1928 April 12 - Launch Vehicle: Opel. -
 Opel Rak Nation: Germany. After two tests the day before, which showed that a good fraction of Brander's rockets would either fail to ignite or explode, Valier made the first official rocket car run for the press. Of 12 rockets attached to the 'Rak' vehicle (a motor car stripped of engine and brakes), five failed to function, but the vehicle reached 110 kph and the press was mightily impressed. Opel received an unexpected amount of free publicity and funded Valier in further rocket car development.
References: 47.
1928 May 23 - Launch Vehicle: Opel. - Opel Rak II Nation: Germany. Fritz von Opel personally drives rocket-car Opel Rak II, equipped with 24 Brander powder rockets, to 200 kph at Berlin. The same day Oberth is debating the German scientific establishment, trying to overturn their belief that space flight using liquid rockets is theoretically impossible. The VfR regard Valier's experiments with Opel as publicity stunts, threatening the credibility of their society.
References: 47.
June 1928 - Launch Vehicle: Schmiedl. -
 Schmiedl attempts launch of balloon-lofted rockets. Nation: Austria. The first attempted launch of instrumented rockets from stratospheric balloons. These V1 and V2 rockets failed to ignite but Schmiedl's work anticipated the Van Allen Rockoon concept by twenty years. References: 17.
1928 June 11 - Launch Vehicle: Me-163, Opel. - First manned rocket-powered aircraft flight. Nation: Germany. Crew: Stamer. A rocket-boosted glider is flown by Friedrich Stamer from the Rhoen Mountains in Western Germany. The development was funded by Opel, the canard-layout glider designed by Hans Lippisch, and the powder rockets developed by Sander. As in the Opel ground vehicles, a boost rocket (360 kgf for 3 seconds) was to accelerate the glider down the launch ramp. A sustainer rocket (20 kgf for 30 seconds) would keep the aircraft in flight. It was hoped to develop a method of launching gliders that would allow the pilot to get airborne without assistance - that did not require a tow aircraft or the eight-man crew needed to pull back the rubber band on existing rail launchers. Tests with smaller motors in models showed the high-thrust motors were too powerful, so the full-scale tests used a standard rubber-band rail launcher with only the low thrust motors installed. After two attempted flights, Stamer finally made a successful flight, firing two 20 kgf motors one after the other. The glider flew about 1.5 km in 70 seconds. On the second flight the first motor exploded, setting the aircraft on fire. Stamer landed successfully but further attempts were abandoned.
References: 47.
1928 June 23 - Launch Vehicle: Opel. - Opel Rak III Nation: Germany. The third Opel rocket-car is mounted on railroad tracks near Celle. The first run, with 10 rockets, reached 290 kph. A second run, with 24 rockets, jumped the tracks and demolished the vehicle. References: 47.
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