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Lebanon's forgotten civilian space program
During the 1960s, the US and the Soviet Union competed for supremacy in space. But there was another contestant in the race - the Lebanese Rocket Society, a science club from a university in Beirut.
"My vision was to explore space - Lebanon could have done that." Manoug Manougian's boast may sound unlikely, but 50 years ago he and a group of students found themselves as space pioneers of the Arab world.
Despite a shoestring budget, they developed a rocket capable of reaching the edge of space. Other Arab countries were keen to use his skills for their own weapons programmes:
"I was offered the moon in terms of money and support," he says of one particular offer made to him by an unnamed Arab country. "I turned them down. I realised what the implications would have been as I'm very strongly against violence of any kind."
Memories of the Lebanese Rocket Society quickly faded and archive material was lost during the country's civil war.
"My vision was to explore space - Lebanon could have done that." Manoug Manougian's boast may sound unlikely, but 50 years ago he and a group of students found themselves as space pioneers of the Arab world.
Despite a shoestring budget, they developed a rocket capable of reaching the edge of space. Other Arab countries were keen to use his skills for their own weapons programmes:
"I was offered the moon in terms of money and support," he says of one particular offer made to him by an unnamed Arab country. "I turned them down. I realised what the implications would have been as I'm very strongly against violence of any kind."
Memories of the Lebanese Rocket Society quickly faded and archive material was lost during the country's civil war.
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24735423
