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Astronaut Autographs and Space Artifacts

Last Updated 27 May 2005

Dennis has an interest in collecting astronaut autographs and space artifacts, especially related to Mercury, Gemini and Apollo-era astronauts. Here are some of the astronaut autographs and space artifacts collected over the years.

           

Astronaut Autographs

Related Links

•  First 100 Human Space Flights
  • Buzz Aldrin (signed book Men From Earth). Missions: Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 (second person to walk on the Moon). Aldrin and command pilot James Lovell were launched into space in the Gemini 12 spacecraft on a 4-day flight, which brought the Gemini program to a successful close. Aldrin established a new record for extravehicular activity (EVA), spending 5-1/2 hours outside the spacecraft. He served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 11, July 16-24, 1969, the first manned lunar landing mission. Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, completing a 2-hour and 15 minute lunar EVA.
  • William Anders (signed Space Shots card). Mission: Apollo 8 (first manned mission to orbit the Moon).
  • Neil Armstrong (signed golf ball). Missions: Gemini 8 and Apollo 11 First person to walk on the Moon. He served as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, launched March 16, 1966, and performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, and gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the Moon and the first man to step on its surface.
  • Alan Bean (signed book Apollo containing original astronaut and space-inspired artwork and signed Boy's Life cover). Missions: Apollo 12 (fourth person to walk on the Moon) and Skylab 2. Captain Bean was lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, man’s second lunar landing. In November 1969, Captain Bean and Captain Pete Conrad landed in the moon’s Ocean of Storms—after a flight of some 250,000 miles. They explored the lunar surface, deployed several lunar surface experiments, and installed the first nuclear power generator station on the moon to provide the power source. Captain Richard Gordon remained in lunar orbit photographing landing sites for future missions.Captain Bean was spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II (SL-3), July 29 to September 25, 1973. With him on the 59-day, 24,400,000 mile world record setting flight were scientist-astronaut Dr. Owen K. Garriott and Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jack R. Lousma. Mission II accomplished 150% of its pre-mission forecast goals. On his next assignment, Captain Bean was backup spacecraft commander of the United States flight crew for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Captain Bean has logged 1,671 hours and 45 minutes in space—of which 10 hours and 26 minutes were spent in EVAs on the moon and in earth orbit.
  • Guion Bluford (signed Space Shots card). Missions: STS-8 Challenger (first African-American to fly in space), STS61-A Challenger, STS-39 Discovery and STS-53 Discovery. With the completion of his fourth flight, Bluford has logged over 688 hours in space. 
  • Frank Borman (signed book Countdown). Missions: Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 (led the first team of American astronauts to orbit the moon, extending man's horizons into space).
  • Vance Brand (signed Apollo-Soyuz postal cover). Missions: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), STS-5 (Columbia). STS41-B (Challenger) and STS35 (Columbia). Commander of several space shuttle missions.
  • Scott Carpenter (signed book We Seven and signed photo with Mercury nurse Dee O'Hara). Mercury 7 (Aurora) (fourth American in space; second American manned orbital flight).
  • Gene Cernan (signed book The Last Man on the Moon and signed postal cover). Missions: Gemini 9 (second American space walker), Apollo 10 (full-scale dress rehearsal of a lunar landing, coming to within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the Moon's surface in the lunar module) and Apollo 17 (eleventh person to walk on the Moon, and the last person to walk on the Moon).
  • Eileen M. Collins (signed photo). Missions (all Space Shuttle): STS-63 (Discovery, the first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle, first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program and docked with Mir), STS-84 (Atlantis, NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir) and STS-93 (Columbia, the first woman Shuttle Commander).
  • Charles "Pete" Conrad (signed Space Shots card, signed personal check, and signed business check). Missions: Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12 (third person to walk on the Moon) and Skylab 1.

