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March 3, 2003

/ 12:02 a.m. ET

Survey closing

: Our Space Voyagers survey on Action Products' line of realistic space toys closes tonight and with it goes your chance to win their latest action figures and vehicles. Share your thoughts and shape the future of Space Voyagers.


March 3, 2003

/ 6:57 p.m. ET

Used spacecraft for sale cheap (maybe)

: For the space collector who has everything -- or wants it -- how about a Soviet satellite? Sanford & Son Antiques and Auctions of Tacoma, Washington will sell the Foton 6 spacecraft this Wednesday with no minimum or reserve. How much is it worth? The last time this same capsule was auctioned, it commanded $69,000.


March 3, 2003

/ 10:37 p.m. ET

Scott signing

: Though we realize it's late notice, Aurora Galleries will host a private signing with David Scott this Wednesday through Friday. For a fee, Scott will add his autograph to your item(s) with 'moderate' personalization.


March 4, 2003

/ 1:57 a.m. ET

Honduran moon rock stands trial

: As the sole witness testifying before a U.S. District Court, Alan Rosen made his case Monday for why he believes that the moon rock gifted to the people of Honduras is now his to own. The future fate of the lowly lunar sample is now the decision of a judge, who is expected to rule in two to three weeks.


March 5, 2003

/ 11:31 p.m. ET

Soviet spacecraft sells for a steal

: First acquired at a Paris auction for one million francs ($200,000), 11 years and at least one failed auction attempt later, the Foton 6 satellite was sold tonight for $31,000 at an auction held by Sanford & Son Antiques & Auctions in Tacoma, WA.


March 6, 2003

/ 2:39 p.m. ET

Florida quarter design chosen

: Space numismatists can rejoice! For a second time, space exploration will be represented as part of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters program. Florida's design, selected after three weeks of voting, will include a depiction of a shuttle orbiter landing.


March 7, 2003

/ 7:26 p.m. ET

Swann readies catalog

: Newcomer to the space scene Swann Galleries said that their first space memorabilia auction catalog will be ready to mail to bidders starting the week of March 17. The New York auction house has provided a preview of the artifacts they will offer April 12.


March 10, 2003

/ 12:03 p.m. ET

Swann illustrated

: As noted Friday, we have updated our article about Swann Galleries' debut space auction with more imagery of the highlight lots. Among the newly added photos are an Apollo 11 Data Card Book and an Apollo 17 moondust-stained 'overglove' worn by Cernan.


March 11, 2003

/ 8:37 a.m. ET

Signing deadline extended

: Due to a delay in travel plans to Tucson, Novaspace Galleries has announced they will now accept items for their private signing with Apollo 17 moonwalker Eugene Cernan through April 19.


March 12, 2003

/ 10:57 a.m. ET

One giant leap for... Dirty Harry

: Trade daily Variety reports that Clint Eastwood has acquired the film rights for real space cowboy Neil A. Armstrong's authorized biography. Although the still-to-be-titled book won't be published until late 2004 at earliest, Eastwood has said that he will produce and direct (but not star in) the film.


March 13, 2003

/ 11:26 p.m. ET

Aeros' astros tribute

: The Houston Astros are not the only sports team remembering Columbia by donning the crew's emblem on their uniforms. The Aeros, Houston's AFL hockey team, first wore the insignia at their Feb. 9 game. The Aeros also gave to the Columbia Scholarship Fund, begun by KHOU-TV and the Houston Chronicle.


March 14, 2003

/ 8:17 a.m. ET

ISS Expedition 7 patch discontinued

: AB Emblem, NASA's contractor for embroidered patches, has alerted its distributors that production of the ISS Expedition 7 insignia has been halted in advance of a redesign. The next space station crew has been reduced from three to two crewmembers and they'll be launching on a Soyuz (rather than the shuttle). Approximately 3200 patches of the original design exist. As a point of comparison, AB Emblem made over 30,000 STS-107 mission insignias to date and continues production to meet the demand.


March 14, 2003

/ 12:13 p.m. ET

Enterprise examination

: Wing and landing gear door sections from the original space shuttle Enterprise, now housed by the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, will be tested as part of the Columbia accident investigation, reports Aviation Week & Space Technology in their March 17 issue. Enterprise will be examined to help determine whether "aging spacecraft" factors such as materials degradation could have played a pivotal role in the February 1 tragedy. Enterprise is scheduled to go on public display December 15, with the opening of the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Aiport, VA.


