Aggregat (rocket family)

Aggregat 9
Type	IRBM second stage
Service history
In service	test only, not deployed
Production history
Manufacturer	studied by Army Research Center Peenemünde
Unit cost	none mass-manufactured
Specifications
Weight	16,259 kg
Length	14.18 m
Diameter	1.65 m maximum
Warhead	1000 kg pound payload
Engine	A9
Wingspan	3.2 m
Operational range	800 km (500 mi)
Flight altitude	190 km (in single flight) or 390 km (in A9/A10)
Speed	3,400 m/s (in A9/A10)
Launch platform	ground launch pad or A10

The Aggregat series was a set of ballistic missile designs developed in 1933–45 by a research program of Nazi Germany's army (Wehrmacht). Its greatest success was the A4, more commonly known as the V-2. The German word refers to a group of parts or components of machinery, an assemblage working together.

The A1 was the first rocket design in the Aggregat series. It was designed in 1933 by Wernher von Braun in a Wehrmacht (German armed forces) research program at Kummersdorf headed by Walter Dornberger. The A1 was the grandfather of most modern rockets. The rocket was 1.4 metres (4 ft 7 in) long, 30.5 centimetres (12 in) in diameter, and had a takeoff weight of 150 kilograms (331 lb). The engine, designed by Arthur Rudolph, used a pressure-fed rocket propellant system burning alcohol and liquid oxygen, and produced 300 kgf (660 lbf, 2.9 kN) of thrust for 16 seconds. The rocket was stabilized by a 40 kg (88 lb) gyroscope in the nose, but there was concern that this might cause problems with the liquid fuels. Although the engine had been successfully test fired, the first flight attempt blew up on the launching pad on 21 December 1933. Since the design was thought to be unstable, no further attempts were made, and efforts moved to the A2 design.

The A2 was designed in 1934 by von Braun under the program at Kummersdorf headed by Walter Dornberger.

At a length of 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) and thrust of 3 kN from alcohol and liquid oxygen, it was in outline similar to the A1. However, in contrast to the A1, the A2 had the stabilization gyroscopes in the center of the rocket between the alcohol and oxygen tanks, which made it more stable. The rocket weighed 72 kilograms (159 lb) empty, with takeoff weight of 107 kilograms (236 lb). Initial flight testing was done in September 1934 at Kummersdorf.