In 1952, several branches of the United States' military, often in partnership with civilian organizations, continued their programs of sounding rocket research beyond the 100 kilometres (62 mi) boundary of space (as defined by the World Air Sports Federation) using the Aerobee rocket. The University of Iowa launched its first series of rockoon flights, demonstrating the validity of the balloon-launched rocket, a comparatively inexpensive way to explore the upper atmosphere. The launch of Viking 9 at the end of the year to an altitude of 135 mi (217 km), by the Naval Research Laboratory team under the management of Milton Rosen, represented the pinnacle of contemporary operational rocket design.

The same year, groundwork was laid for the launch of the first artificial satellite when, in October, the General Assembly of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) scheduled the International Geophysical Year for 1957–58. This scientific endeavor would involve 67 nations in a global investigation of physical phenomena, on the ground and in space.

No new models of ballistic missile were added to the arsenals of either the United States or the Soviet Union in 1952. However, work continued on large rocket development, particularly the US Army's Redstone and the Soviet R-5 missile. Both the R-1 and R-2 missiles had operational test runs during the year.

In the late spring of 1952, the Naval Research Laboratory team, under the management of Milton Rosen, prepared to launch the first second-generation Viking rocket, Viking 8, from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The new Viking design was nearly one-and-a-half times as wide as its precursor, with the highest fuel-to-weight ratio of any rocket yet developed. The tail fins no longer supported the weight of the rocket, which had been the case with the first-generation design. Now, the Viking rocket rested on the base of its fuselage. This allowed the tail fins to be made much lighter, allowing the rocket to carry a heavier tank without weighing more than the first Viking design.

On 6 June 1952, Viking 8 broke loose of its moorings during a static firing test. After it was allowed to fly for 55 seconds in the hope that it would clear the immediate area and thus pose no danger to ground crew, Nat Wagner, head of the "Cutoff group", delivered a command to the rocket to cease its thrust. 65 seconds later, the rocket crashed 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) downrange to the southeast.

With lessons learned from the Viking 8 failure, the successful 9 December static firing of Viking 9 was followed on 15 December by a successful launch from White Sands. The rocket reached an altitude of 135 miles (217 km), roughly the same as that of the first-generation Viking 7 in 1950. In addition to cameras that photographed the Earth during flight, Viking 9 carried a full suite of cosmic ray, ultraviolet, and X-ray detectors, including sixteen plates of emulsion gel for tracking the path of individual high energy particles. The experiment package was recovered intact after it had secured measurements high above the Earth's atmosphere.

The final flight of the V-2 rocket occurred on 19 September 1952 with an unsuccessful aeronomy mission conducted jointly by the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories and University of Michigan from White Sands Launch Complex 33. The rocket reached an apogee of 7.1 kilometres (4.4 mi) before its tail exploded 27 seconds into the flight.

1952 saw the first rockoon flights. These balloon-mounted rockets were significantly cheaper than sounding rocket flights: $1800 per launch versus $25,000 for each Aerobee launch and $450,000 for each Viking launch. A series of seven ship-launched tests conducted by a University of Iowa team under James Van Allen achieved considerable success, with one flight grazing the edge of space with an apogee of 55 miles (89 km).

Progress remained slow throughout 1952 on the Atlas, the nation's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the contract for which had been awarded to Consolidated Vultee in January 1951 by the US Air Force's Air Research and Development Command. Conservative development policies and daunting technical problems were the official causes, but the Air Force's apparent lack of enthusiasm for the project, along with a limited budget and resources, were factors as well. It was not until the first successful H-bomb test at Elugelab in November 1952 that development of the Atlas, potentially capable of delivering such a weapon, garnered more support.

On 8 April 1952, Redstone Arsenal in Alabama officially gave the name of "Redstone" to the surface-to-surface missile, capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads to a range of 200 miles (320 km), which they had started developing on 10 July 1951. The office of the Chief of Ordnance of the Army (OCO) tasked Chrysler Corporation to proceed with active work as the prime contractor on the missile by a letter order contract in October 1952; this contract definitized on 19 June 1953.

In 1952, the Soviet Union focused its strategic rocket development on the R-5 missile, which superseded the overambitious 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) range R-3, previously canceled on 20 October 1951. OKB-1 under Sergei Korolev completed the conceptual design for the R-5, able to carry the same 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) payload as the R-1 and R-2 but over a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi), by 30 October 1951.

This dramatic increase in performance of the R-5 over its predecessors was made possible through development of the RD-103 engine, an evolution of the RD-101 used in the R-2 missile, and by reducing the weight of the rocket through use of integrated tankage (while at the same time increasing propellant load by 60% over the R-2). The military had much more confidence in this incremental design than the radical leap forward that was the R-3, and work proceeded apace. Other innovations over the R-1 and R-2 included small aerodynamic rudders run by servomotors to replace the big fins of the R-1/R-2, and longitudinal acceleration integrators to improve the precision of engine cutoff and thus accuracy. Two of the first ten R-5s produced underwent stand tests through February 1952, and the sleek, cylindrical R-5, "the first Soviet strategic rocket", would be ready for its first launch March 1953.

