For most Apollo missions, the stowage lists show that each astronaut carried a Garland mechanical pencil. According to Chris Spain’s excellent Space Flown Artifacts site, despite the worldwide fame of the Fisher Space Pen it is probably the humble Garland mechanical pencil that was the most heavily-used writing instrument on the Apollo missions. In total, […]
Apollo 9 flown mechanical pencil Read More »
The slow-scan, black-and-white television system used on Apollo 7 and Apollo 8 shot only 10-frames per second with 320 lines of resolution. In comparison, had the American NTSC television standard of 1968 been chosen—525 interlaced lines, 30 frames per second—ten times more bandwidth would have been required. Futuristic by 1968 standards, the ease of the
Apollo 8 RCA slow scan TV camera training unit Read More »
The off-the-shelf Exer-Genie personal exerciser was perfect for spacecraft use because of its small size. Prior to Apollo 7, the astronauts were charged with finding a way to stay fit. For my book Marketing the Moon written with Richard Jurek, we interviewed Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7 astronaut, about how the Exer-Genie was selected for space
Flown Apollo 9 Exer-Genie Astronaut Exerciser Read More »
This star chart panel was one of the metal guidance and control panels used at the navigation station in the lower equipment bay of the Command Module. This particular example was flown on Apollo 9 and comes from the Jim McDivitt collection. These panels were a quick reference to information required for spacecraft maneuvers made
Apollo 9 flown Command Module Star Chart Panel Read More »
This rare limited-edition Peter Max poster measuring 19″ x 12″ was issued on the 30th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It’s signed by both Peter Max and Buzz Aldrin. The image takes the iconic boot photo from Apollo 11 and showcases Peter Max’s colorful cosmic 60’s style.
Peter Max Apollo 11 Moon Footprint art print Read More »
I have a large collection of press kits prepared by the public relations staffs at the major contractors for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. These press kits provided valuable additional information not found in NASA-issued releases. Reporters and editors working on stories about the lunar landings had access to such documents from more than
Apollo 11 Contractor Press Kit Covers Read More »
This video from the TEDx YouTube channel is my TEDx talk The Need to Explore. Direct link to The Need to Explore on YouTube. This is a completely new speech for me with no reliance on the material I use in my keynotes. It was fun (but hard work) to create a brand new talk
My TEDx talk The Need to Explore Read More »
This locker, measuring 12.5″ x 22.75″ x 4.75″ (at top- tapering to 2,25″ at bottom) would mount in the upper section of the command module, above and behind the heads of the astronauts. This particular design was made for the later “Apollo Applications” missions (Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project). The markings on the inside of
Apollo Command Module storage locker U4 Read More »
I attended the Apollo 13 40th anniversary celebration at The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. In this photo, I am with Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director from the Apollo 13 mission “Failure is not an option”, Fred Haise, Lunar Module pilot from Apollo 13, and Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 Commander “Houston we have a problem”.
My Apollo 13 40th anniversary photo Read More »
This Apollo–Soyuz Test Project DP Boost cue card measuring 2.25 x 4″ is directly from the Deke Slayton collection. On the reverse of the card is a museum inventory control number from the time that the card was on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, FL and theAir and Space Museum in
ASTP flown DP boost cue card Read More »