NASA Lot n° 10

NASA. Rare. Photograph of the night takeoff of the missile of the US Air Force: ATLAS ICBM. In order to reach the USAF's objectives, Convair used the balloon tank technique: the tanks did not have spars and had to be maintained under pressure at the risk of collapsing under their own weight. At the time of launch, liquid fuel was introduced into the tanks and the air used to maintain the structure was expelled. This technique made it possible to lighten the total weight of the missile, but was long (more than 15 minutes per missile), dangerous, which was less and less in conformity with the operational needs of the USAF. Circa 1958.period silver print. Stamp and typed caption on the back. 25.4 x 20.5CM with margins.