Vintage model of the First Rocket Launch Gird-9 rocket, constructed of polished aluminum, standing 21.75” tall, and set upon a wooden 6″ x 6″ base with an engraved plate: “ГИРД 09.” In fine condition.
Directed by Sergey Korolev, the future leader of the Soviet space program, the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (Gruppa izucheniya reaktivnogo dvizheniya, i.e. GIRD) was founded in Moscow in 1931 to develop rocket technology for the world's first large professional rocketry program. On August 17, 1933, (on their third attempt), this hybrid propellant rocket, aka Vehicle 9 or GIRD 9, designed by Mikhail Tikhonravov, launched successfully and flew to a height of 1300 feet. An attractive vintage model signifying a very important event in the history of rocketry.
