No need to Hunt the "Snark" it's there at the back!

Photo information:USAF Graduation Ceremony circa 1960 Hawthrone (?) Airforce base. Back drop of SM-62 "Snark" Intercontinental Missile. unknown source.

I haven’t posted much for a while and released I had several vintage press shots to share. Here’s nice one of a passing out ceremony. The military do enjoy a bit of sort of a macho "camp "don’t they? Isn’t having a huge guided missile as set dressing for ceremony ever so slightly over the top and a bit dramatic. You can forget “la cage au foile” the lads with the gold braid and sharp creases love a statement.

A bit of reading shows the Northrop SM-62 “Snark” was a bit of pig and didn’t last long in service, although in this film of launch it doesn’t look too bad. Not sure I’d been keen on living near an airfield that regularly had un-launched nuclear warheads returning home and skidding along the tarmac!

By Jupiter

Pic info: launch of Jupiter Booster Feb 27th 1959
Photo credit: AP Wirephoto.

Not much to say about this photo from my collection, except that it’s a really dramatic atmospheric shot full of movement and fire. The Jupiter was a modified ballistic missile used to carry the pioneer probes to the moon amongst other things .

Mystery rocket

Picture info:
Thor-able (?) launch of Dicoverer II Satellite from Vandenberg Air Force base California 13th April 1959.Source: US Air Force Photo.

My first post was a fake looking picture of space dog Danka so to maintain cold war balance here’s a weird looking American photo is it me or does it look weird like a model or a set up. It’s made more confusing as I can’t find the blast off described in the caption for Thor-able rocket I think it reality it’s Thor-Agena rocket.

Anyway it’s a nice dramatic shot. And we’ve all learnt that Spanish for Launch is “Lanzamieto”

click on the original english caption below to read the official version

Update
God Bless flickr through which "Almiy's" got in touch
and said this in repsonse to the picture above and my questioning it's correctness. I'm a bit jealous having a grandad who helped launch rockets, mine launched trawlers which is cool but rockets well that's must be better!

"It looks legit to me. Where did you find it? I happen to work at Vandenberg AFB where they launched the Thor and Agena rockets way back when during my grandfathers day when he worked there. Although the Thor was only one type of rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 2 at VAFB, this photo looks like the old SLC-2 East site (I know it well) where they still do some current rocket prep work. They now launch at SLC-2 West which is a much bigger tower to accommodate modern Delta II rockets. See a photo of the most recent launch at my Flickr site. The first ballistic missile in the US was launched from this site and the buildings remain historical landmarks still in use.Also see: www.ulalaunch.com/ or www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d335/gallery/www.spaceflightnow.com/ "

Proyectil Teledirigido

Picture Info.
Russian Rocket launches: press release date 15 April 1958.

Another picture from my archive I think it’s a Russian photo possibly showing the rockets used to launch Damka into orbit.

It’s a great picture I might get round to translating the caption at my Spanish class in a week or so.

Anyone more fluent please post your attempt.

Otherwise let’s just enjoy the picture.

Dogs In Spaaaccccceeeee!

Photo info:
Damka (Дамка"Little Lady" sometimes called Shutka (Шутка, "Joke") Krasavka (Красавка, "Little Beauty") not shown. Pictures outside a Korabl Sputnik (1K-4) (?) capsule, 22nd Dec 1960 launched by R7 / SL3 rocket.
No photographer Credited.

Here’s my first space photo and it’s dripping with history, it’s of the Russian space dog Damka happily sat outside her capsule tongue lolling in the bright sun of Russian winter. I’m not sure but it’s likely faked; not as fake as I first thought as I was under the impression that like poor old Laika (the first dog in space) that Russian dogs all died in space. This wasn’t always the case and many survived their ordeals.

Damka apparently was very lucky her rocket misfired and never went into full orbit, her luck continued as the capsule came down safely. The rescue crew were wary of the auto-destruct mechanism and it being snowy and dark left the apparently dead dog for the morning for fear of the whole thing blowing up as they tinkered . Fortunately in the morning Damka was heard barking in side and was rescue intact!

As for the picture it’s clearly doctored I’m not sure whether the black lines are state censors work or the work of photo sub making it better defined for reproduction. I can’t believe even in 1950’s anyone bought the picture wholesale

Links:

Damka

Capsules
Rockets