The Aerobee sounding rockets were liquid fueled vehicles developed in the 1940's and 1950's under the direction of Dr. James Van Allen. As a descendant of the Wac Corporal, the Aerobee was tiny in comparison to the V-2, but it was to prove much more useful.
The Aerobees were powered by an aniline furfuryl alcohol mix burning with red fuming nitric acid, as was the Wac Corporal. Like the Wac Corporal, they were assisted by a small solid booster at liftoff. The Aerobee and its booster were stabilized only by fins, which also added a spin to reduce dispersion (variations) in trajectories. Because the Aerobee accelerated slowly, a launch tower was required for the first ninety feet of flight until the fins could work effectively.
The Aerobee could loft a 150 pound payload to an altitude of over seventy-five miles. The original (Standard) Aerobee design first flew Nov. 24,1947, and remained in use for over ten years, lofting scientific payloads for the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army Signal Corps.