Rocket Ship (1956)

This cross section of a rocket ship appeared in the 1956 book The Complete Book of Space Travel. The space suit we looked at back in December can be seen hanging up at the rear of the ship.

See also:
The Complete Book of Space Travel (1956)
Wernher von Braun's Space Shuttle (1950s)
Space Suit (1956)
Challenge of Outer Space (circa 1950s)
Closer Than We Think! Space Coveralls (1960)

Space Suit (1956)

This image of the space suit of the future appeared in the 1956 book The Complete Book of Space Travel. For anyone that has ever been to the Minnesota History Center you may also recognize it as part of the space exhibit there.

See also:
The Complete Book of Space Travel (1956)
Closer Than We Think! Space Coveralls (1960)
Wernher von Braun's Space Shuttle (1950s)
Mars and Beyond (1957)
Man and the Moon (1955)

Wernher von Braun's Space Shuttle (1950s)

These illustrations by Fred Freeman show Wernher von Braun's concept for a space shuttle in the 1950s. The illustrations can be found in the book Visions of Spaceflight: Images from the Ordway Collection.

To provide safety in case of a malfunction of the reusable upper stage - von Braun's 1950s shuttle concept - crew and passengers press buttons on their chair arms. Contour seats straighten automatically and enclosures snap shut forming sealed escape capsules. To abandon ship, the crew and passengers push another button and the capsules, guided by rails, are ejected by explosive powder charges. The arrangement is seen in cross-section.

After ejection, the capsules' descent is controlled by four-foot steel mesh parachutes. At about 150 above the ground or water, a proximity fuse sets off a small rocket that further slows the rate of fall.

See also:
Challenge of Outer Space (circa 1950s)
The Complete Book of Space Travel (1956)
General Dynamics Astronautics Time Capsule (1963)
Mars and Beyond (1957)
Man and the Moon (1955)
Closer Than We Think! Space Coveralls (1960)

Man and the Moon filmstrip (1970s)

The filmstrip Man and the Moon depicts moon colonization as something just around the corner. A video clip of the filmstrip is below and can be found in its entirety at Droppin' Science.




(On a sidenote, the Droppin' Science website says that Man and the Moon was produced before the first moon landing, which isn't true. The narrator mentions the first moon landing midway through the filmstrip.)

See also:
Olympic Games on the Moon in 2020 (1979)
Hubert H. Humphrey's Future (1967)
Future Cities: Homes and Living into the 21st Century (1979)
Challenge of Outer Space (circa 1950s)
Mars and Beyond (1957)
Animal Life on Mars (1957)
Plant Life on Mars (1957)
Man and the Moon (1955)

The Future of Real Estate (1953)

Steve over at Finkbuilt sent me a link to this great image of a couple buying a house in the (paleo)future. The publication appears to be from December, 1953.


See also:
Something must be wrong with its radar eye! (Chicago Tribune, 1959)
Monsanto House of the Future (1957-1967)
'Summer Terrace' All Year Round (1960s)

Man-Amplifier (1966)

The 1966 book Bionics: Nature's Ways for Man's Machines by Robert Wells has some great pictures of the "Man-Amplifier." Even after reading about it I'm still confused as to how this contraption helps lend greater strength to one's muscles.

This Man-Amplifier helps the pilot or astronaut encumbered by a clumsy and tiring space suit. Strapped to the man, it is a metal skeleton with electrical motors at important joints. These motors follow the man's body movements, operating when he moves, stopping when he stops - thereby lending greater strength to his muscles.


See also:
Journey Into Space (TIME Magazine, 1952)

Journey Into Space (TIME Magazine, 1952)

"Pressure suits will improve, say the space doctors, but not enough to permit their wearers to work freely in a vacuum for long periods of time. Dr. Fritz Haber of the School of Space Medicine believes that the whole space-suit idea will have to be abandoned. If space men want to float around outside their space ship (as they did in the movie, Destination Moon), they will have to stay inside rigid cylinders and do their work by remote-control devices operated from inside."

The entire article from the December 8, 1952 issue of TIME magazine can be read here.