Lot 179

3 More

The first Saturn V rocket lifting off from Pad 39A; wide-angle view of the liftoff at Cape Kennedy, November 9, 1967

NASA [Apollo 4]

Name: The first Saturn V rocket lifting off from Pad 39A; wide-angle view of the liftoff at Cape Kennedy, November 9, 1967
Brand: NASA [Apollo 4]
Price: 1400.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 1,750

Estimate

GBP 1,000 - GBP 1,500

Closed: 19 Nov 2020

Loading details

Try our

The first Saturn V rocket lifting off from Pad 39A; wide-angle view of the liftoff at Cape Kennedy, November 9, 1967

NASA [Apollo 4]

Price Realised GBP 1,750

Closed: 19 Nov 2020

Price Realised GBP 1,750

Closed: 19 Nov 2020

Details Lot Essay More from

179 a
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

Wide-angle view of the liftoff of the first Saturn V rocket at Cape Kennedy

Apollo 4, November 9, 1967, 000:00:02 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with NASA caption and “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso

179 b
NASA / Unidentified Photographer

The first saturn V rocket lifting off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center

Apollo 4, November 9, 1967, 000:00:02 GET

Vintage chromogenic print on fiber-based Kodak paper, 20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in), with “A Kodak Paper” watermarks on the verso (NASA KSC)
20.3 x 25.4cm (8 x 10in)

179 b
Chaikin, Space, pp. 76-77.

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

James Hyslop

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

jhyslop@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3205

Lot Essay

On the morning of Nov. 9, 1967, the ambitious effort to develop the Saturn V rocket was achieved. At 7:00 a.m. EST, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center experienced the roar of a rocket from Launch Complex 39 for the first time.
“‘Go, baby, go,’ Wernher von Braun, the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket, was heard to shout” (Poole, p. 85).

After the successful liftoff, Kennedy Space Center’s director, Kurt Debus, spoke of that achievement.
“After long years of preparing, designing, building and constructing a new type facility, it was put to the test for the first time and it was done extremely well,” he said. The Saturn V’s third stage, or S-IVB, and Apollo Command/ Service Module were placed into a nearly circular 115-mile orbit, as would be the case on lunar missions. After two orbits, the S-IVB’s first re-ignition put the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit with a high point of 11,200 miles (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/apollo-4-was-first-ever-launch-from-nasas-kennedy-space-center).

Apollo 4 was the first of the “big shots,” the test launch of the colossal three-stage Saturn V rocket that would take men to the Moon. The rocket’s power of 7.5 million pounds of thrust reached the Launch Control Center (LCC), Press Site and spectators, all three miles away, shocking even veteran launch viewers and creating one of the loudest-ever human made sounds.

“At liftoff, the vibration from the Saturn V showered us with dust and debris from the ceiling of the Launch Control Center which was brand new at the time,” expressed NASA’s Public Information chief, Jack King, who served as countdown commentator (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/apollo-4-was-first-ever-launch-from-nasas-kennedy-space-center).