The Seemingly Impossible Mission For Space Cadets In 1953

In 1953 Ralston foods began distribution of Space Patrol premium trading cards inspired by the popular 1950's TV and radio outer-space drama - one random card was included in every box of Wheat and Rice Chex. The complete set consists of 40 separate cards - needless to say, the collectors probably had to buy a whole lot of Chex cereals to get them all. But what good space cadet could resist trying? The collection came in three sub-sets - Space Heroes/Stars, Rockets/Jets and Weapons (it really should have been Rockets/Jets and Tech), and Planets. The three sub-sets are shown below - the full color illustrations are way cool. This full set auctioned at Hake's in May 2007 - the final winning bid was $4,437.62. It was the first complete set ever sold in Hake's 40 year history.  (Click on the images to enlarge)

Space Heroes/Stars

Rockets/Jets and 'Weapons'

Planets

What Is There Not To Love About Vintage Tin Toy Rocket Ships? Take These For Example...

Rocket Ships! So many good ones. This batch is from the Alphadrome Robot and Space Toy Database. Each of these gems have a unique feature to them. For instance, the Vispa Rocket is a classic from Argentina. The Universe Televiboat from China has the neat action where the rocket stops, the astronaut operates his camera, the rocket begins its journey again and the action repeats. If you want to know more about any of them just click on the name under the images and you'll be transported to the expert Database. The designs speak for themselves - all one needs to appreciate that is a simple eye for cool. To view a larger image click the pic. Happy rocketeering!

X-12 MOON ROCKET - YONEZAWA - JAPAN

VISPA ROCKET - VISPA - ARGENTINA

V-3 ROCKET - HAJI - JAPAN

UNIVERSE TELEVIBOAT ME777 - CHINA

TWO-STAGE EARTH SATELLITE - LINEMAR - JAPAN

THREE STAGE ROCKET - NOMURA / NIKKO - JAPAN

SUPER SONIK INDIAN ARMY ROCKET - VTC - INDIA

SPARKLING ROCKET FIGHTER SHIP 5 - MARX - USA

SPARK ROCKET FIGHTER X-1 - YONEZAWA - JAPAN

SPACE SHIP X-7 - MASUDAYA - JAPAN

I Like Dreaming

It started like this:

The front page of the Soviet newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda after the 1957 launch of world's first satellite: Sputnik.

...and now it's like this:

A Beehive of Satellites: The debris objects shown in the images are an artist's impression based on actual density data. Image Credit: European Space Agency via NASA

...we're still dreaming of this:

To The Other Planets, Prague 1962. Illustrated by František Škoda. (via josefskrhola).

I like dreaming.