1948 July - Launch Vehicle: Navaho. -
 North American Aerophysics Laboratory moved to Downey. Nation: USA. Program: Navaho. Together with the company's Electromechanical Division, the expanding group was moved into an ex-Consolidated Vultee bomber factory east of Los Angeles. It was here that the Navaho, and later Hound Dog missiles, the Apollo command module, and the Space Shuttle would be built.
References: 221.
1948 July 7 - -
 Zagorsk rocket engine test site founded. Nation: USSR. Decree 256 'On establishment of NII Branch No 7 to ground test rocket engines' was issued. References: 474.
1948 July 8 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: HVAR. Model: HVAR FFAR. - Rascal Model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2.
1948 July 14 - - Samolyot 5 rocketplane first flight. Nation: USSR. Spacecraft: Samolyot 5. Crew: Pakhomov. The first 5-1 aircraft, controlled on its first glide flight by A K Pakhomov, was dropped from a Pe-8 bomber.
1948 July 14 - 01:05 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Model: MX-774. FAILURE: Cutoff after half of the propellants were used. - MX-774 Flight 1 Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 1.00 km (0.60 mi). First Convair MX-774 (RTV-A-2) test rocket was successfully launched, first demonstrating use of gimballed engines and design features later incorporated in the Atlas ICBM. This was the first of three Convair-sponsored test flights. References: 2.
1948 July 26 - 16:47 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC35. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Aerobee. Model: Aerobee RTV-N-8. LV Configuration: Aerobee RTV-N-8 A7. - Earth imaging mission Nation: USA. Agency: APL. Apogee: 113 km (70 mi). Photography research. Launched at 1441 local time. Reached 112.7 km. Two separate rockets fired from White Sands, one a V-2 which reached an altitude of 87 km, the other a Navy Aerobee which reached an altitude of 112.7 km, carried cameras which photographed the curvature of the earth.
References: 2.
1948 July 26 - 18:03 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 40. - Chemical release / aeronomy mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/APL. Apogee: 97 km (60 mi). Launched 11:03 local time. Reached 87.1 km. Carried cosmic radiation, photo, pressure, temperature experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University. Fired from White Sands simultaneous with a Navy Aerobee which reached an altitude of 110 km. Both carried cameras which photographed the curvature of the earth.
References: 2.
1948 August - Launch Vehicle: Atlas, Navaho, Snark. - Spaatz calls for American ICBM. Nation: USA. Program: Navaho. General Spaatz (Tooey Spaatz) calls for US development of missile with 10,200 km range References: 4460.
1948 August 5 - 12:07 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 43. - Ultraviolet Spectra / Solar X Test / solar ultraviolet / x-ray mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/NRL. Apogee: 166 km (103 mi). Launched 05:07 local time. Reached 166.1 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, temperature, pressure, ionosphere, photo experiments for Naval Research Lab. References: 2.
1948 August 15 - - Independent Republic of Korea is proclaimed, following election supervised by UN Nation: USA.
1948 August 19 - 14:45 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. Model: Bumper-WAC. LV Configuration: Bumper-WAC Bumper 2. FAILURE: First stage failure. - Solar ultraviolet mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA. Apogee: 13 km (8 mi). First stage failure. V-2 reached 13.4 km, 380 m/s; WAC 13.1 km, 380 m/s. References: 2.
1948 September 1 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: HVAR. Model: HVAR FFAR. - Rascal Model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2.
1948 September 3 - 01:00 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 33. - UM-2 Grenades Aeronomy mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/UM. Apogee: 151 km (93 mi). Launched 18:00 local time. Reached 151 km. Carried Density, pressure, temperature, composition experiments for Signal Corps Engineering Lab, University of Michigan. References: 2.
1948 September 5 - - Samolyot 5 rocketplane crashes. Nation: USSR. Spacecraft: Samolyot 5. Crew: Pakhomov. The first 5-1 aircraft was destroyed on its third glide flight.
1948 September 15 - Launch Vehicle: Redstone. - Hermes project extended to cover satellite launch. Nation: USA. Committee on Guided Missiles of the Research and Development Board approved recommendation that Army Hermes project "be given the task of providing the National Military Establishment with a continuing analysis of the long-range rocket problem as an expansion of their task on an earth satellite vehicle."
References: 17.
1948 September 17 - Launch Site: Kapustin Yar. Launch Complex: V-2. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: R-1. Model: R-1. LV Configuration: R-1 I-4. FAILURE: Veered 51 degrees from flight path. - Nation: USSR. Agency: NII-88. Apogee: 0 km ( mi). First of 9 rockets of first test series. Veered 51 degrees from flight path. References: 2.
1948 September 27 - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Model: MX-774. FAILURE: Cutoff at 16 km altitude. - MX-774 Flight 2 Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Apogee: 47 km (29 mi). Second Corvair MX-774 test rocket fired. Shut down at 15 km; reached 65 km before malfunction of unknown origin caused self-destruction. References: 2.
1948 September 30 - 15:30 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. Model: Bumper-WAC. LV Configuration: Bumper-WAC Bumper 3. FAILURE: Failure in the second stage, explosion prior to separation. - Test / solar ultraviolet / x-ray mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA. Apogee: 150 km (90 mi). V-2 reached 150.6 km, 1410 m/s; WAC destroyed. References: 2.
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