Manned Space Flight

“This is the mission of the 60s: Man in Space and on to the Moon…” [Text, top]

This visually arresting poster blurs the line between fact and fiction when describing the various components of Manned Space Flight in the early 1960s. It must have been issued shortly after Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey into orbit, according to text at the top of the page, but depicts systems far from the realm of reality of the Soviet or American space programs.

A cutaway diagram of a “typical 3-man space vehicle shortly after achieving orbit” is shown soaring through space and provides the foundation for the accompanying illustrated text boxes immediately below. The captions provide information on practical solutions offered to the numerous hazards and difficulties of interstellar travel, such as escape features, communications, power supply, and human limitations. Preparing for Space and Re-Entry & Recovery are also covered. A group of deliberately complex charts at the bottom of the sheet presents ‘some basic biophysics data relating to man’s survival in space’ – again reflecting the difficulty of space travel.

The map was designed by the Missile and Space Vehicle Department of the General Electric Company. Copywritten by C.S. Hammond & Co. of Maplewood, New Jersey in 1961.