Poster, NASA, Manned Flight Awareness

This poster depicts the Apollo spacecraft hurtling through space next to a man in a hardhat carefully removing labeled boxes from a conveyer belt. The main text reads, “Every Step Counts - to assure a successful lunar mission” followed by “zero damages on delivery.” On the poster is the NASA label for spacecraft components in transit, “Critical Space Item / Handle with Extreme Care.”

During the Apollo program, people produced components at companies around the United States and in a few foreign countries. To assemble the giant Saturn V rockets and Apollo spacecraft, and ensure the safe return of the astronauts, NASA needed to ship spacecraft parts safely. It was imperative that each part arrive without damage.

NASA’s Manned Flight Awareness, a program begun in 1963, and later renamed Space Flight Awareness, created posters to enhance employee motivation for job quality and flight safety within NASA and its contractors.