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Author
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Topic: Artifact from every US flown crewed spacecraft
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SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-15-2010 01:46 PM
   
Who within the cS community has established acquiring a representative artifact from every U.S. manned spacecraft as an objective, and who is closest to attaining it? Probably the most challenging would be inclusion of an item/component from each of the flown lunar modules. Anybody there yet? |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 09-15-2010 06:36 PM
Do the EMUs and MMUs count as spacecraft? |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-15-2010 06:49 PM
Ah... no, if so we'd also have to consider the LRV and any other ancillary forms of EVA mobility (nice try though). Don't even know if this is achievable but think it would be a cool goal to work towards (I am). Maybe there has never been such a collection put together in the past. |
MrSpace86
Member Posts: 1618
From: Gardner, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 09-15-2010 10:44 PM
Please don't give these people any more crazy ideas or goals... |
freshspot
unregistered
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posted 09-15-2010 11:00 PM
I'm trying to do it with just the Apollo program. Making progress, but have a way to go. But I collect other things as well so it is not a "life goal" or anything like that.I need to add some recent acquisitions to my site, but you can see most of what I have here. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-15-2010 11:04 PM
For a while, I was putting together a collection of flown fragments with the goal of having one item from each mission. It was fairly easy with Apollo, harder for Mercury and surprisingly difficult for Gemini. When I started to factor in one item from every space shuttle mission, it became daunting and I ultimately decided to divest of many of the pieces and re-purpose those that remained into other projects. By focusing on spacecraft, you lose the challenge of the shuttle's many missions but you gain the aforementioned difficulty presented by the lunar modules. Also, you need to consider if diversity is important: is your checklist satisfied by a series of heat shield segments? |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-15-2010 11:25 PM
Actually wanted to target a full collection of flight vehicles (excluding LM) using just examples of NASA/Contractor produced heat shield lucites and presentations but cant happen since the Liberty Bell 7 heat shield still resides in the "drink" and have never seen any Friendship 7 heat shield slices circulating. Fortunately there are other options (Cosmosphere lucites in the case of LB7 and parachute segments from Freedom 7). Wrangling flown LM artifacts is going to be the long pole. |
davidcwagner
Member Posts: 798
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 09-15-2010 11:48 PM
I have two acrylics. Each is a flat plate in the shape of an Apollo spacecraft. Each has mounted acrylic half spheres with flown kapton foil and heat shield fragments from the Apollo missions. One acrylic has half spheres with mission logos from Apollo 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, 16, and 17.  The second has half spheres from Skylab 1, 2, 3, and Apollo Soyuz.  Two acrylics with kapton and heat shield from all 15 Apollo command modules. |
davidcwagner
Member Posts: 798
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 09-16-2010 04:22 AM
 
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davidcwagner
Member Posts: 798
From: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 09-16-2010 04:23 AM
 