Also in 1952, the design bureau OKB-486, under Valentin Glushko, began developing the RD-105 and RD-106 engines for an even more powerful rocket: the five engine R-6 ICBM. Using an integrated solder-welded configuration, developed by engineer Aleksei Isaev, these LOX/kerosene engines would be more powerful single chamber engines than those used in earlier rockets. Four 539.37 kN (121,260 lb_f) RD-105 would power the R-6's four strap-on engines while a 519.75 kN (116,840 lb_f) RD-106 would power the central booster.

That same year, there was also a series of fourteen test launches of the mass-produced version of R-2 missile, with a range of 600 kilometres (370 mi). Twelve of the missiles reached their targets. The R-1 also was test-launched seven times.

In October 1952, the General Assembly of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) adopted a proposal to undertake a third International Polar Year. This endeavor would involve both a wider scope, encompassing simultaneous observations of geophysical phenomena over the entire surface of the Earth including the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as a longer period, lasting 18 months. The International Geophysical Year (IGY), set for 1957–58, ultimately would involve the participation of 67 countries. To coordinate this massive effort, the ICSU formed the Comité Speciale de l'Année Géophysique Internationale (CSAGI), 'International Geophysical Year Special Committee', which would hold four major meetings with representation from all participating countries over the next four years.

In 1951, the University of Maryland's Fred Singer gave a series of lectures to the British Interplanetary Society in London espousing the use of small artificial satellites to conduct scientific observations. In 1952 Singer expanded his audience through publications and public presentations on his proposals for "MOUSE" (Minimum Orbiting Unmanned Satellite of the Earth). Though dismissed by many as too radical and/or in conflict with human exploration of space, the proposal catalyzed serious discussion of the use of satellites for scientific research.

← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

January launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
30 January 20:45	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 21	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 1	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	30 January	Launch failure
		Apogee: 0 kilometres (0 mi), rocket exploded in tower

February launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
19 February 14:49	Aerobee RTV-A-1c		USAF 22	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Airglow	19 February	Launch failure
		Apogee: 0 kilometres (0 mi), maiden (and only) flight of the RTV-A-1c, which was an unboosted version of the RTV-A-1a. There was a thrust chamber explosion in the tower, but the instrumentation was recovered intact.
19 February 17:00	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 7	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation / Solar Radiation	19 February	Successful
		Apogee: 81.3 kilometres (50.5 mi)
29 February 14:40	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 23	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Airglow	29 February	Successful
		Apogee: 89.3 kilometres (55.5 mi)

April launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
22 April 17:28	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 24	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / Boston University	Suborbital	Ionospheric	22 April	Successful
		Apogee: 113 kilometres (70 mi)
30 April 13:30	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 8	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation / Solar Radiation	30 April	Successful
		Apogee: 127.8 kilometres (79.4 mi)

May launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
1 May 14:59	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 9	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation / Solar Radiation	1 May	Successful
		Apogee: 126.0 kilometres (78.3 mi)
1 May 15:42	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 25	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Rhode Island	Suborbital	Solar UV	1 May	Successful
		Apogee: 91 kilometres (57 mi)
5 May 13:44	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 10	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation / Solar Radiation	5 May	Successful
		Apogee: 127.0 kilometres (78.9 mi)
15 May 01:15	Aerobee XASR-SC-1		SC 23	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Sphere	SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy	15 May	Successful
		Apogee: 76.1 kilometres (47.3 mi)
20 May 02:07	Aerobee XASR-SC-1		SC 24	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	USASC	Suborbital	Aeronomy	20 May	Successful
		Apogee: 89.5 kilometres (55.6 mi)
20 May 16:06	V-2		V-2 No. 59 / TF-2	White Sands LC-33		US Army
			SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Photography	20 May	Successful
		Apogee: 103.5 kilometres (64.3 mi)
21 May 15:15	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 26	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Aeromed 3	AFCRL / WADC Aero-Medical Laboratory	Suborbital	Biological	21 May	Successful
		Carried 2 Philippine monkeys, Pat and Mike, and 2 mice; all recovered. Apogee: 61 kilometres (38 mi)

June launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 June 17:30	Viking (second model)			White Sands LC-33		US Navy
		Viking 8	NRL	Suborbital	Accidental launch	6 June	Launch failure
		Apogee: 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), accidentally launched during static fire ground test
18 June 17:50	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 27	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Denver	Suborbital	Solar UV	18 June	Successful
		Apogee: 105 kilometres (65 mi)
30 June 14:32	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 28	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Airglow 1	AFCRC	Suborbital	Sky Brightness	30 June	Successful
		Apogee: 101 kilometres (63 mi)

August launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
8 August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	8 August
		First of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Second of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Third of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Fourth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Fifth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Sixth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Seventh of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
August	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Eighth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
20 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	20 August	Successful
21 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	21 August	Successful
21 August 06:25	Deacon rockoon		SUI 1	USCGC Eastwind, Kane Basin		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	21 August	Partial failure
		Maiden flight of the Deacon Rockoon, (balloon) apogee: 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi), rocket failed to fire
22 August 07:33	V-2		TF-3	White Sands LC-33		US Army
			NRL / AFCRC / National Institutes of Health	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Cosmic Radiation / Solar X-Ray / Magnetic Field / Sky Brightness	22 August	Successful
		Apogee: 78.1 kilometres (48.5 mi)
24 August 03:34	Deacon rockoon		SUI 2	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	24 August	Partial failure
		(Balloon) Apogee: 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi), rocket failed to fire, but instrument package worked
25 August	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	25 August	Successful
26 August 18:53	Aerobee RTV-A-1a		USAF 29	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Ionosphere 2	AFCRC / University of Utah	Suborbital	Ionospheric	26 August	Launch failure
		Apogee: 32 kilometres (20 mi)
29 August 00:26	Deacon rockoon		SUI 3	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	29 August	Spacecraft failure
		Apogee: 61.0 kilometres (37.9 mi), first successful firing of balloon-launched rocket, instruments failed to return data
29 August 07:36	Deacon rockoon		SUI 4	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	29 August	Successful
		Apogee: 59.4 kilometres (36.9 mi)
29 August 18:15	Deacon rockoon		SUI 5	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	29 August	Successful
		Apogee: 76.1 kilometres (47.3 mi)
31 August 21:10	Deacon rockoon		SUI 6	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	31 August	Successful
		Apogee: 64.1 kilometres (39.8 mi)

September launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Ninth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Tenth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Eleventh of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Twelfth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	Same day
		Thirteenth of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
3 September 14:49	Aerobee RTV-N-10		NRL 11	White Sands LC-35		US Navy
			NRL	Suborbital	Solar Radiation	3 September	Successful
		Apogee: 99.0 kilometres (61.5 mi)
4 September 09:17	Deacon rockoon		SUI 7	USCGC Eastwind, northern Baffin Bay		US Coast Guard
			University of Iowa	Suborbital	Cosmic Radiation	4 September	Successful
		Apogee: 64.1 kilometres (39.8 mi)
18 September	R-2			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	18 September
		Last of fourteen test launches of mass-produced version; twelve reached their target
19 September 15:49	V-2		TF-5	White Sands LC-33		US Army
			SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy	19 September	Launch failure
		Final flight of the V-2, apogee: 7.1 kilometres (4.4 mi), tail exploded at 27 seconds
25 September 03:50	Aerobee XASR-SC-1		SC 25	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	25 September	Successful
		Apogee: 117 kilometres (73 mi)

October launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
10 October 14:24	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 30	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Denver	Suborbital	Solar UV	10 October	Successful
		Apogee: 110 kilometres (68 mi)
22 October 14:35	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 31	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy	22 October	Successful
		Apogee: 100 kilometres (62 mi)
23 October 03:45	Aerobee XASR-SC-2		SC 26	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Grenades	SCEL	Suborbital	Aeronomy	23 October	Successful
		Apogee: 112.0 kilometres (69.6 mi)
29 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	29 October	Successful
30 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful
30 October	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	30 October	Successful

November launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
6 November 15:56	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 32	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
		Airglow 2	AFCRC	Suborbital	Sky Brightness	6 November	Successful
		Apogee: 76 kilometres (47 mi)
21 November	R-1			Kapustin Yar		OKB-1
			OKB-1	Suborbital	Missile test	21 November	Successful

December launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Flight number	Launch site		LSP
		Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
		Remarks
11 December 23:47	Aerobee XASR-SC-1		SC 29	White Sands LC-35		US Army
		Sphere	SCEL / University of Michigan	Suborbital	Aeronomy / Cosmic Radiation	11 December	Successful
		Apogee: 105.1 kilometres (65.3 mi)
12 December 19:38	Aerobee RTV-A-1		USAF 33	Holloman LC-A		US Air Force
			AFCRC / University of Colorado	Suborbital	Solar UV	12 December	Successful
		Final flight of the RTV-A-1, apogee: 89 kilometres (55 mi)
15 December 21:38	Viking (second model)			White Sands LC-33		US Navy
		Viking 9	NRL	Suborbital	Solar Radiation / Cosmic Radiation / Photography	15 December	Successful
		Apogee: 219 kilometres (136 mi)

← Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec →

Launches by country

Country		Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
	United States	35	27	5	3
	Soviet Union	21	19	0	2

Launches by rocket

Rocket	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
V-2	United States	3	2	1	0	Retired
Viking (second model)	United States	2	1	1	0	Maiden flight
Aerobee RTV-N-10	United States	5	5	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-1	United States	4	4	0	0
Aerobee XASR-SC-2	United States	1	1	0	0
Aerobee RTV-A-1	United States	10	10	0	0	Retired
Aerobee RTV-A-1a	United States	2	0	2	0
Aerobee RTV-A-1c	United States	1	0	1	0	Maiden flight, retired
Deacon rockoon	United States	7	4	0	3	Maiden flight
R-1	Soviet Union	7	7	0	0
R-2	Soviet Union	14	12	0	2

• Timeline of spaceflight