space he did so in a spaceship that was based off the missile that Wernher had developed for the U.S. military.