Log in

View Full Version here: : Missed opportunities ...... Moon missions


Kunama
14-11-2014, 07:45 PM
I was visiting my brother-in-law and his lovely wife today when I saw that their son was working on a school project ......

What caught my eye was a complete set of mission badges for every Mercury, Gemini and Apollo mission :eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:
These were very old looking :question:

I then started looking at the collection of memorabilia on the table and realised I was looking at history as it happened. The table was covered in badges, patches and medallions for every moon mission, AND these were not replicas but the real deal. I saw certificates of appreciation signed by the very top echelon of NASA from the 1960s to 1980.

The collection was put together by my sister-in-law's father from personal gifts from his time with the Gemini and Apollo Missions at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station.

Among these treasures I saw a series of black and white photographs which are the actual first photographs taken of Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on the moon..... taken by him from the monitors at Honeysuckle Creek as the images were being beamed down from the moon.

My missed opportunity was that I knew this fine gentleman socially for a more than a decade but never knew of his working life. He only ever spoke of family affairs.

Apparently there are many more items which I hope to see very soon .......

FlashDrive
14-11-2014, 07:51 PM
Sounds Awesome Matt.... time for a history lesson...:D ... with the real deal.
Wish I could set my eyes on that sort of stuff ... instead of looking at
pictures of it in National Geographic.

Col....

blink138
15-11-2014, 12:56 AM
wow matt!................. from the general gist of your story........... this is your sisters ex husband?
anyhoo, what an extraordinary thing to have as your own collection and what a revelation for you to gaze upon!
amazing story
pat

Kunama
15-11-2014, 08:06 AM
To see some of the items was a real thrill, apparently also in the collection are personal letters of thanks to him from Jim Lovell, Neil Armstrong et al. He was in working the whole duration of Apollo 13 and apparently his team never left the complex during that event

Starlite
15-11-2014, 09:33 AM
Fantastic Collection Kunama.:eyepop: Kunama, that collection will be worth a fair bit especially with the signed letters from Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong etc. The collection should be photographed and documented for insurance and also your State Library and The National Archives in Canberra are screaming out for Oral{ tape, digital} and photographic history. Cheers.

LewisM
15-11-2014, 09:46 AM
Or just Matt's wife's brother... :) :D :) :D (an in-law can be a sibling's or a spouse's partner)

N1
15-11-2014, 09:50 AM
Not to mention the gentle folks on IIS :P

PeterEde
15-11-2014, 10:36 AM
I used to rent a house from an Australian who was a NASA photographer through the Apollo days. He had a 6 foot tall shot of Apollo 17 night launch on his wall.

blink138
15-11-2014, 10:45 AM
ha ha of course..................... i blame a few pints of cornwalls finest, on draught of course! (proper job)
pat

Kunama
15-11-2014, 11:14 AM
I will try to get some pics soon, however, they are a very private family and may not wish to do this. When speaking with my sister-in-law, she said that the "real treasures" are in her brother's custody ........ I must find out more !!!!

Kunama
02-12-2014, 08:32 PM
Just an update:

Today I got to hold the original ground tracking data charts for the Gemini 8 mission and Apollo 11 mission, personally signed by the Capcom ..... to me this was akin to holding an original Gutenberg or the Scrolls from Alexandria.

Sorry still no pics but working on that.