The Road to Apollo
In August 1959, without computers and before the Kennedy Space Center even existed, a few good men and women set out to qualify various solutions to the myriad of problems associated with the development of manned space flight. Human ‘computers’ made manual calculations with a slide rule and ignition sequences were developed on mechanical timers. This effort originally dubbed Project Mercury, eventually evolved into the Apollo Program. After a full decade, the imagination, innovation and sheer tenacity of over 400,000 people created the opportunity for a man to walk on the moon.
Fifty years later, Americans came together to celebrate that awe-inspiring historic event. On July 20, 2019 we all remembered or imagined what it was like to be an American during the original Space Race. When as one united nation we watched our countrymen and women work relentlessly as they thought up, designed, failed and eventually accomplished the herculean task of landing a spacecraft on the moon and returning its crew safely back to earth.
Estes Rockets paid homage to Nasa’s success in the Apollo program by creating remarkable replicas of the test vehicles used during this time. We designed each scale rocket off the original as our research and product development team worked diligently to create sketches, mechanical drawings, parts, prototypes, and tooling to deliver a final, flying model rocket which is a work of art worthy for display.
This is the road to Apollo.