Wernher von Braun’s 1952 ‘Moon Rocket’ Concept Sketch Sells for $132,000

The NY Times TierneyLab blog recently had a great post on a 1952 concept sketch for a “Moon Rocket,” which recently sold for $US132,000 in an auction. Created by famed astrophysicist Wernher von Braun (mentioned in the movie October Sky like 3,269,728 times), the sphere-happy concept called for the spacecraft to be powered by 30 rocket motors, shortwave radio antenna and a solar mirror which could vaporise mercury, in turn powering a turbo generator to the tune of 35kW.

The crew would live in the top sphere of the craft, which would have five floors for cockpit, research labs, and observation decks. von Braun created this sketch (along with 35 others) for a group of articles he was working on for Collier’s Magazine titled “Man Will Conquer Space Soon!” He was famous that year for predicting that man would soon visit the Moon. [TierneyLab via Super Punch via Neatorama]