posted 03-20-2008 01:04 PM               

Space "Stuff" for Sale
Astronauts offer personal memorabilia for charity

More than thirty astronauts have delved into their collections to provide artifacts of personal significance, autographed items, and are offering one-on-one adventures for an online auction to raise funds for scholarships provided by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF).

Who: Astronauts John Glenn, Jim Lovell, Scott Carpenter, Buzz Aldrin and many more!

What: Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s online Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia. Featured lots include:

Experiences

• SCUBA dive with Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke
  
• Skydive with 5-time Space Shuttle Astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson
  
• Attend a Space Shuttle Launch with STS-1 Astronaut Bob Crippen
  
• And More!

Artifacts

• Apollo 13 parachute segment flown in space
  
• John Glenn autographed LIFE magazine
  
• Apollo 9 lunar module insulation flown in space
  
• And More!

When: Items available for preview TODAY! Online bidding: April 10-19, 2008

Where: Online or in person at the Autographica Show in Birmingham Hilton Metropole, England (online bidders will compete with in-person bidders during the final days)

Why: To benefit the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, which provides scholarships to college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major.

The Foundation awards nineteen $10,000 scholarships annually and has disbursed $2.5 million to students nationwide. For more information, log on to AstronautScholarship.org or call 321-455-7012.

posted 03-24-2008 11:08 AM               

But the best thing about the auction is that it supports $10,000 annual scholarships to outstanding students in science and engineering.

Linn LeBlanc and her associates do a great job with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which was founded by the Mercury astronauts. Their Astronaut Autograph Club has been a good way to get authentic signatures while helping some outstanding college students.