Category Archives: History

History, Living in Space

Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan has died

Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan has died at the age of 82. He became the last person to have walked on the Moon when he climbed up the ladder of the lunar module. He and Harrison Schmitt had spent three days on the Moon from Dec.11 to Dec. 14, 1972.

For more about Cernan, see:

Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan with American flag on the Moon, December 1972

A happy moment in the Apollo 17 mission when Cernan and Schmitt strolled on the Moon:

Here is a NASA documentary about the Apollo 17 mission:

Update: A new NASA video about Cernan:

Some thoughts on why we haven’t gotten back to the Moon since Cernan: The passing of Gene Cernan reminds us how far we haven’t come | Ars Technica.

History, Space films and videos

Videos: ‘Hidden Figures” opens to strong reviews + More about NASA’s “Human Computers”

The new movie Hidden Figures, which portrays the struggles and triumphs of three African-American female mathematicians working for NASA in the 1960s, opened in the US yesterday and is getting excellent reviews:

Here is the official trailer:

Here is a new 20th Century Fox video with some background and brief statements from some of the actors:

This video shows a NASA panel discussion about the women and history depicted in the movie:

NASA kicked off a yearlong centennial celebration for its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with events Dec. 1 highlighting the critical work done by the African American women of Langley’s West Computing Unit, a story told in the book and upcoming movie “Hidden Figures”. During a NASA education event that was streamed to schools across the country, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Film director Ted Melfi, NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry, who consulted on the film, and NASA Modern Figure Julie Williams-Byrd, an electro-optics engineer for the Space Mission Analysis Branch at Langley, discussed the work of past and present NASA figures benefits humanity and enable future long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space, including the agency’s Journey to Mars.

(The video opens with the movie trailer. The event starts at about 3:05.)

Here is a short interview with mathematician Katherine Johnson, now 98, whose work at NASA was a focus of the movie:

The movie is based on the research of Margot Lee Shetterly, who wrote the just released book, Hidden Figures. (More about the book at Hidden Figures — Margot Lee Shetterly: Research. Write. Repeat.) She founded the The Human Computer Project, “Inspiring STEM stories from history”, which is dedicated to researching the role of women at NASA and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) .

This video shows a presentation given by Shetterly in March 2014 at NASA Langley Center in Virginia:

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Events, History

Astronaut John Glenn 1921-2016

Mercury 7 astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, died on Thursday at the age of 95:

Here is a video of an interview with Glenn on the 50th anniversary of his Friendship 7 flight:

Here is a sequence of NASA videos about Glenn:

The liftoff of Friendship 7 on an Atlas rocket on on February 20, 1962:

Events, History, Space Collecting

Astronaut memorabilia auction supports U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum

The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, Florida is holding its annual Charity Auction:

The Space Walk of Fame Charity Space Memorabilia Auction takes place on Oct. 29. Don’t miss out on this chance to bid on exciting pieces of aerospace history — from photos signed by the Mercury Astronauts to pieces of the Hindenberg to a flown-in-space quilt and SO much more. Over 300 items offered! You can begin bidding NOW at Invaluable.com. 

Click HERE to see the auction items and find out how to bid!

Remember that the museum makes a percentage from each sale so you are supporting our STEAM Space education program and helping students and at-risk youth learn about science and technology. Our goal is to move them from away from being passive consumers and TOWARD producing goods, services or digital products. 

NO items featured in the memorabilia auction are being sold from the museum collection — these are all consignment pieces or are provided by astronauts or former space workers.

Check out the Space memorabilia auction items at Invaluable.com. Here are a couple of examples:

Mercury Astronaut signed photo

Mercury astronaut signed photo.
Framed and matted photograph from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Authentically signed by John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Scott Carpenter and Gordon Cooper. A limited edition #261/300. In new condition.

Three “Flown” Russian Space Program souvenirs

Three (3) "Flown" Russian Space Program souvenirs; a cosmonaut-endorsed flown Soyuz alloy card and two nice medallions
Three (3) “Flown” Russian Space Program souvenirs; a cosmonaut-endorsed flown Soyuz alloy card and two nice medallions
History, Space Collecting

NASA space suit test robot from 1965 available at auction house

RR Auction offers a wide range of Space Collectibles in their items up for bid. The current catalog includes an interesting item that is getting a lot of press – a NASA 1965 Space Suit Test Robot valued in the $80,000+ range : You could own this dilapidated 1960s NASA robot – CNET

NASAMechanicalManSpacesuitTester

From the item description:

An extraordinary hydraulically powered robot dummy designed for NASA to use in testing space suits, circa 1963–1965, produced by the IIT Research Institute. The life-size dummy could simulate 35 basic human motions and was equipped with torque sensors at each joint to gather data on forces imposed on the human body by a pressurized suit. While a person could qualitatively describe the comfort and restrictions of a certain suit, the articulated dummy could provide direct quantitative information for a more scientific method of refining the design.

Weighing 230 pounds, the dummy was made height adjustable from 5´ 5″ to 6´ 2″ so that it could represent the average American male from the fifth to ninety-fifth percentile. The movements of the robot were enabled by hydraulic actuators powered by oil flowing through a nylon-tube circulatory system, and controlled by the operator from a separate console. The exterior is covered with a 1/32-inch thick aluminum skin with cutaways to allow freedom of motion, and the facial section of the fiberglass head is removable for access to the interior connections. The dummy is missing a forearm and hand, has various scuffs and dings to the body, and some of the wiring is frayed or damaged.

Only two of these robot dummies were produced, and the other is owned by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum; this one was purchased as surplus from the University of Maryland. The ‘Power Driven Articulated Dummy’ project was under Contract No. NAS 9-1370 and ran from May 22, 1963 through July 31, 1965, and is described at length in an official report dated December 14, 1965. The report covers, in great detail, the specifications of the dummy, its various systems, and technical hurdles encountered while creating it.

Although the development team succeeded in creating this impressive android—it could swivel its hips, raise and lower its arms and legs, shrug its shoulders, clench its fists, and even shake hands—the robot was never deployed as intended. The hydraulic system could not handle the pressure needed to move the robot’s extremities without leaking, and despite some creative test solutions—including outfitting it with a scuba wetsuit—the problem was never solved. NASA ultimately dropped the project in order to direct its funding elsewhere. Nevertheless, this remarkable robot stands as a testament to the innovative creativity NASA inspired in its quest skyward. Oversized.