NASA 1945 Hermes A-1 Launch 9401909.jpg

http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000063.html
The first Hermes A-1 test rocket was fired at White Sand Proving Ground
(WSPG). Hermes was a modified V-2 German rocket, utilizing the German
aerodynamic configuration; however, internally it was a completely new
design. Although it did not result in an operational vehicle, the
information that was gathered in the process contributed directly to the
development of the Redstone rocket.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket
The Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V-2) ("Reprisal weapon 2" Propaganda name given by
Joseph Goebbels) , also known, in the Development Process as the A4
(Aggregat 1-4), was the first ballistic missile.[1][2] It was used by the
German Army primarily against Belgian and British targets during the later
stages of World War II. The V-2 was the first man-made object launched into
space, during test flights that reached an altitude of 189 km (117 miles) in
1944.[3] It was the progenitor of the space race, which ultimately put men
on the moon, and resulted in probes that have now left our solar system (see
Voyager program).
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