Bumper: The story behind
the first launches from the Cape
Question Board

Below are all of the questions submitted to the Bumper question board from around the globe. Questions marked with a green bullet were selected to be answered by our experts during the KSC Direct! webcast.

Each question submitted undergoes a screening process by the KSC Direct! chat moderator. Questions are reviewed and edited for grammar and spelling, then posted to the KSC Direct!

Harold from Boston Was there a lot out at Cape Canaveral during the launch of Bumper Carl from Columbus, OH Was Cape Canaveral used mostly as a missile testing site in the 1950's? Jim from Ft. Worth Was Bumper top secret? If it was NOT classified, did the public know it was going on, or was it just a little-known military program? Bill from Cocoa For Norris Gray: What was one of your more "unusual duties" that you performed in support of a Bumper launch? Sarah from Melbourne, FL Just how close were you to the Bumper as it launched? Did you have to wear special headphones to protect your hearing? tampanga from rose bud What was the first NASA project and the second project? coddy stieve from Pequot Lakes What countries were involved? Jode from Wasilla What was the primary fuel of the rocket, and were you concerned about it blowing up? Jon from Ames What was the most spectacular mishap of the Bumper program? Kaylee from Rose Bud What is the bumper project? kaylee from Rose bud What is the Bumper program all about? James from Vancouver, WA How did the video of the Cape lighthouse taking off like a rocket come about? James from Vancouver, WA When visiting the KSC lighthouse recently I don't remember a launch stand nearby. Where exactly was Bumper launched from? Steve from New ORleans Was Goddard's experiments with rockets helpful for the Bumper program? David from Bethesda VA What altitudes did the Bumper 8 reach? Did it have multiple stages? What was the payload? Otis from Little Rock, Ar How old was the V-2 rocket that launched the WAC Corporal? Alex Herrmann from Trang/Thailand I saw the broadcast about the modified German V8 Rocket. To my knowledge the Germans launched a man from their Space Center close to the Autobahn Stuttgart-Manheim before 1945. The rocket reached the clouds, unexpectedly turned round and unfortunatly crashed with more than 800km/h into the ground. Was there a similar launch with a human aboard with the modified American V2 Rocket? Cletus from Mims What was the biggest challenge (technical or personnel-related) encoutered during the Bumper program? Robert from Oslo, Norway What are the main differences between these early rockets and the ones used today? Claus from Huntsville If it was the Army that launched Bumper, why is NASA claiming this as their work? Gundolf from Dusseldorf Were German engineers involved in the Bumper program and if yes what were their responsibilities? Bob from Atlanta When you participated in the first Bumper launch, did you think then that the rocket & space program would develop into what we have today? Eckart from Bellevue What were the liquid rocket propellants used in the WAC Corporal used as second stage on Bumper? Gabrielle from Orlando, FL For Mrs. Bain, where there many women involved in the Bumper program?