 Modern missiles with their impressive capabilities are a technological achievement that has come along within the short space of the last 50 years. It was 1926 when Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the father of rocketry, fired the first liquid fuel rocket and thus demonstrated the techniques that later put man on the moon. His achievement at that time caused barely a ripple of interest in the United States. Seven years later in 1933, during their air power buildup, the Germans began secret experiments with liquid fuel as a propellant for military missiles. By 1939, German air power was ready and the shadow of World War II fell on Europe. By 1944, the extent of German rocket development became apparent when they unleashed the results of their liquid fuel missile experiments, the V-2, a non-air-breathing ballistic missile. It traveled 3,300 miles an hour, unseen and unexpected, and created terror throughout southeastern England. U.S. and British bombers countered the V-1 and V-2 attacks by attacking the missile's production facilities and launch sites. Immediately after World War II, the Air Force concentrated its strategic capability mainly on long-range bombers such as the B-36, the B-47, and the B-52. But concentration on the bomber program did not obscure the historical significance of the V-2 research. Extensive work was accomplished during World War II with the result that by 1945-1946, the Air Force began contracting for studies on ballistic missiles. Even with missile studies well underway, Congress in 1947 reduced military funding. Because of the cutback, the Air Force elected to curtail ballistic missile investigations from 1947 through 1951. However, despite the slowdown, the U.S. Army continued its project bumper and in 1949 paved the way for later space probes and intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles by launching the first two-stage liquid propellant missile. The vehicle, a combination of a first-stage V-2 and a second-stage white corporal, reached a record altitude of about 250 miles. During the late 40s, the Air Force began experimenting with subsonic, air-breathing rocket-boosted cruise missiles, such as the TM-61 Matador. The first experimental Matador flight was in 1949. It soon became the first U.S. Air Force tactical missile. The mace then appeared as a follow-on vehicle to the Matador. It was a low-level attack missile. In 1946, development began on the SNARK, an air-breathing intercontinental rocket-boosted missile. Planned as a long-range subsonic weapon, the SNARK eventually became a stopgap until intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs became available. Tests with the SNARK began in 1950 and continued through 5,000-mile flights in the late 1950s. Also in 1946, development began on the Navajo supersonic cruise missile system, which used rocket boosters for launch. Before it ended in 1957, the program provided abundant research information and usable systems for both the Army and Air Force ballistic missile programs. By 1951, with the assurance of added funding, the Air Force awarded Convair Corporation a contract for limited development of the Atlas missile. In the early 1950s, a technological breakthrough made lighter, smaller, more powerful nuclear warheads possible. To launch an existing warhead would have required an ICBM so large that the technology of the time could not produce the required engine. The Air Force assigned the highest priority to the development of smaller, more powerful nuclear weapons and began one of the most ambitious military projects ever undertaken in the U.S. In July 1954, the Western Development Division was established to control the entire ballistic missile research and development program. During 1955, simultaneously with the Atlas program, development of the Thor intermediate range ballistic missile began. And by 1956, development began on another ICBM, the Titan missile. An interesting aspect of the three development programs was the closely coordinated test data for equipment and flight. Much of the equipment was either identical, interchangeable, or similar. By 1958, the Air Force was able to begin construction of operational liquid-propellant ballistic missiles. But the missile development program did not stop. It began immediately on the advanced three-stage Minuteman missile. Although the range of the Minuteman was similar to that of the Atlas and Titan, it was a simplified lower-cost missile. It became the first solid-propellant strategic missile in the Air Force. The Air Force also gained expertise in missile launch techniques. Modern installation at Patrick Air Force Base on the Atlantic Coast and Vandenberg Air Force Base on the Pacific Coast are monuments to aerospace missile boost and launch technology. The land-based nuclear missile deterrent role was assigned to the Strategic Air Command as early as 1957. This capability, once fully developed and combined with the formidable B-52 intercontinental bombers, gave the Air Force the world's major nuclear deterrent force. It became a prime element in the Triad, a combined force composed of ICBM missiles, manned bombers, and the underwater sea-launched solid-propellant Polaris and Poseidon missiles developed by the U.S. Navy. This missile and bomber retaliatory force will be maintained for the future with the addition of advanced missiles and supersonic bombers. Nuclear events proved the wisdom of a deterrent force concept during the Cuban crisis of 1962. On October 14, 1962, aerial reconnaissance photography revealed indisputable evidence that the Soviets, despite strong official denials, were providing the Cuban government with an offensive nuclear missile and aircraft force capable of striking every nation in the Western Hemisphere. On October 22, eight days after the discovery, President John Kennedy drew the line with the Soviet government. He said, retaliatory response against the Soviet Union will immediately follow any attack against the Western Hemisphere. The Cuban situation reached crisis level. As the president spoke, U.S. forces throughout the free world rapidly moved to alert status. The strategic, air defense, and tactical air commands dispersed aircraft to assure survival and the ability to retaliate against nuclear attack. The Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Military Air Transport Service quickly responded to provide support. It was the fastest mobilization ever imposed on U.S. military forces. Airborne radar maintained a constant vigil in sensitive areas. The Navy quarantined waters around Cuba. Army troops were quickly moved to Florida bases. The message to the Soviet Union was loud and clear. Either remove the missiles and bombers from Cuba, or the United States will take the steps necessary to remove them. On the 28th of October, following the presidential ultimatum, the Soviets accepted America's position and the Cuban crisis began to subside. It lasted less than one month. When the tremendous potential of missile technology was recognized back in the late 1950s, the prospect of putting man in space became a realistic possibility. The Air Force made its vast experience in booster development and launch technology available to the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base placed emphasis on investigations of the hostile environment of space and its effects on man. They started with the chimpanzee and the rhesus monkey, and progressed to advanced testing programs to provide man's ability to adjust to spatial requirements. High G loads, zero gravity, manual dexterity, eating and drinking, body stress, and on and on. Pilots of the X-15 rocket-propelled research aircraft were the first officially designated astronauts in the U.S. Air Force. Their astronaut wings were well-deserved, for they demonstrated the concept that manned controlled flight into space with re-entry into the atmosphere to land like a conventional airplane was feasible for future aerospace flight. The X-15 pilots, both Air Force and NASA, flew 199 extremely high-altitude missions to gather aerodynamic, airframe structure, and flight control data, as well as to study the physiological aspects of high-speed and high-altitude flight. The research missions achieved the maximum altitude of 354,000 feet, slightly more than 67 miles above the Earth, at the hypersonic speed of 4,520 miles per hour. Repeatedly, the X-15 astronauts re-entered the atmosphere and glided at 200 miles an hour to highly controlled landings at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The X-15 program was concluded in October 1968, and the data gathered proved to be invaluable to follow-on missions beyond the Earth's atmosphere. One of the X-15 pilots, Colonel Edwin E. Aldrin, was the first Air Force man to land on the moon. When the all-air force crew of NASA's Apollo 15 returned from the moon to the command module, they made the first successful launch of a scientific satellite from space. Apollo 15 broadened our knowledge of weather-watching, communications, and navigation support. Fast, reliable communication has always been a prime military requirement. To test communication by way of a satellite, the Air Force in December 1958 launched an Atlas booster, which carried 150 pounds of communications equipment into orbit. Since then, the Air Force has placed in orbit a series of military communication satellites capable of handling thousands of communications channels. Another group, the Veila Satellites, has performed an active role in national defense. These satellites are capable of detecting nuclear radiation in space or on Earth and are useful in monitoring the nuclear test-band treaty. With its missile development and space programs, the United States Air Force has helped the nation move into new frontiers of aerospace technology.