Space
1957 Sputnik 1 Breadboard
2017 SOLD for $ 850K by Bonhams
The Soviet government is in a hurry. They must be the first to place a satellite in orbit. The original project, including several scientific instruments under development, will not be ready in time. The first satellite, Sputnik-1, will be a demonstrator limited to the functions necessary to astonish the whole world.
To send a capsule, the rocket is ready : it is easy to replace the nuclear load by a civil payload in the intercontinental missile R-7 qualified in August 1957. This missile is the most powerful in the world, oversized due to the uncertainty on the design of future nuclear weapons. The early successes of the Soviet space program rely directly on this military conservatory decision taken in 1954.
Sputnik-1's most important equipment is a dual frequency radio transmitter that will provide the general public with the evidence of the communication with space. This instrument is designed by the NII-885, a company within the Ministry of Radiotechnical Industry.
The 885 is also responsible for demonstrating that electronic systems are not disturbed by the electromagnetic environment. The ability to receive a quality signal, and as a result the media success of the mission, depend directly on this inspection.
Several complete full-size operational breadboards of the Sputnik-1 are provided to 885 for these electromagnetic tests. The tests are non-destructive. After their satisfactory results, it seems that only the engineers of the 885 maintained some interest in these ground artefacts that have not been dismantled.
Externally, these models are spheres in polished metal 58 cm in diameter fitted with four antennas. Three units recently appeared on the market. All are equipped with their precious transmitter, supplied with a modern 12 V battery, and accompanied by a period Tesla radio receiver.
001, 002 and 003 have been sold by Bonhams : 001 for $ 400K on September 17, 2019, lot 34, 002 for $ 850K on September 27, 2017 and 003 for $ 270K on July 20, 2016.
The government is betting on the success of the mission and releases before the event the location of the launch, Baikonur, and the radio frequencies to be tuned. For 22 days until the battery runs off on October 26, 1957, Sputnik-1's famous beep-beep proclaims to the world the technological advance of the Soviet Union. The ambitious program of experiments that was originally planned continues its development and is embarked on Sputnik-3 in May 1958.
To send a capsule, the rocket is ready : it is easy to replace the nuclear load by a civil payload in the intercontinental missile R-7 qualified in August 1957. This missile is the most powerful in the world, oversized due to the uncertainty on the design of future nuclear weapons. The early successes of the Soviet space program rely directly on this military conservatory decision taken in 1954.
Sputnik-1's most important equipment is a dual frequency radio transmitter that will provide the general public with the evidence of the communication with space. This instrument is designed by the NII-885, a company within the Ministry of Radiotechnical Industry.
The 885 is also responsible for demonstrating that electronic systems are not disturbed by the electromagnetic environment. The ability to receive a quality signal, and as a result the media success of the mission, depend directly on this inspection.
Several complete full-size operational breadboards of the Sputnik-1 are provided to 885 for these electromagnetic tests. The tests are non-destructive. After their satisfactory results, it seems that only the engineers of the 885 maintained some interest in these ground artefacts that have not been dismantled.
Externally, these models are spheres in polished metal 58 cm in diameter fitted with four antennas. Three units recently appeared on the market. All are equipped with their precious transmitter, supplied with a modern 12 V battery, and accompanied by a period Tesla radio receiver.
001, 002 and 003 have been sold by Bonhams : 001 for $ 400K on September 17, 2019, lot 34, 002 for $ 850K on September 27, 2017 and 003 for $ 270K on July 20, 2016.
The government is betting on the success of the mission and releases before the event the location of the launch, Baikonur, and the radio frequencies to be tuned. For 22 days until the battery runs off on October 26, 1957, Sputnik-1's famous beep-beep proclaims to the world the technological advance of the Soviet Union. The ambitious program of experiments that was originally planned continues its development and is embarked on Sputnik-3 in May 1958.
1961 From Sputnik 1 to Gagarin
2011 SOLD 2.9 M$ including premium
Sputnik 1 demonstrated in October 1957 the feasibility of orbital flights. It was only a small sphere of 58 cm in diameter, but the Soviets had other plans ready in their boxes.
Only a month later, Sputnik 2, a large conical capsule of 4 meters high and 2 meters in diameter at the base, established unequivocally that the goal of the Soviets was a successful manned flight.
The death of the dog Laika during the flight of Sputnik 2 showed that this test was premature. The Russians, embarrassed by this event, waited 45 years to confess that her death was due to excessive heat. Anyway, the martyred dog would not have passed the conditions of reentry.
