Extremely rare Apollo 7 press kit produced by the Raytheon Company, highlighted by a never-before-offered "Apollo 7 Mission Analyzer,” the very first to be released by Raytheon. The circular cardstock rotating chart measures 9.5″ in diameter and provides a guide for the mission's timeline and activities; one side shows “CSM/S-IVB Rendezvous, CSM Midcourse, Preentry Sequence, and Atmospheric Reentry,” and the other features “Launch Phase.”
Completing the press kit is the original “Apollo Guidance and Navigation” document sleeve, which contains an Apollo 7 “Guidance & Navigation Information” pamphlet by AC Electronics of General Motors; three original vintage glossy NASA photos, 8 x 10 and 10 x 8, each with their original affixed “Public Relations, Raytheon Company” caption sheets, which title the photos as “Apollo Guidance Computer,” “Display and Keyboard,” and “Crater Census”; and a set of five Raytheon “For Immediate Release” press releases issued by PR manager John E. Severance on October 11, 1968, the launch date of the historic Apollo 7 mission. The press releases, each 8.5 x 11, amount to a total of 10 pages and relate to subjects like “The Block II Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC)”; Raytheon’s nine ground-and-sea display systems installed at six ground tracking stations and three Apollo tracking ships; the study of lunar photographs by Raytheon’s Autometric Operation to determine “potential landing areas”; the differences and improvements between the Block I and Block II computers; and the use and capabilities of the AGC and the Display and Keyboard (DSKY) by the Apollo 7 astronauts. In overall fine condition, with some toning to the sleeve.
A magnificent early grouping of hard-to-find press material related to the first crewed flight of NASA’s Apollo program. Raytheon mission analyzers remain highly sought by collectors, and the emergence of this Apollo 7 example is quite the rare occurrence, this being the first we have encountered. The addition of the entire press kit with its original photographs and documents, articles typically lost, discarded, or damaged, is hugely agreeable and lends further excitement to this rare NASA relic.
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