June 2020 Auction Ends Thursday, June 25th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/25/2020
Rare speech signed by Wernher von Braun in 1959 as Director of Development Operations of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Dated 25 July 1959, von Braun delivered the speech to the Georgian American Legion, with content on the Jupiter missile that launched America's space program in 1958, as well as on the burgeoning ''space exploration program''.
Speech reads in small part, ''...within the next decade or two the old concept of air superiority will have been replaced by the new concept of space superiority...Also, using our reliable Redstone, we are sharing in Project Mercury - manned space flight - and we will give one of the highly trained Astronauts his first trip into space in the nose cone of this giant ballistic missile. Sometime later the Mercury schedule calls for him to journey about the Earth in the same capsule carried into a satellite orbit with the aid of an Atlas missile. This will be the beginning of real manned space flight...
It is not impossible that, if we drag our feet, we may run into a Russian custom station on the moon when we finally get there ourselves and find ourselves surrounded by several planets flying the hammer and sickle flag...Having survived a dictatorship myself, I do not want my children or yours to pay the price of our failure to take up the challenge of our day...''
Speech runs 11pp. on eleven sheets, signed and inscribed by von Braun in blue ballpoint to the Commander of the Georgian American Legion, ''To Commander Henry Harrison / cordially - Wernher von Braun''. Pages measures 8'' x 10.5''. Tape discoloration at top of the first page, and on a few other pages, otherwise near fine condition.
Wernher von Braun Signed Speech From 1959 -- ''...within the next decade or two the old concept of air superiority will have been replaced by the new concept of space superiority...''
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