Lessons from the Lebanese Space Program – Kasurian

Modest Beginnings At the height of the Cold War, only a handful of nations possessed the capacity to launch rockets into space. Among them were the world's foremost superpowers of the time: the United States of America (USA), and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Then there was Lebanon, a newly formed Mediterranean nation barely larger than the state of Delaware. Between 1960 and 1967, the almost forgotten Lebanese Rocket Society, led by its founder Manoug Manougian, competed with the great powers of the Cold War to create a space program in Lebanon. Founded as a student association within the Haigazian College in Beirut in November 1960, the Rocket Society operated without any official funding from the state or the university. Relying on the dedication of a few professors, seven students, and a modest donation from the Lebanese entrepreneur and Parliamentarian Emile Bustani, what the burgeoning Society lacked in resources, it made up for in ingenuity, drive, and vision. A ... Read full article.