This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/18/2025
[NASA AND ARMY BALLISTIC MISSILE AGENCY]. Pioneer in Space. The First Made - in - USA Satellite of the Sun, Pioneer IV, Was Launched by the Army from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 3, 1959, Under Direction of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Alabama: Army Ballistic Missile Agency, [ca. 1959-60]. 4to. Profusely illustrated with photos of rockets, diagrams, etc. [20] pp. Original printed wrappers (light toning, soiling, creasing). Fine. FIRST EDITION OF THIS EXCEEDINGLY RARE CROSSOVER BOOKLET, ISSUED JOINTLY BY NASA AND THE ABMA. An interesting record of the launch of Pioneer IV, headed by Dr. Wernher Von Braun, Brig. General J. A. Barcley, and Major General J. B. Medaris (all of whom are featured in this booklet). Pioneer IV was the first probe launched by the United States to escape the Earth's gravity, destined to examine the lunar surface (although it did not accomplish all of its goals, it was the first successful probe launched by the U. S. to get close to the Moon, and an important stepping stone to the Apollo missions).