1946 first successful launch of an american v 2 rocket at white s 05 10
1274�2009
1944 82 years ago Historical Events June 20 2 sources

The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.

On June 20, in the year 1944, The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of June 20, one of 363 recorded events on this date across all of history.

MW 18014 was a German A-4 test rocket launched on 20 June 1944, at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde. It was the first man-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apogee of 176 kilometres (109 mi), well above the Kármán line that was established later as the lowest altitude of space. As a vertical test launch that was not intended to reach orbital velocity, it returned and impacted Earth, making it the first sub-orbital spaceflight.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on June 20, 1944 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 11 May 2026.

On This Date in History 363

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2025 Jun 20 The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 20 Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 20 Taylor Wily, American actor, sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist (born 1968)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jun 20 Caleb Swanigan, American basketball player (born 1997)
Historical Events 2019 Jun 20 Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions betwe
Selected Events 2019 Jun 20 Iranian aircraft shot down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the two countrie
Notable Deaths 2017 Jun 20 Prodigy, American music artist (born 1974)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jun 20 Angelo Niculescu, Romanian footballer and manager (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jun 20 Miriam Schapiro, Canadian-American painter and sculptor (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 20 Ingvar Rydell, Swedish footballer (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 20 Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 20 LeRoy Neiman, American painter (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 20 Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 20 Andrew Sarris, American critic (born 1928)
Historical Events 2011 Jun 20 RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47
Notable Deaths 2011 Jun 20 Ryan Dunn, American television personality (born 1977)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 20 Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 20 Harry B
Selected Events 2009 Jun 20 Iranian student Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead in Tehran during the presidential election protests; footage of her death
Notable Deaths 2005 Jun 20 Larry Collins, American journalist, historian, and author (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jun 20 Jack Kilby, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jun 20 Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (born 1950)
Historical Events 2003 Jun 20 The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St
Notable Births 2003 Jun 20 Hans Niemann, American chess player
Notable Births 2003 Jun 20 Marc Pubill, Spanish footballer
Notable Births 2002 Jun 20 Hugo Ekitike, French footballer
Notable Deaths 2002 Jun 20 Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (born 1905)
Notable Deaths 2002 Jun 20 Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (born 1916)
Notable Births 2001 Jun 20 Nicolas Jackson, Senegalese footballer
Notable Births 2001 Jun 20 Gonçalo Ramos, Portuguese footballer
Notable Deaths 1999 Jun 20 Clifton Fadiman, American game show host, author, and critic (born 1902)
Notable Births 1997 Jun 20 Bálint Kopasz, Hungarian sprint canoeist
Notable Deaths 1997 Jun 20 Cahit Külebi, Turkish poet and author (born 1917)
Historical Events 1996 Jun 20 Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module
Notable Births 1996 Jun 20 Sam Bennett, Canadian ice hockey player
Notable Births 1995 Jun 20 Caroline Weir, Scottish footballer
Notable Births 1995 Jun 20 Carol Zhao, Canadian tennis player
Notable Deaths 1995 Jun 20 Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and educator (born 1911)
Historical Events 1994 Jun 20 The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured
Notable Births 1994 Jun 20 Leonard Williams, American football player
Selected Events 1994 Jun 20 A bomb explosion in the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran, left at least 25 dead and more than 70 injured
Notable Births 1993 Jun 20 Sead Kolašinac, Bosnian footballer
Historical Events 1991 Jun 20 The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital
Notable Births 1991 Jun 20 Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegalese footballer
Notable Births 1991 Jun 20 Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer
Historical Events 1990 Jun 20 Asteroid Eureka is discovered
Historical Events 1990 Jun 20 The 7
Notable Births 1990 Jun 20 Ding Ning, Chinese table tennis player
Notable Births 1990 Jun 20 DeQuan Jones, American basketball player
Notable Births 1990 Jun 20 Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Senegalese writer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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