Category Archives: Space Collecting

Education, History, Space Collecting

NASA offers space program artifacts to schools and museums

An announcement from NASA about historical space items available for schools and museums:

NASA Announces 17th Screening of Space Program Artifacts

WASHINGTON — NASA is inviting eligible educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical space artifacts.

The artifacts represent significant human spaceflight technologies, processes and the accomplishments of NASA’s many programs. NASA and the General Services Administration worked together to ensure broad access to space artifacts and to provide a web-based electronic artifacts viewing capability. This is the 17th time since 2009 NASA has made this opportunity available.

The web-based artifacts module is located at: http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm

Eligible participants may view the artifacts and request specific items at the website through May 6. Only schools and museums are eligible to receive artifacts. They must register online using an assigned Department of Education number or through the state agency responsible for surplus property.

The artifacts are free of charge. Eligible organizations must cover shipping costs and any special handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive, while larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations, on a case-by-case basis, to address any unique special handling costs.

Special items, such as space shuttle thermal protective tiles and packages of three packets of astronaut food, also are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Instructions for requesting artifacts and special items are linked on the website home page.

To date, more than 7,700 artifacts from programs, including the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, space shuttle and the Hubble Space Telescope, have been given to eligible museums, schools, universities, libraries and planetariums in all 50 U.S. states. Artifacts are on display for 42 days. NASA organizations must register their requests within the first 21 days. All other eligible organizations may register their requests after the first 21 days. After the viewing period ends, organizations will be notified about the status of their requests.

For more about NASA and agency programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov

Space Collecting

Spanish farmer unknowingly owned a multimillion dollar meteorite

That big odd looking rock on the front porch might be valuable meteorite: Asteroid used as ham press by Spanish farmer worth $5.3 million – NY Daily News

History, Space Collecting

Space memorabilia auctions in New York and Paris bring in big bucks

The space memorabilia auction at Bonhams yesterday (see earlier posts here, here and here) seems to have done fairly well: Apollo 13 Souvenir Rakes In $84,100 in Space History Auction – Space.com

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An separate memorabilia auction in Paris on Tuesday brought in lots of euros for a Soviet era items including a spacesuit used in the 1980s : Soviet spacesuit auctioned for 112,000 euros – AFP/Phys.org

History, Space Collecting

Bonhams space auction today

Bonhams apace and aviation auction today is getting quite a bit of press. See, for example:

History, Space Collecting

Buzz Aldrin says he is not selling anything at Bonhams space auction

I previously mentioned here and here the Bonhams Auction of space memorabilia that is scheduled for this Monday in New York City. The 300 item lot holds some Apollo 11 related materials from Buzz Aldrin, including some documents taken to the lunar surface. However, he says these items came to the market via his ex-wife and he is not selling any of his remaining Apollo program items: Buzz Aldrin refutes space sale, states he is keeping his moon memorabilia – collectSPACE

“I am not offering any items for sale from my current collection of Apollo 11 articles in the Bonhams auction,” astronaut Buzz Aldrin clarified in a written statement sent to collectSPACE.com on Saturday. “The Apollo 11 items being auctioned on Monday are being resold from auctions that took place in 2007 or earlier at the instigation of my ex-wife and her daughter who acted as my attorney and business manager.”