My recollection is that it was a German V2 rocket launched after the war (1946, 47 comes to mind) which attained an altitude of about 110 miles. There is a story that's been circulating for some years about a manhole cover that was somehow blasted into space (and, if true, said manhole cover should be just past the outer edge of our solar system by now). I also recall reading, or hearing about, a Soviet ICBM that went almost 1,000 miles into space shortly before Sputnik, but my memory is quite vague on that. I'm doing this without using Google, so I'm anxious to hear what you and others have to say.
Shel > [Original Message] > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi > Given that the near limit of outer space is considered to be 100 > miles elevation from sea level, what was the first man-made object to > reach outer space?
