MW 18014

MW 18014
Mission typeTest launch
OperatorWehrmacht
Apogee176 km (109 miles)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMW 18014
Spacecraft typeA-4/V-2
ManufacturerMittelwerk GmbH
Launch mass12,500 kg
Start of mission
Launch date20 June 1944
Launch sitePeenemünde Army Research Center
End of mission
DisposalImpact
Destroyed20 June 1944

MW 18014 was a German A-4 test rocket launched on 20 June 1944, at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde. It was the first man-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apogee of 176 kilometres (109 mi), well above the Kármán line that was established later as the lowest altitude of space. It was a vertical test launch, and was not intended to reach orbital velocity, so it returned and impacted Earth, making it the first sub-orbital spaceflight.