CHRISTA McAULIFFE Very distinctive color photo inscribed to NASA food specialist Dr. Charles Bourland, who is shown giving her an orientation to "space food." Photograph inscribed and signed: "Dr. Bourland -/Thanks! /S. Christa/McAuliffe". Color, 8x10. SHARON CHRISTA McAULIFFE (1948-1986) taught junior high school in Maryland (1970-1978) and Concord, New Hampshire (1978-1979) and high school in Concord (1980-1985) before being selected as the primary candidate for the NASA Teacher in Space Project on July 19, 1985. She was a payload specialist on Challenger STS-51L which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 11:38 AM on January 28, 1986. McAuliffe and her six colleagues were killed when Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch. DR. CHARLES T. BOURLAND, shown in this photo inscribed to him, researched and designed food for astronauts from the Mercury program to the International Space Station. Here is a shown giving McAuliffe an edible orientation. After retiring from NASA in 2000, Bourland wrote The Astronaut's Cookbook and taught a read more...

AL WORDEN National Flag of the Netherlands (6x4½), flown to the moon on Apollo 15, signed on the white stripe by Command Module Pilot Worden, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, also signed by Worden Flag signed: "Flown to the Moon on Apollo 15 - Al Worden CMP", 6x4¼ Dutch National Flag with horizontal red, white and blue stripes, signed on the white stripe in blue ink. Accompanied by Typed Letter signed: "Al Worden", 1 page, 8½x11 Certificate of authenticity dated June 18, 2010 on Apollo 15 letterhead. In full: "I hereby certify that this flag from the Netherlands included with this letter went to the moon aboard Apollo 15 in the spacecraft 'Endeavor'. It remained in the command module during the lunar orbit phase of the flight. Apollo 15 was the fourth lunar landing mission, carrying for the first time a lunar rover and a Scientific Instrument Bay in the Service Module. The flight was launched on July 26 and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on August 7, 1971, logging flight time of 295.2 hours and a distance of over 1.4 million miles. Dave Scott and Jim Irwin explored the region of Hadley Rille for three days while I conducted scientific experiments in orbit. read more...

CHALLENGER STS-51L CREW: FRANCIS R. "DICK" SCOBEE, MICHAEL J. SMITH, RONALD E. "RON" McNAIR, ELLISON S. "EL" ONIZUKA, JUDITH A. "JUDY" RESNIK, GREG JARVIS and CHRISTA McAULIFFE This official NASA photograph is a crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L, which exploded in midair on January 28, 1986 and was the deadliest accident in NASA history until the destruction of the Columbia in 2003. This rare photograph contains the signatures of all seven crewmembers of STS-51L, who are shown in flight suits and holding their helmets Printed Photograph Signed in Ink: "Mike Smith", "Dick/ Scobee", "Ron McNair", "El Onizuka", "S. Christa/McAuliffe", "Greg/Jarvis", "Judy/ Resnik". Color, 10x8. Captioned: "Crew of Space Shuttle/ Mission 51-L. This photograph is an official NASA crew photo of the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L. read more...

WALTER M. SCHIRRA One-piece Flight Training Suit worn by Wally Schirra as he trained for the Apollo 7 space mission, accompanied by a typed letter of authentication signed by the astronaut. Comprises: (1) TLS: "Walter M. Schirra", 1 page, 8½x11. Rancho Santa Fe, California, 2002 May 3. To Who it may concern. In full: "I, Walter Schirra, attest to the fact that this is my original Flight Training Suit, worn by me while training for the Apollo 7 space mission." Fine condition. (2) The one-piece light blue training suit worn by Schirra. Zips completely down the front and has two original patches: Schirra's U.S. Navy leather ID patch on its right and the colorful cloth Apollo 7 patch on its left. There are a number of small circular oil stains on the seat, otherwise, the suit is in fine condition. Apollo 7 was the first manned flight of the Apollo spacecraft, with astronauts Walter Schirra, Jr., Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard. The primary objectives of the Earth orbiting mission were to demonstrate Command and Service read more...

ABOUT HIS ROCKET TO THE MOON. ROBERT H. GODDARD. Historically Important TLS: "R.H. Goddard", 1p, 8¼x11. Clark College, Worcester, Mass., 1921 March 7. To William L. Straus, Jr., Baltimore. On stationery listing Goddard and C.E. Melville as Professors in the Department of Physics of Clark College. In full: "In reply to your letter of March 3, I might say: 1) The work at present is confined to the construction of a small model and there is no immediate prospect of financing anything more than this. 2) Regarding your second question, I admit that there is no oxygen in the atmosphere on the moon, but beg to call attention to the fact that any of the commercial flash powders contain an oxygen-carrying compound, which is usually potassium chlorate. The experiment which has been given considerable publicity took this fact into account, the flashes being exploded in a glass container in which the pressure had been reduced to about 1/60 of atmospheric pressure." Goddard began experimenting with rockets in 1908, when he demonstrated that rockets could operate in a vacuum. In 1914, Goddard received two U.S. patents. One was for a rocket using liquid fuel. The other was for a two or three stage rocket using solid fuel. read more...

