February 2, 2022
On this date in 1931, Austrian civil engineer Friedrich Schmiedl launched his 29-ft V7 rocket from Schöckl which successfully delivered 102 letters to a town just under 2 miles away. Schmiedl unsuccessfully tried to convince the Austrian Post Service to send mail through his series of rockets. Although there was interest, Schmiedl refused to have his work used for military purposes.
1930s Austrian magazine talking about Schmiedl’s rocket postal service // https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/austrian-rocket-scientist-friedrich-schmiedl-dreamt-of-a-postal-service-by-rocket/news-story/60ea894a955e09d3f14cd4e73c8d3f1d