A half-century ago today — July 24, 1950 — the U.S. conducted its first Cape Canaveral launch.
(Bumper-8 launch. NASA image. Note how close the people are to the launch pad, and the gantry that looks like standard construction scaffolding.)
The rocket was called a Bumper, and consisted of a single-stage V-2 rocket with a Wac Corporal rocket installed as a second stage. Several Bumper vehicles had been successfully launched from the White Sands Missile Range, but this was the first-ever launch from Cape Canaveral.
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