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spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 09-16-2010 06:42 AM
Well it's colorful, that's for sure!I think if my kids saw it they'd expect it to light up, or for each blob to make a different animal noise if you pushed it.  |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-16-2010 07:44 AM
quote:
Originally posted by davidcwagner:
I have two acrylics... Two acrylics with kapton and heat shield from all 15 Apollo command modules.
David, had no idea these existed - for purposes of provenance, any indication who may have produced the sets and when, and are there analogs for the other programs (Mercury and Gemini)? To pull this off, somebody would have had to have access to source material from all the Apollo CM's so maybe an individual/contractor close to the program?Have similar questions regarding heat shield lucites in my collection produced for Gemini/Apollo sharing common characteristics and which appear to have been manufactured by the same facility. |
tegwilym
Member Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 09-16-2010 02:17 PM
Nice idea! I was thinking about it, and realize that I have a chunk of each program other than Gemini. Not each mission obviously. Here is where I'm at: - Mercury - Liberty Bell 7: Screw, Film chunk
- Gemini - nothing!
- Apollo - Does a pencil mark from a flown pencil count?
- Apollo Soyuz - Kapton foil chunk from Apollo
- Skylab - fragment of tank
- Shuttle - Some tile chunks, Payload liner, Screw from SSME, SRB parachute shroud, Strap thingy from payload, Tomato seeds
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SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-16-2010 02:36 PM
In my opinion, anything that is authenticated as carried aboard during flight or is otherwise a flown structural/installed component should count otherwise assembling the collection will be unattainable or prohibitively expensive - but we should probably have an agreed upon standard from the collective membership of cS. The first question - is it possible to even attain (i.e. are there any flight vehicles from which no flown material was either returned or exists for collection and/or is in-accessible to the public domain)? |
Spacepsycho
Member Posts: 818
From: Huntington Beach, Calif.
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted 09-17-2010 11:27 AM
I purchased a collection of these identical shaped resin displays from a NAA engineer a few years ago. He told me that an engineer friend of his at NAA, who was responsible for safing each spacecraft, made these resin displays at home. They have the typical lines of demarcation for each resin pour and they're surprisingly well done for garage made displays. These were made in three different sizes, the mold material was RTV and the item used to make the mold shape, was a light bulb. I bought 39 resin displays total (35 are in the photo) plus I found two other identical Apollo 11 and 17 mid-sized displays at an auction and a swapmeet. The thing that tags them as coming from the same source, is that they all have ablator & kapton in the resin, they all have the resin lines from each pour and they all have the same printed logo type of photo paper embedded in them. Notice the fading, especially of the large Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 displays.  |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-17-2010 09:03 PM
Anybody run across flown material from each of the Skylab CMs (116/117/118)? Other then the parachute I can't recall ever seeing a heat shield lucite, or other publicly collectible flown artifact from these three flight vehicles... |
randyc
Member Posts: 779
From: Chandler, AZ USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 09-17-2010 09:22 PM
I have an official NASA heat shield plug lucite from Skylab 3 (SL-4). I have official NASA heat shield lucites for Sigma 7 (in the shape of a Mercury spacecraft on a polished wood base), Gemini 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and Apollos 9, 10 and 16 (the Apollo 16 heat shield plug was from John Young's personal collection). I also have official NASA heat shield lucites in the shape of a Gemini spacecraft for Gemini 7 and 11 (with a vintage crew patch embedded in the polished wood base of both displays) and Gemini 12 (with a FLOWN vintage crew patch embedded in the polished wood base). The most unique lucite display that I have has heat shield sections from Faith 7 (in a Mercury shaped lucite), Gemini 8 (in a Gemini shaped lucite) and Apollo 11 (in an Apollo command module shaped lucite) all on one polished wood base. I'm looking to purchase official NASA heat shield lucites for Gemini 3, 4 and 5 and Apollo 8, 11 and 13. |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-17-2010 11:09 PM
Very impressive... can you post images of the collection? quote:
Originally posted by randyc:
I'm looking to purchase official NASA heat shield lucites for Gemini 3, 4 and 5 and Apollo 8, 11 and 13.
How do you characterize a heat shield presentation as "official"; what attributes identify/authenticate as having been either contractor or NASA produced (assuming that constitutes your definition of official)? |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-18-2010 07:47 AM
I pursued a slightly different track. I have completed a collection, after about 18 years, of acquiring a flown artifact from every mission flown by a Mercury astronaut. That totals 13 different flights. It was great fun. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 09-18-2010 10:56 AM
Joel that sounds interesting. Photos? |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 09-18-2010 11:50 AM
What I'd be interested in seeing is if anyone has any material from Enterprise that was flown also on Columbia (or any other orbiter....) |
randyc
Member Posts: 779
From: Chandler, AZ USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 09-18-2010 12:10 PM
Scott, I'm preparing a post to respond to your question regarding what I consider an 'official' NASA lucite. I should have it done either later today or tomorrow. I hope that the readers of collectSPACE will find it interesting and informative. |
randyc
Member Posts: 779
From: Chandler, AZ USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 09-19-2010 10:22 PM
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
How do you characterize a heat shield presentation as "official"; what attributes identify/authenticate as having been either contractor or NASA produced (assuming that constitutes your definition of official)?
That's a great question Scott. Let me try to explain what I consider 'official' NASA artifact lucites and what I learned since I started collecting lucites with space-flown artifacts... continued here. |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-19-2010 10:37 PM
The discussion of provenance/authenticity for lucites is very germaine here since its important that any material being considered for inclusion in a comprehensive collection of flight vehicle artifacts be authenticated. However detailed discussion of the types and characteristics of official lucites merits its own thread. Can we spawn this into a separate thread? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-19-2010 10:46 PM
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
Can we spawn this into a separate thread?
Done: Types of lucites: 'Official' NASA vs others |
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