Model Agencies: Industrial Model Spaceships of the 50's and 60's

Here are a few authentic model spaceships, which appeared in trade journals and at industrial events during the 1950's and 1960's.

Above is a 1961 Display model of NASA nuclear mars rocket at the New York Space Flight Report to the Nation [American Rocket Society] 1961. It's clearly similar to our friend the SWORD Booster Rocket as blogged previously by Wotan.

I asked the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [the modern day American Rocket Society] if they recognised the model, which they said is most likely from "EMPIRE: Early Manned Planetary Interplanetary Roundtrip Expeditions, was a Marshall study with contractual support. Further information  concerning EMPIRE is available at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and cite the following: (1) Ordway, Sharpe and Wakeford, EMPIRE: Background and Initial Dual-Planet Mission Studies, paper IAA-90-631, 41st Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Dresden, 6-12 October, 1990, 40 pages, and (2) the published version appearing as Chapter 1 in History of Rocketry and Astronautics, International Academy of Astronautics History Series Volume 11, edited by J.D. Hunley, San Diego, 1997: Univelt, pages 3-62.. Note: the paper also appeared in two issues of the British Interplanetary Society" [Courtesy of Fred Ordway via Emily Springer, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Virginia, USA]

Above: "Krafft Ehricke Convair Manned Lunar Reconnaissance Vehicle - Late 50's lunar orbital manned spacecraft, designed by the space visionary Krafft Ehricke. This image is from an official late fifties Convair photo". Picture and caption credit: pcarsola flickr [thank you]. I love the Tarheel boxart - like look of this!

Above: "Convair Shuttlecraft - Late 50's manned space shuttle designed by the space visionary Krafft Ehricke. This image is from an official late fifties Convair photo. SDASM collection." Picture and caption credit: pcarsola flickr [thank you]. Again very Tarheel SWORD box- like!

Krafft Ehricke with models of his rocket concepts in the 1960's. The two Convair models in the preceeding photo's appear with him. Picture: LIFE.

Rocket conceptualist Krafft Ehricke (left) being interviewed by CBS journalist Walter Cronkite, September 26th 1966. Check out that fabulous Probe Force 1-like model rocket they're discussing. I tried to find this interview on You Tube but to no avail. Picture credit and full picture caption: 21st Century

There are more cool photographs of 1950's and 60's models, including View Master diorama's, taken at the time over on the wonderful pcarsola's flickr pages.

I would welcome any more images/info of 1950's/60's/70's space models taken at the time for the aero industry or modelling community or indeed by toy and modelling fans!