Thereafter the program was held step by step. In August 1960, two dogs, a rabbit, two rats and 42 mice came back alive after a full day in orbit.
The Soviets were now ready to send the first cosmonaut in space. Becoming cautious, they made a last rehearsal on March 25, 1961, with the dog Zvezdochka aboard Sputnik 10. The success of this mission provided the green light for the flight of Gagarin on April 12, 1961.
Half a century has passed since that historic flight. On April 12 in New York, Sotheby's will sell the Vostok 3KA-2 capsule used for the Sputnik 10 mission. This prestigious carcass was emptied for a long time of its equipment. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
It is identical to Gagarin's capsule, and unique of its kind on the market. Its price is hard to predict. The auction house announces a very opened range of estimates: between 2 and 10 million dollars.
POST SALE COMMENT
It was difficult to predict the price for something so unique on the market. It remained reasonable: $ 2.9 million including premium.
Only a month later, Sputnik 2, a large conical capsule of 4 meters high and 2 meters in diameter at the base, established unequivocally that the goal of the Soviets was a successful manned flight.
The death of the dog Laika during the flight of Sputnik 2 showed that this test was premature. The Russians, embarrassed by this event, waited 45 years to confess that her death was due to excessive heat. Anyway, the martyred dog would not have passed the conditions of reentry.
Thereafter the program was held step by step. In August 1960, two dogs, a rabbit, two rats and 42 mice came back alive after a full day in orbit.
The Soviets were now ready to send the first cosmonaut in space. Becoming cautious, they made a last rehearsal on March 25, 1961, with the dog Zvezdochka aboard Sputnik 10. The success of this mission provided the green light for the flight of Gagarin on April 12, 1961.
Half a century has passed since that historic flight. On April 12 in New York, Sotheby's will sell the Vostok 3KA-2 capsule used for the Sputnik 10 mission. This prestigious carcass was emptied for a long time of its equipment. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
It is identical to Gagarin's capsule, and unique of its kind on the market. Its price is hard to predict. The auction house announces a very opened range of estimates: between 2 and 10 million dollars.
POST SALE COMMENT
It was difficult to predict the price for something so unique on the market. It remained reasonable: $ 2.9 million including premium.
1966-1967 Apollo Guidance Computer
2021 SOLD for $ 750K by Sotheby's
In 1961 President Kennedy made official by the US Congress the goal to safely land men on the Moon before the end of the decade. It was the most daring technical challenge of all time.
At that time a Cray computer was occupying a whole room in specialized labs, the software engineering was in infancy and had to rely upon punch cards, and nobody took a real attention to the failures of the recently developed integrated circuits.
NASA subcontracted immediately the development of the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) to the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which had an experience with US Navy missiles. The hardware was entrusted to Raytheon. The initial design named Block I was the first ever computer made of IC semiconductor chips. It was tested from 1966 to 1968 on Apollo unmanned and early manned orbital missions and on ground flight simulators.
The Block II reaches a spectacular size shrinking, 61 x 31 x 14 cm for a weight of 32 Kg only, an achievement which was made possible by the progress of the integrated circuits. The very complex algorithms needed for the landing were fitted with thousands of NOR gates from a single part type in modules associated with rope cabling. ROM and RAM were associated with hand made core rope memories. 57 units were produced.
A former NASA technician saved from scrap an AGC Block II made in 1966-1967 by Raytheon, which had been used in a 1968 NASA Lunar ground test crewed by astronaut Jim Irwin and others. It has been restored at the time of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and re-activated by a replica of the interface box. The rework was made easier by the unexpected fact that most of the electronics of that specific AGC had not been potted.
This set was sold for $ 750K from a lower estimate of $ 200K by Sotheby's on July 20, 2021, lot 44. Please watch the video shared by the auction house to introduce the sale.
Flight model Block IIs were used without failure on the Command and Lunar modules of the manned Lunar Apollo missions, on Skylab station and on the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz joint mission that marks the end of the most brilliant phase of the space exploration.
At that time a Cray computer was occupying a whole room in specialized labs, the software engineering was in infancy and had to rely upon punch cards, and nobody took a real attention to the failures of the recently developed integrated circuits.
NASA subcontracted immediately the development of the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) to the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which had an experience with US Navy missiles. The hardware was entrusted to Raytheon. The initial design named Block I was the first ever computer made of IC semiconductor chips. It was tested from 1966 to 1968 on Apollo unmanned and early manned orbital missions and on ground flight simulators.
