Home >
1st NASA spacecraft launch...
1st NASA spacecraft launch...
Item # 716610
October 11, 1958
FITCHBURG SENTINEL, Mass., October 11, 1958
* Pioneer 1 launch
* 1st NASA spacecraft
The top of the front page has a four column headline: "Rocket Off To Moon" with subhead and two related diagrams. (see images)
Complete with 14 pages, light toning at the margins, nice condition.
AI notes: Pioneer 1, launched by NASA on October 11, 1958, was an early U.S. attempt at lunar exploration during the Space Race, aimed at orbiting the Moon to study radiation, micrometeorites, and magnetic fields with instruments like a magnetometer and ionization chamber. A Thor-Able rocket guidance failure prevented it from reaching lunar orbit, instead sending it to a peak altitude of 113,800 km before it re-entered and burned up over the Pacific Ocean on October 12 after 43 hours. Despite the failure, it provided critical data on the Van Allen radiation belts and helped refine space launch technologies, marking a foundational step in the Pioneer program under Air Force and NASA collaboration.
Category: The 20th Century
Add to Cart
