Terry Hammonds Percheron and Conestoga Collection
Contents of the Collection
The Terry Hammonds Percheron and Conestoga Collection relates to Space Services, Inc. (SSI) and the 1981-1984 Percheron and Conestoga rocket programs. The collection is comprised of primarily of audiovisual materials, including photographs, slides, negatives, and audiocassettes, as well as a small amount of textual materials collected by Hammonds during his time reporting on SSI.
Series I, Audiovisual materials, comprises the bulk of the collection and includes six black-and-white 8x10 photographs, fifty-four color slides, and seventy-five negatives; all taken by Hammonds. The photographs, only two of which have captions providing contextual information, feature a snapshot of SSI founder, David Hannah and his wife, Catherine; the SSI Launch tower, two images of the Miss Matagorda, a transport barge, and one of its Captain [no name given] and one image of the Conestoga launch. The slides and negatives feature various Percheron and Conestoga scenes, such as the rockets being readied for launch, the launch tower, a bottle of champagne, close-ups of the logos on the rockets, and unidentified people. Duplication occurs.
There are also two audiocassettes; one is labeled "Perch[eron] SSI Houston" and, according to donor paperwork, is an interview with David Hannah following the Percheron explosion. The other is labeled "Hannah, Slayton 84" and includes interviews, likely conducted by Hammonds, with David Hannah and Deke Slayton.
Series II, Textual materials, includes two photocopies of magazine articles written by Hammonds; "Out of This World," Texas Business, December 1981, about Hannah and Space Services, Inc. and "Rocket Man,"Success: The Magazine for Achievers, July 1984, about Hannah’s mission to put private enterprise into space. Also included is a press kit folder and its materials; a color patch with "Conestoga" along the top and "Spaces Services Inc." along the bottom of a central image showing a partially obscured Earth and a conestoga wagon; an informational booklet on SSI, a Conestoga I Suborbital Test Launch booklet, and three documents related to the countdown summary, recycle criteria, and flight sequence of the Conestoga.
Dates
- Creation: 1981-1984
Creator
- Hammonds, Terry (Person)
Language of Materials
All materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.
Conditions Governing Use
The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF Archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.
Historical Note: Space Services, Inc. of America
Space Services, Inc. of America (SSI) was founded in 1980 by David Hannah, Jr. On September 9, 1982, SSI made history with the first successful privately funded space launch vehicle, Conestoga I. During a time when privately financed space exploration was non existent, SSI became a pioneer in developing commercial launch services. As an innovative force, SSI met many challenges, the most costly of which was the licensing and other legal issues which needed to be addressed. Juggling agreements and communications with 18 different federal agencies, SSI was finally able to obtain the appropriate permissions for the memorable Conestoga I launch. The president of SSI at this time was Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, Mercury 7 astronaut. SSI continued with the development of the Conestoga series of launch vehicles, and also developed the Starfire series of launch vehicles. In 2004, the former SSI joined with Celestis, Inc. to form Space Services, Incorporated, which is still in existence. Celestis, Inc. was founded by former SSI employees in 1994.
Source:
Historical note from online finding aid for Space Services Inc. of America (SSI) Records, 2006-0051, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Biographical Note: Terry Hammonds
Terry Hammonds was born on April 19, 1941 in Charleston, West Virginia. Hammonds graduated with a degree in psychology and worked for a time as a social worker. He also worked as a reporter. During Hammonds' journalist career, he followed Space Services Inc. (SSI) taking photographs and writing articles about their projects.
As of 2012, Hammonds was residing in Florida. No further information is known.
Source:
Biography derived from donor information.
Extent
0.2 Cubic Feet (1 2-inch letter size document box )
Abstract
Terry Hammonds (born 1941) was a reporter who followed Space Services, Inc. (SSI) and wrote articles, as well as took photographs, about SSI's Percheron and Conestoga projects. The collection is comprised of audiovisual materials, including photographs, slides, negatives, and two (2) audiocassettes, as well as a small amount of textual materials relating to Space Services, Inc. and the 1981-1984 Percheron and Conestoga rocket programs.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Existence and Location of Copies
The audiocassettes in this collection have been digitized and are available for researchers. Consult repository for more details.
Separated Materials
The following material has been separated from the archival component and are kept in Objects storage:
- One (1) brown T-shirt printed with "I Survived the 1st Matagorda Space Shot, Sept. 1982"
Subject
- Space Services, Inc. of America (Organization)
- Slayton, Donald K., 1924-1993 (Person)
- Hannah, David (Person)
- Hannah, Catherine (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Terry Hammonds Percheron and Conestoga Collection
- Status
- Completed Level 3
- Author
- J. Parent
- Date
- 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- 1st Edition
Repository Details
Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874
curator@museumofflight.org