The second of two Bonestell paintings used to illustrate the first article in Collier's "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" series: Wernher von Braun's essay entitled "Crossing the Last Frontier."

This painting was captioned "Skin of rocket ship's third stage (shown over Cape Town, South Africa) glows red hot on return trip. Phenomenon does not occur during ascent." The article describes in detail how after delivering its payload of space-station materials and supplies, the third-stage of the rocket will descend to an orbit of 50 miles where friction with the thin air begins to slow it down. "The progress of the ship through the upper atmosphere has been so fast that air friction has heated the outer metal skin of body and wings to about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit. The rocket ship has actually changed color, from steel blue to cherry red! ... At a point 15 miles above the earth, the rocket ship finally slows down to the speed of sound—roughly 750 miles per hour. From here on, it spirals to the ground like a normal airplane ... [and] After a thorough checkup, the third stage will be ready for another ascent into the orbit."