     
  • Gordon Cooper (signed books We Seven and Leap of Faith and signed phonograph album Our Journey to the Moon). Missions: Mercury Faith 7 (last and longest of the Project Mercury missions, and the last US single-manned missions) and Gemini 5 (first person to fly twice in space).
  • Richard Covey (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions: Pilot of STS 51-I Discovery, pilot on STS-26 Discovery (the first flight to be flown after the Challenger accident), Spacecraft commander on STS-38 Atlantis, commanded STS-61 Endeavour during the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing and repair mission.
  • Walt Cunningham (signed book The All-American Boys and signed Apollo 7 crew photo). Missions: Apollo 7 (first manned mission following the fatal Apollo 1 tragedy and test of the Command and Service Module). Occupied the lunar module pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7--the first manned flight test of the third generation United States spacecraft. With Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Donn F. Eisele, Cunningham participated in and executed maneuvers enabling the crew to perform exercises in transposition and docking and lunar orbit rendezvous with the S-IVB stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle; completed eight successful test and maneuvering ignitions of the service module propulsion engine; measured the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems; and provided the first live television transmission of onboard crew activities. The 263-hour, four-and-a-half million mile shakedown flight was successfully concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown occurring in the Atlantic--some eight miles from the carrier ESSEX (only 3/10 of a mile from the originally predicted aiming point).
  • Charles Duke (signed moon photo). Mission: Apollo 16 (tenth person to walk on the Moon). Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands. Duke and John Young commenced their record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes by maneuvering the lunar module "Orion" to a landing on the rough Cayley Plains. In three subsequent excursions onto the lunar surface, they each logged 20 hours and 15 minutes in extravehicular activities involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments, the collection of nearly 213 pounds of rock and soil samples, and the evaluation and use of Rover-2 over the roughest and blockiest surface yet encountered on the moon. Also, exposed Ken Mattingly to measles, thus causing Mattingly to be substituted by Jack Swigert on Apollo 13.
  • Bonnie Dunbar (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions (all Space Shuttle): STS-61A Challenger, STS-32 Columbia, STS-50 Columbia, STS-71 Atlantis (first to dock with the Russian Mir space station) and STS-89 Endeavour. A veteran of five space flights, Dr. Dunbar has logged more than 1,208 hours (50 days) in space.
  • Donn Eisele (signed personal check). Missions: Apollo 7. Eisele participated in and executed maneuvers enabling the crew to perform exercises in transposition and docking and lunar orbit rendezvous with the S-IVB stage of their Saturn IB launch vehicle; completed eight successful test and maneuvering ignitions of the service module propulsion engine; measured the accuracy of performance of all spacecraft systems; and provided the first effective television transmissions of onboard crew activities.
  • Ron Evans (signed postal cover). Mission: Apollo 17.  He holds the record of more time in lunar orbit than anyone else in the world.
  • Anna Fisher, (M.D.) (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions: STS-51A Discovery and the first mother in space.
  • Jake Garn (signed photo). Missions: STS-51D (Discovery). As a sitting United States senator, Senator Garn is the first member of congress to fly in space.
  • Owen K. Garriott (Ph.D.) (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions: In 1965 he was one of the first six Scientist-Astronauts selected by NASA. His first space flight aboard Skylab in 1973 set a new world record for duration of approximately 60 days, more than double the previous record. Second space flight was aboard Spacelab-1 in 1983, a multidisciplinary and international mission of 10 days.
  • John Glenn (signed book We Seven and signed index card). Missions: Mercury Friendship 7 (third American in space and first American to orbit the Earth) and STS-95 Discovery (oldest person in space at 77 years old).
  • Fred Haise (signed to Dennis Moon picture in Andrew Chaikin's  A Man on the Moon and a charity benefit program signed to Steven when Dennis met Fred Haise). Missions: Apollo 13 and approach and landing test flights of the space shuttle Enterprise.
  • James Irwin (signed title page of his book To Rule the Night). Missions: Apollo 15 (eighth person to walk on the Moon and first to utilize the lunar rover vehicle). (Dennis met the crew of Apollo 15 during their goodwill tour in 1971 in Zagreb, Croatia).
  • Valery Kubasov (signed Apollo-Soyuz postal cover). Missions: Soyuz 6, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) and Soyuz 36, Kubasov became the world's first space construction worker. He operated a prototype welding unit during his stay aboard Soyuz 6. In 1975, Kubasov flew his second mission of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The Russian crew docked with the American Apollo for 8 days.
  • Alexi Leonov (signed postal cover). Missions: Voskhod 2 and Soyuz 19 (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), First human to walk in space outside of a spacecraft. He was outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft for about 10 minutes and almost didn't get back in the door. He vented some air from his space suit so he could fit through the airlock hatch. He flew again in 1975 on Soyuz 19 for the Apollo-Soyuz mission when the first docking of an American and Russian spacecraft happened. A Russian and American spacecraft would not meet again in space for many years until the shuttle docked with the Mir space station. If you have seen (or read) Arthur C. Clarke's "2010", the spacecraft that flew to Jupiter was named the Leonov.
  • Don Lind (signed index card), Mission: STS51- B (Challenger). Dr. Lind developed and conducted an experiment to make unique 3-dimensional video recordings of the earth's aurora.
  • Jack Lousma (signed index card), Mission: Skylab-3 and STS-3 (Columbia). STS-3 (Columbia). Pilot during the Skylab mission. During STS-3, tested the first use of the 50-foot remote manipulator system (RMS) to grapple and maneuver a payload in space.
  • James Lovell (signed book Lost Moon), later changed it's title to Apollo 13 to coincide with the release of the movie). Mission: Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 (first manned mission to orbit the Moon) and Apollo 13 (aborted mission to the Moon).
  • Shannon Lucid (signed Space Shuttle Mission STS-58 Crew Photo). Missions (all Space Shuttle): STS-51G (Mission Specialist), STS-34, STS-43), STS-58, and most recently served as a Board Engineer 2 on Russia’s Space Station Mir (launching March 22, 1996 aboard STS-76 and returning September 26, 1996 aboard STS-79).. Dr. Lucid holds an international record for the most flight hours in orbit by any non-Russian, and holds the record for the most flight hours in orbit by any woman in the world, logging 5,354 hours (223 days) in space.
  • Ken Mattingly (signed Apollo 16 crew photo). Missions: Apollo 16, STS4 (Columbia) and STS-51C (Discovery). He was designated command module pilot for the Apollo 13 flight but was removed from flight status 72 hours prior to the scheduled launch due to exposure to the German measles (replaced by Jack Swigert).
  • Bruce McCandless (signed index card), Mission: STS-41B (Challenger) and STS-31 (Discovery). During STS-41B, McCandless made the first, untethered, free flight on each of the two Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU) carried on board constituting two spectacular extravehicular activities (EVAs). During STS-31, the crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope, and conducted a variety of middeck experiments involving the study of protein crystal growth, polymer membrane processing, and the effects of weightlessness and magnetic fields on an ion arc. They also operated a variety of cameras, including both the IMAX in cabin and cargo bay cameras, for earth observations from their record setting altitude of 380 miles.
  • James McDivitt (signed Space Shots card). Missions: Gemini 4 (first American spacewalk by Ed White) and Apollo 9 (Commander, first flight of the complete set of Apollo hardware and was the first flight of the Lunar Module). 
  • Edgar Mitchell (signed photo). Mission: Apollo 14 (sixth person to walk on the Moon). 


