Evoluția istorică a vehiculelor spațiale: de la Sputnik la mecarile spațiale

Autor / Editor: Eren Yalçın•12 October 2026

✓ Editorially Verified

The first spacecraft was the German V-2 rocket, launched from Peenemünde, East Prussia (now in Germany) in June 1944. Although other flights reached higher altitudes, the V-2 rocket tests in the 1940s reached altitudes above 100 km, which is considered by the International Aviation Federation to be the beginning of spaceflight, and is known as the Karman line.

The second human space vehicle to be named Freedom 7 was launched on 5 May 1961, during an orbital flight, carrying American astronaut Alan Shepard to an altitude of about 187 km. Five more manned space missions were carried out using the Mercury spacecraft.