CHARLES A. LINDBERGH Rare Air Mail Service Contract signed twice by the Aviation hero. Contract signed twice: "Lindbergh" as Pilot, 1 page, 8½x7. Springfield, Illinois, 1926 June 2. An Air Mail Service Contract saying Lindbergh flew ship number 111 on Route number 2 southbound. Lindbergh served as chief pilot for the Contract Air Mail Route #2 (CAM-2) which he laid out himself. The Route provided mail service between St. Louis and Chicago, with stops in Peoria and Springfield. Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974) made the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight from Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Le Bourget Field, Paris, France on May 20-21, 1927, flying his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis aircraft. The flight took 33½ hours. Lindbergh was awarded the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for The Spirit of St. Louis. Although Lindbergh's later life was beset by tragedy - the kidnapping and murder of his infant son (1932) - and controversy - his opposition to U.S. preparations to enter World War II - "Lucky Lindy" remains among the greatest of American heroes. Toned. Horizontal fold. Paperclip stain at top center. Pencil marks (unknown hand) not affecting signatures. Lightly creased. read more...

CHALLENGER STS-51L CREW: FRANCIS R. "DICK" SCOBEE, MICHAEL J. SMITH, RONALD E. "RON" McNAIR, ELLISON S. "EL" ONIZUKA, JUDITH A. "JUDY" RESNIK, GREG JARVIS and CHRISTA McAULIFFE The crew signed these First Day Covers, which were postmarked the day they died. Matted and framed in the Gallery of History style to 34x30. Comprises: (1) Commemorative Envelope Signed: "Dick Scobee 17 JUL 85" and "Ronald E. McNair", 6½x3½. The names of astronauts Scobee, McNair, Onizuka, Resnik and Smith have been typed on this cover, but only Scobee and McNair have signed it. Cover postmarked Kennedy Space Center, Florida, January 28, 1986. (2) Commemorative Envelope Signed: "Ellison Onizuka/Shuttle Astronaut" 6½x3½. Cover postmarked Kennedy Space Center, Florida, January 28, 1986. (3) Commemorative Envelope Signed: "Judith A. Resnik" 6½x3½. Cover postmarked Kennedy Space Center, Florida, January 28, 1986. read more...

NEIL ARMSTRONG Two years before his first spaceflight, and five years before he set the first human foot on the moon, Armstrong fills out a flight plan, preparing to pilot a NASA jet from Ohio to Texas. Document signed twice: "N. A. Armstrong", 1 page, 8x12¾. Port Columbus, Naval Air Station [Ohio], 1964 June 25. Department of Defense flight aircraft clearance form. Details filled in by another hand, including mileage, transponder code, and equipment, but Armstrong has penned this notation: "Request radar vector climb on course." Armstrong plans to pilot a T-33 ("Shooting Star") aircraft from Port Columbus to Ellington Air Force Base in Texas, by way of Dayton. The co-pilot is J. F. Stegall, another NASA employee. Civilian Neil Alden Armstrong (1930-2012) had entered the U.S. space program as a senior NASA research pilot in 1962. A fan of aviation from the age of nine, Armstrong had his pilot's license by the age of 16, and, after studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue for two years, went to Pensacola, Florida for Navy flight training. Serving in Korea at the age of 21, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions and won three Air Medals. read more...

MERCURY 7 ASTRONAUTS A Salute to Project Mercury by America's Original Space Pioneers Comprises: (1) Photograph signed: "Scott Carpenter", "Gordon Cooper", "John Glenn", "Wally Schirra", "Alan Shepard" and "Deke Slayton". B/w, 10x8. Official NASA photo. Fine condition. (2) Commemorative Envelope signed: "Virgil I. Grissom", 6½x3½, honoring Project Mercury, 7-cent U.S. Air Mail stamp affixed, postmarked Port Canaveral, FLA., July 21, 1961. He has also penned: "7:20 EST". Fine condition. GUS GRISSOM signed and revised the facts of his July 21, 1961 "Man Shoot No. 2" on this commemorative cover; during this mission, he manned the Mercury-Redstone 4 Liberty Bell 7 and became the second American in space. The event occurred only two months after the Project Mercury team successfully launched a man into space and safely returned him to Earth. ALAN SHEPARD became the first American hurled into space during his flight aboard Mercury's first manned capsule, the Mercury-Redstone 3 Freedom 7, on May 5, 1961. read more...