Description: Five Vintage Photos of Goodyear Aircraft Solar Collectors: 1960s, Early Space. Back in the early days of space exploration, Goodyear Aircraft’s (Aerospace) Space Systems Division was experimenting with “solar collectors” that would gather and convert solar energy into electrical energy for the imagined long duration flights into space. These are early photos of the testing and development of that technology, presumably at Wingfoot Lake, not far from Akron. I bought these at an estate sale in Akron, Ohio, decades ago. The house belonged to either one of Goodyear Aircraft’s photographers or newsletter editors. I bought these because I’ve always been interested in space and space travel – and you needed to have solar collectors if you were going to have any hope of SERIOUS space travel. And so I bought all five of the black and white glossy photos. These are high quality 8 x 10 photos (including the margins). One is an artist rendition of the progression of the inflation of the solar collector (with a little Goodyear Aircraft dingbat in the lower left corner). The other four were taken presumably at Wingfoot Lake. At least two of photos show the full size 52 foot dish –in one of the photos you can see three engineers working on a platform above the dish. The other two may be a smaller rendition of the collector -- it’s hard to tell the dimensions from the photos. Someone wrote on the back of each (in pencil) Solar Collector. The stamp on the back is “Goodyear Aerospace Corporation Photographic Department” as well as the number of the photo. (The company was renamed in 1963). There is no indication of the date. I’ve determined the date based on the stories that appeared in the Beacon Journal at the time. These are rare, professional photos. And what makes them even better is a portion of the proceeds of this sale goes to the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank.
Price: 55 USD
Location: Kent, Ohio
End Time: 2025-02-01T22:13:08.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Unit of Sale: Lot
Antique: No
Size: 8 x 10 in
Custom Bundle: Yes
Date of Creation: 1960-1969
Image Color: Black & White
Framing: Unframed
Vintage: Yes
Size Type/Largest Dimension: Medium (Up to 10")
Year of Production: 1960s
Format: 8x10 black and white glossy
Original/Reprint: Original Print
Style: Documentary
Featured Refinements: Corporate photograph
Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
Finish: Glossy
Color: Black & White
Material: Paper
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Modified Item: No
Subject: Goodyear Solar Collectors/Space
Type: Photograph
Number of Photographs: 5
Theme: Space
Time Period Manufactured: 1960-1969
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
