While Germany's V-2 rocket was a terrifying weapon used during World War II, it also ushered in what eventually became the Space Race.

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Still, the V-2 could fly a parabolic mission to space. In fact, British researchers had noted that the V-2 rocket was almost large enough to carry a man in a small capsule.

True north This launcher is about to displace the V-2 as Germany’s largest rocket Isar Aerospace's first Spectrum rocket will launch from Andøya Spaceport in Norway.

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Such finds are rare, as there was usually nothing left of a V-2: The ballistic missiles struck the ground at twice the speed of sound.

One of the last V-2 missile strikes was on the apartments of Hughes Mansions in East London on March 27, 1945. The attack killed 134 people and seriously injured 49.

In the second of two features, BBC News Online looks at the legacy of the V-2 rocket - how the Americans and the Soviets raced to exploit the German technology and expertise they had captured at the ...