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RTV-G-4 Bumper
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RTV-G-4 Bumper
The RTV-G-4 Bumper was a sounding rocket built by the United States. A combination of the German V-2 rocket and the WAC Corporal sounding rocket, it was used to study problems pertaining to two-stage high-speed rockets. The Bumper program launched eight rockets between May 13, 1948 and July 29, 1950. The first six flights were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range; the seventh launch, Bumper 8 on July 24, 1950, was the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.
The Bumper program to produce and launch a two-stage combination of the V-2 and WAC Corporal rockets was conceived in July 1946 by Colonel Holger N. Toftoy. Both the WAC Corporal and the V-2 had been extensively tested at White Sands Proving Grounds, the WAC Corporal's launch series occurring in late 1945/early 1946 and the V-2 launches beginning March 15, 1946.
Bumper was started on June 20, 1947, to:
Bumper employed the V-2 as first stage and the WAC Corporal as second stage. In a typical flight, the V-2 engine would fire first, taking the Bumper combination to an altitude of 20 mi (32 km), at which point the WAC Corporal would be released under its own power. This separation occurred before V-2 Brennschluss (engine cutoff) to ensure that the WAC Corporal had a stable, actively controlled platform to lift off from, and also so that the V-2 would impart close to maximum possible speed to the Bumper's second stage. The V-2 rocket had a maximum altitude of around 100 mi (160 km), while the WAC Corporal without its solid rocket booster, had a theoretical maximum altitude of 25 mi (40 km) (43.5 mi (70.0 km) with). Together, Bumper could reach altitudes of more than twice those attainable by the V-2 alone.
Engineering and limited scientific results (for instance, air resistance at high altitude determined by the rocket's trajectory) would be obtained from the 25 lb (11 kg) telemetry payload carried by the WAC Corporal second stage. Though the Bumper program was not, itself, a secret, aspects of it were classified, particularly the way the WAC Corporal was fitted into the nose of the V-2.
Overall responsibility for the Bumper program was given to the General Electric Company and was included in the Hermes project. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was assigned to perform the theoretical investigations required, design the second stage, and create the basic design of the separation system. The Douglas Aircraft Company was assigned to fabricate the second stage, and do detailed design and fabrication of the special V-2 rocket parts required.
No German engineers were directly involved with Project Bumper, though some worked on the initial studies regarding the mating of the V-2 and WAC corporal. Two women, Mary Taggard and Bea Sylvester, were on the Bumper team providing rocket (but not launch) support.
Six Bumper launches were made from White Sands Proving Grounds. The first four, launched in 1947/48 were test flights of varying degrees of success. The first fully successful Bumper flight was the fifth in the series, launched at 3:14 P.M. (MST), February 24, 1949.
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RTV-G-4 Bumper
The RTV-G-4 Bumper was a sounding rocket built by the United States. A combination of the German V-2 rocket and the WAC Corporal sounding rocket, it was used to study problems pertaining to two-stage high-speed rockets. The Bumper program launched eight rockets between May 13, 1948 and July 29, 1950. The first six flights were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range; the seventh launch, Bumper 8 on July 24, 1950, was the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.
The Bumper program to produce and launch a two-stage combination of the V-2 and WAC Corporal rockets was conceived in July 1946 by Colonel Holger N. Toftoy. Both the WAC Corporal and the V-2 had been extensively tested at White Sands Proving Grounds, the WAC Corporal's launch series occurring in late 1945/early 1946 and the V-2 launches beginning March 15, 1946.
Bumper was started on June 20, 1947, to:
Bumper employed the V-2 as first stage and the WAC Corporal as second stage. In a typical flight, the V-2 engine would fire first, taking the Bumper combination to an altitude of 20 mi (32 km), at which point the WAC Corporal would be released under its own power. This separation occurred before V-2 Brennschluss (engine cutoff) to ensure that the WAC Corporal had a stable, actively controlled platform to lift off from, and also so that the V-2 would impart close to maximum possible speed to the Bumper's second stage. The V-2 rocket had a maximum altitude of around 100 mi (160 km), while the WAC Corporal without its solid rocket booster, had a theoretical maximum altitude of 25 mi (40 km) (43.5 mi (70.0 km) with). Together, Bumper could reach altitudes of more than twice those attainable by the V-2 alone.
Engineering and limited scientific results (for instance, air resistance at high altitude determined by the rocket's trajectory) would be obtained from the 25 lb (11 kg) telemetry payload carried by the WAC Corporal second stage. Though the Bumper program was not, itself, a secret, aspects of it were classified, particularly the way the WAC Corporal was fitted into the nose of the V-2.
Overall responsibility for the Bumper program was given to the General Electric Company and was included in the Hermes project. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was assigned to perform the theoretical investigations required, design the second stage, and create the basic design of the separation system. The Douglas Aircraft Company was assigned to fabricate the second stage, and do detailed design and fabrication of the special V-2 rocket parts required.
No German engineers were directly involved with Project Bumper, though some worked on the initial studies regarding the mating of the V-2 and WAC corporal. Two women, Mary Taggard and Bea Sylvester, were on the Bumper team providing rocket (but not launch) support.
Six Bumper launches were made from White Sands Proving Grounds. The first four, launched in 1947/48 were test flights of varying degrees of success. The first fully successful Bumper flight was the fifth in the series, launched at 3:14 P.M. (MST), February 24, 1949.
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