Sold by Max Rambod Inc, Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Association Member:
AbeBooks Seller since 5 February 2021
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Air Force Missile Test Center military aerospace archive, circa 1958 to 1961, documents the Cold War missile-test and public-information system centered at Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral during the period when ballistic missiles, satellite launch vehicles, and space-recovery technology became linked instruments of military deterrence and national prestige. The archive shows the mechanisms of military aerospace communication through official captioned photographs, technical fact sheets, and a signed community-relations cover letter, revealing how the Air Force presented interservice missile development, guided weapons, and space vehicles to civilian audiences. The Air Force Missile Test Center name was adopted in 1951, and official Air Force lineage places it within the institutional sequence that later became the Eastern Test Range and 45th Space Wing, while NASA historical accounts identify Patrick Air Force Base as the administrative and telemetry headquarters for the Cape during Project Vanguard. Air Force Missile Test Center. Missile Fact Sheet and captioned missile photographs. Patrick Air Force Base, Florida: Air Force Missile Test Center, circa 1958 to 1961. Archive comprising 10 captioned black-and-white photographic prints, each approximately 8 x 10 inches, and a 10-photo, 12-page stapled Missile Fact Sheet booklet with a cover letter signed by Major James F. Reid, Chief of Community Relations, offering the material to a civilian collector and encouraging "curiosity about rocketry" with the enlistment appeal, "Help us launch our missiles and space vehicles of the future." The standalone photographs depict Army, Navy, Air Force, and NASA-related systems, including the Army Jupiter C lifting off; the Air Force Atlas-Able at ignition; the Army Hawk surface-to-air missile in desert terrain; two Thor-Able launches, one with gantry tower and crew visible and one in ascent; Terrier missiles fired from the USS Norton Sound; a paddle-wheel satellite identified as NASA-related; an FJ Fury testing Bullpup missiles over Point Mugu; an F7U Cutlass carrying four Sparrow I missiles; the Regulus I at launch; a Navy helicopter retrieving a nose cone from the Pacific; and the USNS Long View, captioned for its role in recovering the Air Force Discoverer XIII nose cone. The Discoverer XIII recovery on August 11, 1960 was the first recovery of a human-made object from orbit, giving the archive direct relevance to early orbital reentry and recovery history. [1] Air Force Missile Test Center. Missile Fact Sheet. Patrick Air Force Base, Florida: Air Force Missile Test Center, circa 1958 to 1961. Twelve-page booklet with 10 halftone photographs and technical-promotional descriptions of Bumper, Matador, Snark, Bomarc, X-17, Redstone, Jupiter, Thor, Atlas, Titan, and Polaris missile systems. The Bumper entry identifies the missile as using "a German V-2 as first-stage unit, with a WAC Corporal as its second stage," consistent with Cape Canaveral's first missile launch in 1950, when a Bumper missile inaugurated the Cape as a launch range. [2] Reid, James F. Cover letter for Missile Fact Sheet and photographic material. Patrick Air Force Base, Florida: Air Force Missile Test Center, circa 1958 to 1961. Signed community-relations letter presenting the archive to a civilian collector and converting official missile information into recruitment and public-outreach language. Its phrase "Help us launch our missiles and space vehicles of the future" demonstrates how Cold War technical programs were promoted to civilians as participatory national projects. [3] Air Force Missile Test Center. Captioned missile, satellite, aircraft, and recovery photographs. Patrick Air Force Base, Florida: Air Force Missile Test Center, circa 1958 to 1961. Ten official photographic prints showing launch, aircraft weapons testing, shipboard missile firing, and recovery operations across U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and NASA-related programs. Images include Jupite.
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