Space Pilots: The First Trip To Space

illustration by John Polgreen
from Adventure in Space: Space Pilots by Willy Ley, 1957

Space Travel

illustration by John Polgreen
from Adventure in Space: Space Travel
by Willy Ley, 1957

Dynamic Science Fiction, Vol. 1, No. 4

illustration by Alex Shomberg

Dynamic Science Fiction
Vol. 1, No. 4
August 1953

Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles and Space Ships

Illustrations by Jack Coggins
from Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles and Space Ships
by Jack Coggins and Fletcher Pratt
1951

Planet Stories Vol. 5, No. 7

Planet Stories
Vol. 5, No. 7
July 1952

Dangers in Space

Willy Ley and his daughter Xenia in front of the 15 1/2-ton Wiliamette meteorite. The photograph was taken at the Hayden Planetarium by Mrs. Ley.

from Adventures in Space: Space Pilots by Willy Ley, 1957

Maiden Flight of the X-15

June 8, 1959 - The X-15's maiden flight.

A technician straps test pilot Scott Crossfield into the cockpit of the missile-shaped X-15 rocket plane before flight. Crossfield is carried aloft in his sleek, black rocket plane beneath the wing of a B-52 from NASA's Flight Research Center. It's the beginning of flight research probing the hypersonic speed realm and altitudes at the edge of space.

Image Credit: NASA/North American Aviation