Aug 16 1955

From The Space Library

First successful demonstration of Rockair technique (research rocket launched from aircraft) by ONR and University of Maryland team, a 2.75-inch FFAR rocket fired from a Navy F2H-2 aircraft to an altitude of approximately 180,000 feet. Rockair technique first suggested by Hermann Oberth (1929) and others.

Army Hawk missile first fired, at WSPG.

A conference held at the Hayden Planetarium in New York featured a group of scientists who urged the building and flight of an earth orbiting satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year. Attendees included Homer Newell, Kurt Stehling, and Krafft Ehricke.