SATURN V ROCKET MODEL, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY VARIOUS ASTRONAUTS

OVERSIZED SATURN V ROCKET MODEL

Oversized model, 43 1/4 inches tall, metal and composite on a wooden base with brass plaques and NASA meatball logo; toning, some chips to paint and composite, minor crack to composite, minor peeling to NASA logo.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED by 15 different astronauts, including a Moonwalker from each lunar landed mission, as follows: FRANK BORMAN (Apollo 8), JIM MCDIVITT (Apollo 9), RUSTY SCHWEICKART (Apollo 9), JOHN YOUNG (Apollo 10 and 16), BUZZ ALDRIN (Apollo 11), MICHAEL COLLINS (Apollo 11), ALAN BEAN (Apollo 12), RICHARD GORDON (Apollo 12), FRED HAISE (Apollo 13), JAMES LOVELL (Apollo 13), EDGAR MITCHELL (Apollo 14), DAVE SCOTT (Apollo 15), AL WORDEN (Apollo 15), CHARLIE DUKE (Apollo 16), and GENE CERNAN (Apollo 17). 

The development of the Saturn V rocket was the result of the US government bringing Wernher von Braun, and about 700 German rocket engineers and technicians to the U.S. as a part of Operation Paperclip. The program was authorized by President Truman, and its primary purpose was to give the U.S. an advantage in the Cold War through the development of intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Saturn V was launched 13 times without loss of crew or payload. As of today, it remains the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status.