Lebanese Rocket Society

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

Lebanese Rocket Society

Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige

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The genesis of the Lebanese Rocket Society unfolded during the early 1960s within the precincts of Haigazian University, an emerging Armenian educational institution in Beirut. Spearheaded by a cadre of enterprising students under the tutelage of Professor Manoug Manougian, a luminary in the field of mathematics, the Lebanese Rocket Society materialized with the ambitious mission of conceiving and propelling rockets for the purposes of space exploration and study. This pioneering endeavor yielded the first regional rocket of its kind, conspicuously devoid of military intent, and dedicated to the advancement of scientific inquiry.

This endeavor, while seemingly surreal in contemporary retrospection, was conducted with unwavering commitment. Between 1960 and 1967, during the epoch of the Space Race and a milieu ripe with revolutionary ideas, the society successfully launched more than ten solid-fuel Cedar rockets. Each launch became a cause for celebration, culminating in the issuance of commemorative stamps featuring the Cedar IV rocket in honor of Lebanon’s 21st anniversary of independence. However, the Arab defeat of 1967 abruptly terminated this ambitious initiative.

Regrettably, most documents, photographs, and particularly films pertaining to this spatial odyssey have nearly vanished, relegating this remarkable and heroic undertaking to the annals of forgotten history. It now stands as an obscure anecdote, hidden away as a clandestine tale within the fabric of time.

This project embarks on an inquiry into the conspicuous absence of the Lebanese space program from both individual and collective memory. It elucidates our perceptions of the past and present, and our speculations regarding the future. Moreover, it delves into the concept of a collective dream. The project facilitates a deeper contemplation of the mythologies and historical events of that era, notably pan-Arabism and its subsequent decline following the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1967, a pivotal moment that left our societies and our parents’ generation in a state of disarray, fundamentally altering the Arab world and, foremost, reshaping our self-images.

Utilizing documents, archives, alongside reenactments and artistic installations, this undertaking endeavors to interrogate this narrative and the associated notions of reenactment, reconstitution, and contemporaneous reinterpretation.