First photograph of Earth: How a WWII rocket made history
The first photograph of our planet taken from outer space dates back to 1946, when the Americans utilised a captured German V2 rocket from the Second World War.
At the end of World War II, the United States acquired various German weapons technologies, including V2 rockets. These rockets were part of the American space programme from 1946 to 1951. A total of 67 rockets were launched as part of this programme.
The first construction that reached outer space
On October 24, 1946, the V2 rocket became the first human-made object to reach outer space, reaching an altitude of about 105 kilometres. Onboard was a 35 mm camera that captured the first images of Earth.
Although the rocket did not return to Earth in one piece and hit the planet's surface at a speed of 550 km/h, the film with valuable images survived, currently serving as the oldest preserved picture of our planet from space.
The camera was saved by a steel case
Michael Neufeld, associated with Washington's National Air and Space Museum, emphasises that the achievement in 1946 was impressive. According to the portal Interesting Engineering, placing the camera in a steel case allowed it to survive the intense impact.
Neufeld explains that the lack of parachutes on V2 rockets meant that the American military was not certain about the success of each mission. In early V2 tests, equipment was mounted in armoured casings in the hope that it would withstand the Earth's impact at high speeds.
Let's add that the mentioned V2 rocket, developed by the Third Reich, entered service in 1944. Its length reached nearly 15 metres, while the diameter slightly exceeded 1.5 metres, with a wingspan of 3.6 metres. It was powered by a single-stage liquid-fuelled engine generating a thrust of 24,300 kilograms-force, propelling the construction to supersonic speeds in 80 seconds. The maximum speed of the V2 reached 5,500 km/h.