The Block II reaches a spectacular size shrinking, 61 x 31 x 14 cm for a weight of 32 Kg only, an achievement which was made possible by the progress of the integrated circuits. The very complex algorithms needed for the landing were fitted with thousands of NOR gates from a single part type in modules associated with rope cabling. ROM and RAM were associated with hand made core rope memories. 57 units were produced.
A former NASA technician saved from scrap an AGC Block II made in 1966-1967 by Raytheon, which had been used in a 1968 NASA Lunar ground test crewed by astronaut Jim Irwin and others. It has been restored at the time of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and re-activated by a replica of the interface box. The rework was made easier by the unexpected fact that most of the electronics of that specific AGC had not been potted.
This set was sold for $ 750K from a lower estimate of $ 200K by Sotheby's on July 20, 2021, lot 44. Please watch the video shared by the auction house to introduce the sale.
Flight model Block IIs were used without failure on the Command and Lunar modules of the manned Lunar Apollo missions, on Skylab station and on the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz joint mission that marks the end of the most brilliant phase of the space exploration.
1969 Gold on the Moon
2019 SOLD for $ 2.05M including premium
The tradition of commemorative medallions flown in US space missions begins with the first manned Gemini flight. They were made of pewter or sterling and sometimes gilded. Although the production was not documented, their boxes were marked Fliteline. The mission dates are engraved after the return to earth.
The latest series of Fliteline medallions is for Apollo 1. Eight prototypes had been prepared before the cabin fire. As a tribute to his fallen comrades, Neil Armstrong took a gilt specimen with him to the Apollo 11 LM. Coming from his collection, it was sold for $ 275K including premium by Heritage on November 1, 2018.
When the Apollo program restarted in 1968, NASA reorganized this prestigious operation. The design is generally made by the crew of the related mission. Until Apollo 10 the shape is free. The production is entrusted to Robbins Company, a supplier of badges for the FBI and of Olympic medals.
The sterling silver medallions are now serialized, probably because NASA fears that astronauts will derive a personal profit detrimental to its reputation. A few 14K gold medallions are added for the personal collections of the astronauts.
For Apollo 11 in 1969, the drawing is prepared by Michael Collins. Robbins makes 450 silver sterling medallions that are all mission flown except for 10 that had been lost, plus 3 gold medallions, one for each astronaut.
The gold medallion awarded to Neil Armstrong followed him in the Lunar Module Eagle. Coming from his collection and graded MS 67 by NGC, it will be sold on July 16 in Dallas by Heritage, lot 50067 with an opening bid of $ 250K without reserve price. Please watch the video shared by NGC.
Collins's eagle ready to land in a plain of craters under earth light will be re-used for the federal coin of $ 1 between 1971 and 1978.
The scandal of Apollo 15 did not come from medallions but from philatelic envelopes.
The latest series of Fliteline medallions is for Apollo 1. Eight prototypes had been prepared before the cabin fire. As a tribute to his fallen comrades, Neil Armstrong took a gilt specimen with him to the Apollo 11 LM. Coming from his collection, it was sold for $ 275K including premium by Heritage on November 1, 2018.
When the Apollo program restarted in 1968, NASA reorganized this prestigious operation. The design is generally made by the crew of the related mission. Until Apollo 10 the shape is free. The production is entrusted to Robbins Company, a supplier of badges for the FBI and of Olympic medals.
The sterling silver medallions are now serialized, probably because NASA fears that astronauts will derive a personal profit detrimental to its reputation. A few 14K gold medallions are added for the personal collections of the astronauts.
For Apollo 11 in 1969, the drawing is prepared by Michael Collins. Robbins makes 450 silver sterling medallions that are all mission flown except for 10 that had been lost, plus 3 gold medallions, one for each astronaut.
The gold medallion awarded to Neil Armstrong followed him in the Lunar Module Eagle. Coming from his collection and graded MS 67 by NGC, it will be sold on July 16 in Dallas by Heritage, lot 50067 with an opening bid of $ 250K without reserve price. Please watch the video shared by NGC.
Collins's eagle ready to land in a plain of craters under earth light will be re-used for the federal coin of $ 1 between 1971 and 1978.
The scandal of Apollo 15 did not come from medallions but from philatelic envelopes.
