LARGE CUSTOM-BUILT SHUTTLE CENTAUR G PRIME ROCKET STAGE MODEL, LIKELY BY GENERAL DYNAMICS, CA 1980.

SHUTTLE CENTAUR G PRIME ROCKET STAGE

Custom, hand-built model, likely by General Dynamics, ca 1980

Large, approx. 1:19 scale model in wood, metal, and composite materials (18 by 10 1/4 by 9 1/2 inches), housed within clear acrylic case with hinges, allowing model to be propped at a 45 degree angle. Metal NASA worm logo tag to inside of model. Original wood NASA carrying case (11 by 20 by 12 3/4 inches), with 3 NASA meatball labels, NASA Glenn Research Center Exhibit Material labels, NASA shipping labels, and stencil reading "Shuttle/Centaur G Prime Speakers Bureau." 

VERY RARE, LARGE-SCALE CUSTOM BUILT MODEL OF THE CANCELLED CENTAUR-G ROCKET STAGE. The Centaur-G Prime liquid-fueled upper rocket stage was built in the 1980s to boost shuttle payloads out of low Earth orbit. It was originally scheduled to fly in 1986, but was cancelled after the Challenger disaster due to concerns that a cyrogenic liquid-fueled stage would be too risky to launch on the space shuttle.