     
  • Andrian Nikolayev (singed postal cover). Missions: Vostok 3 and Soyuz 9. He set an endurance record at the time, spending 4 days in space above Vostok 3.
  • Sally Ride (signed photo). Mission: STS 7 Challenger (mission specialist and first American woman in space) and STS 41-G Challenger. Serve as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident.
  • Stu Roosa (signed phonograph album Our Journey to the Moon). Mission: Apollo 14. Command module pilot.
  • Wally Schirra (signed book Schirra's Space and signed Apollo 7 crew photo). Missions: Mercury Sigma 7 (fifth American in space), Gemini 6, Apollo 7 (first manned mission following the tragic Apollo 1 launch pad fire). One of the original seven astronauts and the only astronaut to have flown on all three spacecraft - Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.
  • Harrison Schmitt (signed card). Mission: Apollo 17. On his first journey into space, Dr. Schmitt occupied the lunar module pilot seat for Apollo 17 -- the last scheduled manned Apollo mission to the United States. He is the twelfth person to walk on the moon.
  • Rusty Schweikart (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions: Apollo 9. In his only flight, Schweickart was the first to test the Apollo pressure suit in space conditions during an earth-orbital test and tested the lunar landing module docking procedures.
  • David Scott (signed personal rocket bell photo). Missions: Gemini 8, Apollo 9 and Apollo 15). Seventh person to walk on the Moon and first to utilize the lunar rover vehicle. (Dennis met the crew of Apollo 15 during their goodwill tour in 1971 in Zagreb, Croatia).
  • Alan Shepard (signed book We Seven). Missions: Mercury Freedom 7 (first American in space) and Apollo 14 (fifth person to walk on the Moon and, while on the moon, best known for hitting a golf ball).
     
  • Donald "Deke" Slayton (signed Apollo-Soyuz postal cover). Mission: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). Named as one of the Mercury astronauts in April 1959. He was originally scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission but was relieved of this assignment due to a heart condition discovered in August 1959.
  • Tom Stafford (signed Apollo-Soyuz postal cover). Missions: Gemini 6, Gemini 9, Apollo 10 and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), Piloted the first rendezvous in space and developed techniques for spaces rendezvous.
  • Kathryn Sullivan (signed postal cover). Missions (all Space Shuttle): Mission specialist on STS-41G (Challenger), STS-31 (Discovery) and STS-45 (Atlantis). The first American woman to walk in space on STS-41G,
  • Valentina Tereshkova (singed postal cover). Missions: Vostok 6. The first woman to fly in space. In her single space flight, Tereshkova spent more time in orbit than all of the U.S. Mercury (1958-1963) astronauts combined.
  • Donald Williams (signed first day postal cover celebrating Pittsburgh's contributions to the Space Shuttle). Missions (all Space Shuttle): STS-51D Discovery and STS-34 Atlantis (deployed the Galileo spacecraft, starting its journey to explore Jupiter).

Space Artifacts