Army Ordnance initiated Bumper Project for development leading to a two-stage rocket test vehicle, which resulted in use of JPL WAC Corporal as second stage of a V-2. References: 17 .

Reaction Motors began design and development of rocket engine for the Navy Viking sounding rocket. References: 17 .

First of three XS-1 (later X-1) rocket research airplanes moved from Bell Aircraft's Niagara Falls plant to Muroc, Calif. References: 17 .

Launched 11:02 local time. Reached 174.2 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, pressure, temperature, biological experiments for Naval Research Lab.

Bell flight 1. Glide flight, pilot familiarization. References: 49 , 97 .

Bell flight 2. Glide flight. References: 49 , 97 .

Bell flight 3. Glide flight, small check. References: 49 , 97 .

Soviet director was A Ya Berznyak, and chief designer was German engineer Hans Roessing. OKB-2 was tasked with continued development and flight of the German supersonic DFS 8-346 rocket reconnaissance aircraft.

In overnight roundup, 20,000 Germans transported to USSR to transfer technology on aerospace and other technical fields. References: 86 .

Launched 12:18 local time. Reached 104.8 km. Carried cosmic and soalr radiaiton, winds, photography experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University. The John Hopkins camera took motion pictures of the earth at over 100 km altitude (pictures covered 100,000 square km.)

Launched 13:31 local time. Reached 0.3 km. Carried cosmic radiation experiments for Palmer Physics Lab, Princeton University.

Launched 10:00 local time. Reached 101.6 km. Carried pressure, temperature, ionosphere, sky brightness experiments for Air Research and Development Command.

The NII-1 NKAP research institute was formed with Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh as its head to investigate and develop the German Saenger-Bredt design. It was clear from the preliminary study that an immense amount of work needed to be done before a draft project of a feasible design could be prepared - it would take until the mid-1950's.

Bell flight 4. Glide flight, check of fuel-jettison system. References: 49 , 97 .

Launched 13:08 local time. Reached 153.2 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, pressure, temperature, photo experiments for Naval Research Lab.

First successful powered (RMI XLR-11 rocket engine) flight of an XS-1, flown by Chalmers Goodlin, Bell test pilot, reached a speed of 550 mph. This was first U.S. aircraft designed for supersonic speeds. References: 17 .

Bell flight 5. First XS-1 powered flight. Mach 0.79 at 10675 m. Minor engine fire. At Edwards AFB, California. References: 49 , 97 .

Launched 22:18 local time. Reached 183.9 km. Carried cosmic radiation, meteorites; biological (National Institute of Health) experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University.

Bell flight 6. Familiarization powered flight. References: 49 , 97 .