An approximately 6.5” metal railroad spike removed from the railway once connecting Launch Complex 5/6 and 26. The spike is affixed to a 5.5 x 11.75 wooden plaque with a gold-colored sticker that reads: “Spike from railroad which transported Mercury Capsule to Launch Complex 5/6 for first sub-orbital space flight by Alan B. Shepard, Jr., on 5 May, 1961.” A copy of a letter from the Department of the Air Force detailing the item’s history is affixed to the reverse. This railway was used to move the gantry away from the launch pad prior to lift off. Complex 5/6 is significant in the history of manned space flight as it was the launch site of Explorer 1, the first US satellite, as well as Shepard’s historic 15 minute, suborbital flight. RRAuction COA.