1969 Two Hours and a Half on the Moon
2019 SOLD for $ 1.82M including premium
On July 20, 1969 at 8:18 pm GMT, the LM Eagle lands on the Moon. 600 million people, representing 20% of the world's population, are waiting in front of their television or radio for the live broadcast of the first steps of man on the moon.
Armstrong descends to the Lunar surface at 2:56. One of his first actions is to start the Westinghouse camera. The first lunar live is perfectly working. Until his return to the LM two hours and a half later, the show is uninterrupted. It is also a considerable event in the history of audio-visual.
The audio is excellent. The sound exchanges between manned space vehicles and the Earth have always been vital, with no right for mistakes. The picture is disappointing. These two black and white bears jumping in their spacesuits are hardly believable. The beautiful color photos taken by Armstrong with a Hasselblad camera hanging on his chest will soon keep quiet the unbelievers.
The television images transmitted by the LM were rudimentary. A single radio channel had to manage both the telemetry data essential to the technical monitoring of the mission and the images of the astronauts. The result was a scan of 320 lines with a rate of 10 frames per second that was well below the threshold of retinal persistence, giving our two plantigrades a jerky motion effect.
Still worse. The protocol used for this transmission was not compatible with the broadcast networks of the television chains. The raw signal received in an observatory in Australia had to be transmitted in real time to Houston where it was converted into a professional television language, not without a significant degradation of sharpness.
To avoid the loss of images in case of transmission failure, the Australian observatory had to make several backup copies which were later delivered to NASA as scheduled.
In 2006 the Sydney Morning Herald is upset : the best motion pictures of man's first walk on the moon are lost. NASA confirms that the tapes have been erased for re-use on other missions. After the success of Apollo 11, no one was interested to them, perhaps because of the increasing difficulty of decoding old programs.
In June 1973 a student had bought for $ 217.77 in a NASA surplus auction a batch of 1,150 reels with their video tapes that he had then scattered for his profit. He had kept three boxes with a tag identifying the Apollo 11 EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity). Alerted by the desperate research of the NASA, he finds in 2008 a Californian laboratory competent to decode the tapes.
The former student had in his perfectly legal ownership a copy prepared in period by the NASA from the original signal. Never reused before 2008, the three tapes cover in succession all of the EVA. The honor of NASA is saved. A second reading is done two months later to load this very precious content into a hard drive compatible with modern computers.
The set of three tapes is estimated in excess of $ 1M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on July 20, lot 104. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Armstrong descends to the Lunar surface at 2:56. One of his first actions is to start the Westinghouse camera. The first lunar live is perfectly working. Until his return to the LM two hours and a half later, the show is uninterrupted. It is also a considerable event in the history of audio-visual.
The audio is excellent. The sound exchanges between manned space vehicles and the Earth have always been vital, with no right for mistakes. The picture is disappointing. These two black and white bears jumping in their spacesuits are hardly believable. The beautiful color photos taken by Armstrong with a Hasselblad camera hanging on his chest will soon keep quiet the unbelievers.
The television images transmitted by the LM were rudimentary. A single radio channel had to manage both the telemetry data essential to the technical monitoring of the mission and the images of the astronauts. The result was a scan of 320 lines with a rate of 10 frames per second that was well below the threshold of retinal persistence, giving our two plantigrades a jerky motion effect.
Still worse. The protocol used for this transmission was not compatible with the broadcast networks of the television chains. The raw signal received in an observatory in Australia had to be transmitted in real time to Houston where it was converted into a professional television language, not without a significant degradation of sharpness.
To avoid the loss of images in case of transmission failure, the Australian observatory had to make several backup copies which were later delivered to NASA as scheduled.
In 2006 the Sydney Morning Herald is upset : the best motion pictures of man's first walk on the moon are lost. NASA confirms that the tapes have been erased for re-use on other missions. After the success of Apollo 11, no one was interested to them, perhaps because of the increasing difficulty of decoding old programs.
In June 1973 a student had bought for $ 217.77 in a NASA surplus auction a batch of 1,150 reels with their video tapes that he had then scattered for his profit. He had kept three boxes with a tag identifying the Apollo 11 EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity). Alerted by the desperate research of the NASA, he finds in 2008 a Californian laboratory competent to decode the tapes.
The former student had in his perfectly legal ownership a copy prepared in period by the NASA from the original signal. Never reused before 2008, the three tapes cover in succession all of the EVA. The honor of NASA is saved. A second reading is done two months later to load this very precious content into a hard drive compatible with modern computers.
