NASA Collection of Space Memorabilia Will Be Auctioned by Boston Firm Today

[unhappycamper]

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/06/25/nasa-collection-of-space-memorabilia-auctioned-by-boston-firm-june-25/

NASA Collection of Space Memorabilia Will Be Auctioned by Boston Firm Today
Kathryn Orticerio
06/25/15 @9:53am

Ever wanted to own something that once flew across the galaxy? Obviously.

Today, Thursday June 25, Boston-based RR Auction will be holding a live auction at 1 p.m. at The Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. The auction features the NASA Collection of Leon Ford, who according to the site Collect Space is "a commercial photographer whose passion for space exploration led him to befriend other collectors and astronauts alike."

With more than 100 represented items from the collection, the most desirable item up for grabs is thought to be Charles Conrad's Apollo 12 lunar surface-worn backpack strap. For an estimated $30,000 to $40,000, you could own the rare backpack strap from Conrad's Personal Life Support System (PLSS). The third man to walk on the Moon, Conrad used this during both of his moonwalks on the Apollo 12 mission, Nov. 19 through 20, 1965.

~snip~

Here's a sampling of what else you could get your hands on (for a small fortune, of course):
* Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 Personal Preference Kit (PPK) - estimated $20,000 to $25,000
* Al Worden's Apollo 15 American flag beta cloth patch - estimated $15,000 to $20,000
* Commander Charles Conrad's Skylab 2 flight training suit - estimated $15,000 to $20,000
* Gene Cernan's flown checklist from his near fatal spacewalk - estimated $10,000 to $15,000
* Mercury and Gemini astronauts signed display - estimated $25,000 to $30,000
* Official lunar planning chart signed by six moonwalkers on their landing sites - estimated $20,000 to $25,000

[CBGLuthier]

1. Neil Armstrong would be pissed to find out Conrad strolled on the moon 4 years before he got there.

I do believe Apollo 12 was 1969, wasn't it?

[unhappycamper]

2. I missed most of the Apollo stuiff from late 1967 (Nam) to 1973 (Nam, Germany).

But yes, Mr. A would be wicked pissed.

[forsaken mortal]

3. Put it all in a museum

Those items are of historical interest and paid for by taxpayers. They should be displayed in a museum somewhere and not hoarded away into some rich person's private collection. Hopefully it'll be museums and the like that actually bid on them.