Function Sounding rocket Height 62 feet (19 m) | Country of origin Germany/United States Status Retired | |
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Manufacturer Army Ballistic Missile Agency Diameter 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) | ||
The RTV-G-4 Bumper was a rocket built by the United States. It was a combination of the V-2 rocket and WAC Corporal sounding rocket and was used to study problems pertaining to two-stage, high-speed rockets. Eight rockets were launched during the Bumper program between May 13, 1948 to July 29, 1950. While the first six flights were conducted in White Sands, the seventh launch – Bumper 8 on July 24, 1950 – became the first ever rocket to be launched from Cape Canaveral.
Bumper program
The Bumper Program was conceived in July 1946 by Colonel Holger N. Toftoy. It was inaugurated on June 20, 1947 to do the following:
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 responsibility for the theoretical investigations required, 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.
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 Air Force Station on the east coast of Florida. The July 24, 1950 Bumper 8 launch became the first of hundreds of launches from "the Cape".