In the 1960's Bell Aerosystems caught the public imagination with a series of rocket and jet-powered rocket belts. Rocket belt-equipped fliers became a symbol of the future and a fixture at World Fairs, football games, etc. But the technology was too expensive and limited to ever be adopted for military or civilian terrestrial purposes.

Manufacturer: Bell.

1961 June 8 - Launch Vehicle: Rocket belt.

• Rocket belt demonstrated. Nation: USA. Small rocket lift device demonstrated publicly for the first time at Fort Eustis, Va., a rocket belt developed by Bell Aerosystems, which lifted Harold M. Graham in a controlled free flight to an altitude of 15 feet and a standup landing 150 feet from his starting point.References: 18.

• Emme, Eugene M, Aeronautical and Astronautical Events of 1961 Report of NASA to the Committee on Science and Astronautics US House of Representatives 87th Cong 2d Sess, NASA, 1962. Accessed at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/timeline.html.