Orbiting Spaceway from Kenner (1970)

Company: Kenner | Release date: 1970 | Where to purchase: eBay

Junior astronauts could control a fleet of spaceships with the Orbiting Spaceway, released in 1970 by Kenner.

Weighing less than two lbs and operating on three D batteries, the Spaceway reimagined the universe as a circular raceway complete with stars, planets, comets. The low table featured a 3D hemisphere of the earth at one end and a bright yellow space station at the other. When powered on, both the earth and station would spin clockwise.

12 different spaceships could be placed in various orbits on the board. Ships propelled around the board via a jet stream of air from an enclosed motored fan. Players used two yellow “mission control” switches to manipulate the orbits of one or more of the spaceships, allowing them to be run in different orbits simultaneously.

To vary play, kids could control the speed of the fan, making it possible for the armada of ships to be sped up or slowed down en masse. In addition to being portable, the Orbiting Spaceway also glowed-in-the-dark.

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