Until very recently I wasn’t aware that NASA’s Gemini astronauts were issued with switchblades for emergency use, it’s likely that the knives were intended to be used in the result of a crash landing in a forest or jungle rather than the ocean as planned. Soviet cosmonauts from the same era were issued with machetes for much the same reason.
The knife you see here spent 25 hours and 52 minutes in space on the Gemini 6 mission in late 1965, it was made by Camilus of New York and it still bears it original NASA serial numbers and documentation. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid on it you can click here to visit RR Auction.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Before you get out the pitchforks and flaming torches let me put your minds at ease – no vintage Mongoose Californian BMX bikes were harmed in the production of the motorized bike you see before…
This is the new Pando Moto Capo riding shirt, it’s designed for motorcyclists who want something a lot lighter than a jacket but still want some form of protection. We typically see riding shirts like…
This is the new Carburettor T-Shirt by Silodrome, it comes in your choice of four colors and seven sizes, and each one is screen printed. by hand in Richmond, Virginia. Carburettor tuning is the vintage…
This 1969 Ford Bronco has been through a comprehensive restoration to better-than-new condition thanks to the fitment of a rebuilt 302 cu. in. V8, power disc brakes on all four corners, and significantly uprated…
This series of British Leyland t-shirts was created by graphic designer and illustrator Roy McCarthy celebrate the memorable advertising from one of the United Kingdom’s most famous (or perhaps infamous) automakers. There are four t-shirts…
This is a 1974 Chevrolet K5 Blazer convertible that’s been through a subtle restomod process to give it more modern power and reliability without losing any of its original charm. The team behind the rebuild…
