<Li> 1942 - Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger launch the first V - 2 rocket at Peenemünde in northern Germany . </Li> <Li> 1942 - A V - 2 rocket reaches an altitude of 85 km . </Li> <Li> 1944 - The V - 2 rocket MW 18014 reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man - made object in space . </Li> <Li> 1945 - Lothar Sieber dies after the first vertical take - off manned rocket flight in a Bachem Ba 349 "Natter" </Li>

When was the first rocket launched into space