March 17, 2003

/ 5:46 p.m. ET

Enterprise exhibit update

: Per a release issued today, the McDonnell Space Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center will be completed by opening day, December 15, 2003, with the shuttle Enterprise installed and visible, however the hangar will not be accessible to the public until 2004 as the orbiter undergoes refurbishment. Until then, some 50 large space artifacts will be exhibited in the aviation hall. The space hangar will eventually display more than 135 large space artifacts.


March 19, 2003

/ 10:00 a.m. ET

Right Stuff revisited

: The Digital Bits is reporting that Warner Bros. will announce a two-disc, special edition DVD set of the 1983 film The Right Stuff, with "plenty of supplemental bang for your Buck (Rodgers that is)." The new edition is said to be planned for a summer release.


March 19, 2003

/ 5:17 p.m. ET

Auction updates

: Swann Galleries uploaded their April 12 space exploration sale catalog to their website today, as the print edition began mailing to those who placed orders. In separate news, Aurora Galleries has changed their plans to publish an update to the popular E-Z guide to rocket mail in conjuction with their May 31 to June 1 sale. Instead, they're revising the 1967 Ellington Zwisler Rocket Mail Catalog only because the American Airmail Society already has the lead on reprinting the E-Z guide.


March 20, 2003

/ 2:16 p.m. ET

Artwork and autographs

: Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Al Worden will autograph mailed memorabilia year round for the same fees he charged during his previous annual signings. Worden's limited edition photo-inspired art is also now available, though the website where it is offered is under development.


March 24, 2003

/ 7:38 p.m. ET

First day & flown philatelics

: Usually, additions to our collection aren't noted on the front page. Today however marks the return of Philatelics, after more than a year offline. Like the other areas listed under "the collection", Philatelics is part personal gallery, part reference guide. Leading the new section is what may be the first visual index to first day ceremony programs for space stamps.


March 25, 2003

/ 10:43 p.m. ET

Moon rock ruling

: "The United States is the proud new parent of an old moon rock," reports Catherine Wilson of the Associated Press. Wilson, who was first to break the story in June 2002 of a moon rock gifted to Honduras in 1973 standing trial in Miami, was the first to report today that a judge ruled Monday that businessman Alan Rosen had no claim to the rock and subsequently awarded it to the custody of the U.S. government. Now the U.S. must decide how or whether to return it to the Honduran people.


March 26, 2003

/ 12:14 p.m. ET

Columbia Orbiter Memorial Act

: The House Science Committee unanimously approved H.R. 1297, legislation authorizing the construction of a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to the STS-107 crew. The bill makes $500,000 available from the Defense Appropriations Act as well as allows the NASA Administrator to accept gifts and donations. The House Veterans' Affairs Committee must also vote before it is considered on the House floor. The Senate passed a similar bill, S. 628, on March 18.


March 26, 2003

/ 4:06 p.m. ET

The Right Stuff (SE) revealed

: As noted here last week, Warner Bros. will release a two disc DVD set of the 1983 Mercury-era epic, The Right Stuff this summer (June 10, to be exact). The Right Stuff: Special Edition will include an audio commentary track with cast members Veronica Cartwright, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum and Barbara Hershey, as well as director Philip Kaufman, producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. And if that wasn't enough to justify your $26.99, the set will also include 13 deleted scenes as well as a documentary introduced by author Tom Wolfe including interviews with Harris, Glenn, Hershey, Quaid, Chuck Yeager, and the astronauts Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, and Walter "Wally" Schirra.


March 27, 2003

/ 11:31 a.m. ET

ISS Expedition 7 patch revised

: As can be seen from the image at right, the ISS Expedition 7 patch has been slightly altered to note the reduction from three to two crew members. This is the fourth version of the Expedition 7 insignia.

March 28, 2003

/ 6:03 p.m. ET

Findings of fact

: Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law prepared by the Southern District of Florida Court for the recent trial of a lucite encased moon rock originally gifted to Honduras in 1973. As noted earlier this week, Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled that the Apollo 17 pebble should be forfeited to the US government. Read his 19 page verdict (downloadable in PDF format) to learn why.


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