A discovery in a Huntsville home is giving space leaders a better understanding of the history of space exploration.
Krista Billiter moved to a home on Monte Sano in late 2019. It wasn't until earlier this year that she found seven presentation slides in her attic.
She quickly got in touch with the International Space Education Institute. Director Ralf Heckel came to the home to tell her just what she had.
The drawings and calculations belonged to the late aerospace engineer Jesco von Puttkamer, who lived in the home. Heckel had studied under him.
"This is a surprise, a really big surprise," Heckel said.
The drawings, presumed to be from the 1960s, have futuristic ideas for exploration of its time. There are even renderings of the Saturn V rocket.
"We didn't know that there was something from his pen existing that creates a picture of space exploration 55 years ago, before Apollo 8 was launched," Heckel said.
Heckel and colleagues unveiled a new plaque at the home, dedicated to von Puttkamer and his years of work to space.
The renderings will be taken to exhibitions.
