Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website In Orbit: Working Mock-up Of First US Satellite Launches Air & Space Sale At Bonhams
luglio 14, 2021 - Bonhams

In Orbit: Working Mock-up Of First US Satellite Launches Air & Space Sale At Bonhams

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

Air and Space Sale12 - 21 Lug 2021Los AngelesEXPLORER IFULL-SIZED WORKING MOCKUP.
Nosecone/Payload Carrier Working Mockup, approximately 37 1/4-inches tall, 6-inch diameter, [Pasadena & Huntsville: Jet Propulsion Laboratory & Army Ballistic Missile Agency, c.1957],

The successful launch of the USSR's Sputnik 1 sent the United States into a panic. It was October 1957 and the two countries were in the midst of the Cold War that developed following the end of WWII. The Space Race became an outgrowth of this war as both governments aimed to display their technological superiority through space exploration. The launch of the satellites Sputnik 1 in 1957 and Sputnik 2, just a month later, meant that the USSR took the lead and it was not until the following year, 1958, that the Americans began to catch up, launching the satellite Explorer I. A working mock-up of Explorer I comes to #bonhams Online Air & Space Sale between July 12-21. It has an estimate of $40,000-60,000.

Bonhams Head of Sale, Adam Stackhouse, said: "Explorer I's success was not just proof that the US could launch a satellite into orbit, but it led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt and inspired an entire generation to pursue the stars. It's an exciting prospect for us to handle this c.1957 mock-up that was used in the testing and integration phase of Explorer I. This makes its existence all-the-more historically intriguing."

This working mock-up comes from the collaboration between the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. Following the USSR's successful launches of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 there was immense pressure on the US to reach space, which grew even greater when the first US attempt, Project Vanguard, suffered a major setback when the rocket carrying the TV-3 satellite exploded on the launch pad. The Explorer program, which had been put on hold in favour of Project Vanguard, was hastily salvaged to redeem American honour.

Further information in the press release to download

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