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Author
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Topic: 186755418852: Crew-signed employee award
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SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 5409
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-21-2024 07:33 PM
   
Regarding this "NASA Apollo Moon Missions 11-12-13-14-15-16-17 Crew Signatures Employee Award" on eBay, the forensic examiner appears to have been overpaid. The Apollo 11 through 17 presentation award is going to be examined by a forensic handwriting expert and the findings will be posted on the day of the auction to determine if these are written by man or machine (autopen). All 21 Three-Man crew signatures surround their respective Apollo Mission patches. The Five-Man Apollo-Soyuz Mission item is signed by the three US crew members and two Russian crew members.The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives Department has confirmed the identity of NASA Apollo Mission employee, Bill Tomkins, as staff in the Life Systems Staff Support Room (Aeromed SSR), adjacent to Mission Control. Mr. Tomkins reported to the Flight Surgeon in the Mission Operations Control Room for matters regarding the health and well-being of astronauts, including their pressures suits and portable life-support equipment.  
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Apollo-Soyuz
Member Posts: 1315
From: Shady Side, Md
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 11-22-2024 06:37 PM
They all look like autopen machine signatures. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3895
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 11-22-2024 07:16 PM
For sure, all 26 are machine-generated (Autopen) signatures, using the commercial
smaller 3" Apollo mission cloth patches. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 53542
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-22-2024 08:24 PM
The irony is if the autopen signatures are not a pre-print, then there is some value to both pieces as having all of those autopens nicely organized is not common. |
Axman
Member Posts: 610
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 11-23-2024 04:00 AM
Even the Russian autographs? I read somewhere once that the Soviet cosmonauts didn't use autopen machines, although I'm unsure as to the veracity of the statement, and it may have applied only to the Vostok, Voskhod and the pre Soyuz-11 flights. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 3895
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 11-23-2024 05:29 AM
There are at least two known different U.S. autopen signature patterns used for both Leonov and Kubasov at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 1974-75. The ASTP employee award certificate does contain one of the two known cosmonaut autopen signature traits used by NASA (not by the Soviet Union) during those two years. The Soviets did approve usage by NASA for the their Apollo-Soyuz prime cosmonaut crew. Most of the autopen-signatures had been applied to official NASA ASTP Prime Crewmen lithos in 1975 (Photo #1975 671-188/5). And as Robert pointed out, it's not common in seeing so many organized autopen-signatures all together on a single piece (2) as this, but I don't see any of the Skylab astronauts included on their three mission emblem arrangements, nor for the Apollo 7-10 crews. |
Axman
Member Posts: 610
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 11-23-2024 07:54 AM
OK, thanks Ken, that is valuable information I shall add to my notes. |
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