V-2 rocket

The V-2 was a German long-range ballistic missile developed during World War II. It was the first human-made object to cross the Kármán line, reaching the edge of space on a suborbital flight.

Liquid-propellant rocket engine: A rocket engine that burns fuel and oxidizer stored as liquids. The V-2’s pump-fed engine burned liquid oxygen and alcohol to generate thrust.
Peenemünde Army Research Center: A German military rocket-development site on the Baltic coast, active during World War II. Its laboratories and test stands hosted the V-2’s design and flight development.
Arthur Rudolph: A German engineer who managed V-2 production and later worked on American launch vehicles. He oversaw production at Mittelwerk and became a prominent postwar spaceflight engineer.
London V-2 attacks: German V-2 missile strikes against London, beginning in September 1944. These attacks showed the missile’s ability to strike cities without warning.
V-1 flying bomb: A German pulsejet-powered cruise missile used against Britain during World War II. Unlike the V-2’s ballistic flight, the V-1 flew through the atmosphere under sustained propulsion.
Turbopump: A high-speed pump that delivers propellants into a rocket engine’s combustion chamber. The V-2 used a steam-driven turbopump to feed propellants under pressure.
Aggregate program: A German wartime program that developed large liquid-fueled ballistic rockets, including the A-4. The V-2 was operationally designated A-4 within this development program.
Helmut Gröttrup: A German rocket engineer who worked on V-2 guidance and later led Soviet-held German specialists. His guidance expertise connected the wartime missile program to Soviet postwar work.
Mittelwerk: An underground German factory where concentration-camp prisoners assembled V-2 rockets. Its production depended on forced labor and caused thousands of prisoner deaths.
A-9/A-10 rocket: A proposed German two-stage missile concept intended to extend the A-4’s range across the Atlantic. It remained a largely unrealized proposal, unlike the V-2’s operational deployment.

Linked from 20 pages