The V-2 missile was the world’s first liquid-propellant rocket, ballistic missile, and the first object to go into space. It was designed in Nazi Germany, and assembled underground by concentration camp prisoners. Though more than 3,000 V-2s were launched, more people were killed building the rocket than those hit by it. The V-2 was not a successful weapon for Germany, however, it marked a breakthrough in technology that propelled the Soviet Union and U.S. into an arms race and into space.