Home

    Rocketry

      History

      Rocket Equation

      Propulsion

      Build Your Own

    Orbits

    Technology

The V-2 Rocket was developed by the German military during WWII, thousands were launched against Allied targets despite heavy bombardment to launch and construction facilities. V-2 stands for Vergeltungswaffe 2 (Retaliation Weapon 2). The original German rockets were propelled with a mixture of ethanol as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. They were navigated by an onboard analog computer and a gyroscope, these controlled four tail fin rudders and four rudders at the exit of the engine. While the V-2 was originally developed for war time uses, after the war it became an invaluable research tool. Almost all major milestones in rocketry immediately after WWII were achieved by V-2 rockets recovered by Allies. Nearly every rocket since has been influenced by the design of the V-2.