My Space Collection
As an avid fan of all things related to space, I have found a fascination with collecting space history. I have a somewhat larger collection so I will be adding to this page as I have time. I hope you enjoy this display of awesome space history. All photos are of my actual collection other than the labeled reference photos. Click each picture for a full size view.
Apollo 16 Training-Used Lunar Map Plate, signed & inscribed by Charlie Duke
As lunar module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon. Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon, and the second to land in the lunar highlands. The second of Apollo's missions," it was crewed by Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:54 PM EST on April 16, 1972, the mission lasted 11 days, 1 hour, and 51 minutes, and concluded at 2:45 p.m. EST on April 27. Young and Duke spent 71 hours—just under three days—on the lunar surface, during which they conducted three extra-vehicular activities or moonwalks, totaling 20 hours and 14 minutes. The pair drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the second produced and used on the Moon, for 26.7 kilometers (16.6 mi). On the surface, Young and Duke collected 95.8 kilograms (211 lb) of lunar samples for return to Earth. After Young and Duke rejoined Mattingly in lunar orbit, the crew released a subsatellite from the service module (SM). Apollo 16's landing spot in the highlands was chosen to allow the astronauts to gather geologically older lunar material than the samples obtained in three of the first four Moon landings, which were in or near lunar maria (Apollo 14 landed in the Fra Mauro Highlands). Samples from the Descartes Formation and the Cayley Formation disproved a hypothesis that the formations were volcanic in origin.
Orlan Wrist Mirror, Flown on Mir(Soyuz TM-30)
During an EVA, a spacewalker cannot see the front of the Displays and Control Module while wearing the spacesuit. To see the controls, astronauts wear a wrist mirror on the sleeve. Look at the settings on the front of the module. They are written backward. But "backward" is "forward" in a mirror. Russian Orlan EVA wrist mirror from the private collection of Soyuz TM-30/Mir-28 Commander Sergei Zalyotin. This mirror was flown onboard the Mir station during Mir-28, the 28th and final resident crew mission (Expedition EO-28) to the Mir Space Station.The mirror was carried to the space station on Soyuz-TM 30, which launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 4 April 2000, docking with the space station on 6 April 2000, after a 2 day solo flight, spending a total of 81 days in space, and 79 days onboard the space station in earth orbit. The mirror returned to earth with the crew on 16 June 2000 (also on Soyuz TM-30). The crew conducted one spacewalk during this mission.
Mercury-Era Laminated Star Chart (Signed;Gene Krantz)
Used in conjunction with a plastic slider, these charts could be matched against the astronaut's view out the capsule window at a given mission elapsed time, thus allowing estimation of location and attitude of the spacecraft. This device was particularly important for establishing the yaw of the spacecraft during nightside portions of earth orbit (or under conditions of heavy cloud cover), when ground landmarks would not be visible. An identical device was also issued to the ground tracking stations as well as Mission Control.
STS-2Deorbit Burn Cue Cards
Cue cards were used by the astronauts as a quick reference for specific procedures. They contain quick references of the more detailed procedures. They list the basic functions the crew must execute during dynamic phases of flight when there is no time to refer to the full checklist procedures. This set is specifically for unbalanced propellant deorbit burn/mixed crossed deborbit burn.
SpaceX Crew Dragon Abort Test
SpaceX Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test Presentation (132/300)—Limited edition, employee-only SpaceX Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test presentation (No. 132 of 300, Version 2), commemorating the successful testing of the Dragon’s pad abort capabilities. After rapid liftoff from the pad, the C200 capsule—dubbed DragonFly—drifted to a soft parachute landing in the Atlantic.
LH2 Fuel Valve from Saturn V Launch Tower
This is a fuel valve (liquid hydrogen, LH2) from the upper levels of a Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT), but it is not known which of the three LUTs it came from. The valve was collected prior to 2000, the year of Charles Bell’s death. Parker Hannifin, a manufacturing company specializing in motion control technologies, is the contractor who manufactured the valve.