Autographed First American Rocket Mail - Historic 1936 Cover Signed by Rocket Designer

History was made on February 23, 1936, when a specially-built unmanned rocket plane was launched from the village of Greenwood Lake, New York, across a frozen lake to Hewitt, New Jersey. Delayed by two weeks due to technical issues, on board was a fireproof sack containing a number of cacheted souvenir covers, each bearing a special private-issue rocket mail stamp and commemorative postmark identifying it as the first successful American rocket mail. A small number of covers were signed by Willy Ley, a well-known German rocket scientist who designed and launched the rocket, and who was later a significant contributor to the American space program. While the flight was not without its problems and the idea of delivering mail by rocket proved to be impractical, successful flights such as this proved that liquid-fueled rockets worked and led to the development of modern rockets and jet engines. This historic autographed cover, now over 85 years old and carried on board the rocket plane, comes mounted in a distinctive gold-titled portfolio with the fascinating story behind this groundbreaking experimental rocket flight from the dawn of the space age.