All eyes on the Moon again

November 2022 News

Global interest in space exploration is at a fever pitch as NASA prepares its first lunar mission in 50 years. It also brings back memories of Pratley Putty being the only South African-manufactured product to have gone to the Moon. Prior to the Apollo 11 mission, the Ranger project of the 1960s was the first US effort to launch probes directly towards the Moon. This laid the groundwork for the successful Apollo 11 mission.

During the 1960s, South African manufacturer Pratley invented the world’s first epoxy putty. Initially it was intended to be used internally for insulating and affixing terminals to cast iron electrical junction boxes. However, the product was subsequently introduced into the local market as ‘Pratley Plastic Putty’, a name that ultimately became Pratley Putty.

An agreement to manufacture the product under licence in the United States was concluded with a US manufacturer, which then introduced it to NASA. However, the product was not yet ready for production in the United States, so when it was subsequently decided to use it for the Ranger programme, it was supplied directly from Pratley’s head office in South Africa. Consequently, Pratley Putty achieved recognition as the only South African-manufactured product to ever go to the Moon.

The South African Mint celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2019 with its ‘South African inventions’ series, focusing on the ‘proudly South African’ Pratley Putty. In October 2019, Pratley Putty was featured as part of a ‘Destination Moon’ exhibition at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in the historic Electric Workshop in the cultural precinct of Newtown, Johannesburg.

“Our roots are in innovation, research, and development. It is a cornerstone of what we do at Pratley, and we continue to live and breathe it,” comments CEO, Andrew Pratley. “Pratley branded products not only offer exceptional reliability, but in accordance with our policy statement, their performance must exceed all others on the world market.”

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