Moon rocket illustration by Jack Coggins, from "Spaceship to the Moon", 1952

…that’s some engine! I mean, really, that is ONE FAT ROCKET. Wowza.

Rocket Ring, by potus31 on Etsy

It’s high time for some spacey jewelry here at Silver Rockets — spring is in the air, so why not spruce yourself up with some rocket goodies? (Note: most likely you’ve been experiencing spring for a while now, dear reader. Hey baby, it’s cold outside, here in the frozen wastes of far-northern California.)

Retro 3D Rocket Ship Flying Around the Moon Necklace, by SilverHorizonDesigns on Etsy

Rocket ships don’t seem to be the most popular subject for jewelry — I keep seeing the same designs over and over, some of which were featured here previously. I’m glad they’re still available! Anyway, here’s a few fun things I found. This last one entertains me, and would make a great gift, especially if you know a space-nerdy couple!

Just Married Rocket Ship Necklace, by Jody Lyle Jewelry on Etsy

It’s hard to imagine rocketing straight up to 202,000 feet altitude… but then again, it’s hard (for me) to imagine a U. S. Army Air Force, though I know perfectly well there was one (paging Mr. von Braun….)

A very uplifting HAHAHA I MAKE JOKE recruiting advertisement from 1947. For more awesome retro-space advertisements, I highly recommend Megan Prellinger’s book, Another Science Fiction: Advertising the Space Race 1957-1962.

Image via The Retronaut. Hat tip to @terrazoom for the link!

"A Journey Into Tomorrow" by David A. Hardy

A beautiful piece of art, inspiring the next generation of space explorers.

Found here; hat tip and many thanks to @terrazoom!

I admit, I’m a sucker for space toys, especially awesome retro space toys, like the Ideal Astro Base shown above (buy it on Etsy! It looks like a blast!! No, I’m not being punny on purpose.)

Astro Base was a toy made by the Ideal company in the early 1960′s. The toy ran on 4 D Cell batteries. Other than a power switch, it had several features that includes the following modes of operation:

Astro Scope: Switch to Astro Scope and a scene of spaceships, rockets, and jets rotates through a view finder just below a radar dome on the top of the toy. A button on the console let the user ‘fire’ at objects seen on the screen, which would pause the rotating images and emit a machine-gun style sound.

Space Lock: A crane emerges out of the hatch on one side of the toy. This crane has a hoist operation that can be used to raise or lower a plastic astronaut figure, or other objects that the user may have that can be connected to the hook at the end of a chain. The main purpose of this crane is to insert or remove the astronaut from a scout car.

Scout Car: The scout car can be plugged into a port on the console and controlled by a two position switch marked Turn and Drive that can actually be used to steer the vehicle with a bit of practice. The scout car also has missiles that can be launched.

Ideal made two variations of the Astro Base. The original all-red version featured a lighted Astro Scope that illuminated the pictures spinning around the Astro Scope. Ideal Toys discontinued this version and offered the common red and white version.
— CollectToys.net

I also liked this Moon Patrol XT-978 Tank, because I’m amused at the mental image of tooling around the lunar surface… in a tank. Any tank, really, but especially one with bodacious tail-fins!

I have no proof, but somehow I doubt the Girl’s Own Paper from February 1958 had moon rockets on it. (If such a Paper existed, that is.) Needless to say, I would have bought this one, were I there at the time — just one shilling, can’t be beat! Image via x-ray delta one.

Some terrific Soviet space propaganda for your Tuesday. See the rest at DVICE.

Artwork by Chelsey Bonestell, 1950

A rocket launches from California, hopefully headed for the Moon, in 1950. (Those were the days. Rockets launched all the time, from everywhere!) Image via x-ray delta one.

A Little Boy's Dream © Andy Lendway 2012

I love it when people send me things they think I’d like! This print by Andy Lendway is adorable — though I know quite a few women, myself included, for whom this image was a little girl’s dream as well. (I still have my space LEGOs!)

A terrific Moon rocket from 1930. Off to the Moon? If only, if only….