The Able IV space engine is one of the very most significant surviving artifacts of the early days of the great “Space Race” initiated by the Russian Sputnik satellite, October 4, 1957.  The earliest space efforts by both USA and USSR were to launch a satellite into earth orbit, with more failures than successes. However, within a year, both nations turned their focus to the moon, with national prestige, and potential military implications, in the balance.

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