First Cape Canaveral rocket launch (C026/4194) Tapestry

First Cape Canaveral rocket launch. Launch of the Bumper 8 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. This was the first launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral and was the beginning of a new chapter in space flight. Bumper 8 was an ambitious two-stage rocket program that topped a V-2 missile base with a WAC Corporal rocket. The upper stage was able to reach then-record altitudes of almost 400 km, which is higher than even modern Space Shuttles fly. Launched under the direction of the General Electric Company, the Bumper Project was used primarily for testing rocket systems and for research on the upper atmosphere. Photographed on 24th July 1950.