Sunday, November 5, 2017

Autumn, The Atlas and D.C.


I'm not nearly ready to hand autumn over to winter yet, especially since we got such a relatively late start to autumn here in southcentral Pennsylvania. Only within the past 7-to-10 days has the foliage been been stunning; it was late this year, but it turned out pretty well and it's hard to top Pennsylvania foliage on the rolling hillsides.

So here's an autumn-themed vintage postcard featuring a booster rocket that once stood outside the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The Capsco Wholesalers postcard has never been written on or mailed. It was once part of a postcard booklet, because one of the edges is perforated.

Here's the full caption from the back:
The Atlas, a rocket-powered launch vehicle with intercontinental range, which became the wheel-horse of the dawning Space Age as a booster for a whole series of experimental spacecraft. National Air Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The National Air Museum opened in 1946 and, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law that changed its name to the National Air and Space Museum. So that means this rocket and postcard are likely from sometime between 1958, when the U.S. first started launching satellites into space, and 1966.

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