Description :

An exceptionally rare, complete three-piece historical media archive kit issued by the Boeing Company News Bureau in September 1966.

This lot celebrates one of humanity's greatest photographic milestones: the first image of the Earth captured from the vicinity of the Moon by NASA’s Lunar Orbiter I spacecraft on August 23, 1966.Unlike standard commercial or educational posters distributed to the general public, this specific lot represents an internal, high-level press kit distributed strictly to news editors and aerospace journals just weeks after the mission's success.

The lot comprises three separate, loose sheets in remarkable vintage condition

-The Photographic Print (Panoramic Format): Featuring the legendary view of the crescent Earth rising over the battered lunar landscape. The bottom margin features the pristine, custom-printed text block detailing the technical coordinates: "Distance from Earth - 232,000 mi. -- Altitude above Moon - 730 mi.

-The Technical Geometry Sheet: A separate, highly detailed diagram outlining the perspective and orbital mechanics of the shot. It includes schematics for the spacecraft's pitch, roll, and yaw maneuvers, its line of sight relative to the Sun and Canopus, an orbital plan view, and a spatial projection map of the Earth and Moon during exposure.

-The Boeing News Bureau Press Release (Attached Archive Sheet): The crown jewel of the set's provenance. Bearing the original typed headers from Boeing's Langley Research Center program, this document carries the official archive serial code 2B16364-1 and the date stamp code 0-2491 / 092766 (September 27, 1966).

Minor uniform browning (foxing) and gentle edge wear consistent with 60-year-old archival paper are present but do not detract from the legibility of the graphics or text. An outstanding, investment-grade acquisition for collectors of NASA, Boeing, and mid-century space-race history