1982 FIRST PRIVATE SECTOR ROCKET PHOTOS ! B4 SPACE X & BLUE ORIGIN ! CONESTOGA

Description

[ROCKETRY, COMMERCIAL SPACE EXPLORATION]
On offer here is a rare group of
13 ORIGINAL PHOTOS RELATED TO
THE FIRST PRIVATELY FUNDED COMMERCIAL ROCKET, THE CONESTOGA
.
The photos are comprised of four, 5 x 7 photos, seven 8 x 10's, and two, 8 x 12 photos. All are in very good or better condition. A few of the photos have a Kodak stamp date of '
Aug 82
''.
(we've digitally watermarked the images in this listing to protect the eventual owner from those '
borrowing
' the images and them appearing elsewhere online authorized)
A rare group of images of a seminal event in history of commercial space flight and exploration. We could not locate other examples of this privately funded endeavor elsewhere in commerce.
In light of the recent successes of ventures like
SPACE X
and
Blue Origin
, its
apparent
those efforts stood on the shoulders of these pioneers in achieving an important milestone in the history of space flight.
_________________________
The Conestoga
was a launch vehicle design funded by Space Services Inc. of America (SSIA) of Houston, Texas. Conestoga originally consisted of surplus LGM-30 Minuteman stages with additional strap-on boosters, as required for larger payloads.
It was the world's first privately funded commercial rocket, but was launched only three times (once as a modified design) before the program was shut down.
Percheron
SSIA had originally intended to use a design by Gary Hudson, Percheron, which was intended to dramatically lower the price of space launches. Key to the design was a simple pressure-fed kerosene-oxidizer engine that was intended to reduce the cost of the expendable booster. Various loads could be accommodated by clustering the basic modules together. SSIA conducted an engine test firing of the Percheron on Matagorda Island on August 5, 1981, but the rocket exploded due to a malfunction. SSIA then asked Hudson to become head of R&D at SSIA, but because they wished to focus on solid fuel rockets, he declined.
Conestoga I
SSIA founder David Hannah then hired Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts. Slayton had just left NASA after running the Space Shuttle Landing and Approach validation testing (among earlier roles). SSIA purchased an Aries research rocket from Space Vector, Inc. which was developed for the U.S. Navy and NASA using the second stage of the Minuteman missile. The first launch of the new Conestoga I design took place on 9 Sep 1982, consisting of the core missile stage and a 500 kg dummy payload which included 40 gallons of water. The payload was successfully ejected at 313 km, and the Conestoga I became the first privately funded rocket to reach space.
SSIA launched a second rocket in 1989, providing commercial support for microgravity experiments, using the Black Brant sounding rocket which they referred to as "Starfire."
Please email any questions -