The set of three tapes is estimated in excess of $ 1M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on July 20, lot 104. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1969 The Treasure that came from the Moon
2017 SOLD for $ 1.8M including premium
Before Apollo 11 only the poets knew how to speak about the Moon. Nothing was known about its surface which was perhaps toxic.
Neil Armstrong reached the lunar ground on July 21, 1969 at 02:56:15 UTC. After his statement for the history, his very first activity was to observe the soil and to take small rocks and dust. The managers of the mission wanted to avoid that a later incident prevents this highly precious collection which was carried out before Aldrin descended from the LM to join him. He picked about 1 Kg of dust in 3 minutes 35 seconds in full view from a camera.
Armstrong keeps his specimens in a Contingency Sample Bag specially designed to protect users against unidentified hazards. The bag is made with a multi-layer insulating fiber named Beta cloth along with polyester and closed by a brass zipper. It was emptied during the return journey with a vacuum process that was not very effective since some lunar dust remained inside the bag.
Flight used artefacts from Apollo 11 are very rare in the art market except for a few astronaut-managed memorabilia. The Contingency Lunar Sample Return Outer Decontamination Bag in which Armstrong temporarily stored his first samples is estimated over $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on July 20, lot 102.
The availability of this historic piece at auction is the result of a double negligence from the NASA. In the 1970s when the Agency provided the Smithsonian with what remained of the Apollo 11 mission, the absence of the bag was not identified. NASA also did not check in 2014 a private collection ready to be auctioned on request from the government after a fraudulent behavior of its owner, the former director of a space museum in Kansas.
Identified as "One flown zippered lunar sample return bag with lunar dust ("Lunar Bag"), 11.5 inches; Tear at center. Flown Mission Unknown" the bag was finally bought in March 2015 by an amateur geologist delighted with that opportunity. She opens the pouch, records the references, starts an online search and finds that what she bought for $ 995 is the very first bag to have contained lunar samples.
NASA confirms the authenticity as well as the lunar nature of the dust remaining in the bag. Upset with their own blunder they tried to recover the artefact but the auction had been guaranteed by the US Marshals Service. Two lawsuits confirmed the regular ownership by the bidder who now promises to give to various charities a portion of the proceeds of the sale which she is entrusting to Sotheby's.
The trade of Lunar material was still forbidden by NASA and the dust traces had been put away by them and reconditioned in SEM sampling aluminum stubs 10 mm each in diameter.
The NASA has lost a legal battle to keep these particles out of private hands. Five stubs, numbered 2 to 6, were returned to the winner of the 2015 auction. Their content was SEM tested and four of them were guaranteed as Apollo 11 Lunar material by NASA in February 2022. The five were sold together for $ 500K by Bonhams on April 13, 2022, lot 21. The number 1 is retained by NASA.
Neil Armstrong had described the dust as follows : "The surface is fine and powdery, I can kick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers, like powdered charcoal, to the sole and sides of my boots."
Neil Armstrong reached the lunar ground on July 21, 1969 at 02:56:15 UTC. After his statement for the history, his very first activity was to observe the soil and to take small rocks and dust. The managers of the mission wanted to avoid that a later incident prevents this highly precious collection which was carried out before Aldrin descended from the LM to join him. He picked about 1 Kg of dust in 3 minutes 35 seconds in full view from a camera.
Armstrong keeps his specimens in a Contingency Sample Bag specially designed to protect users against unidentified hazards. The bag is made with a multi-layer insulating fiber named Beta cloth along with polyester and closed by a brass zipper. It was emptied during the return journey with a vacuum process that was not very effective since some lunar dust remained inside the bag.
Flight used artefacts from Apollo 11 are very rare in the art market except for a few astronaut-managed memorabilia. The Contingency Lunar Sample Return Outer Decontamination Bag in which Armstrong temporarily stored his first samples is estimated over $ 2M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on July 20, lot 102.
The availability of this historic piece at auction is the result of a double negligence from the NASA. In the 1970s when the Agency provided the Smithsonian with what remained of the Apollo 11 mission, the absence of the bag was not identified. NASA also did not check in 2014 a private collection ready to be auctioned on request from the government after a fraudulent behavior of its owner, the former director of a space museum in Kansas.
Identified as "One flown zippered lunar sample return bag with lunar dust ("Lunar Bag"), 11.5 inches; Tear at center. Flown Mission Unknown" the bag was finally bought in March 2015 by an amateur geologist delighted with that opportunity. She opens the pouch, records the references, starts an online search and finds that what she bought for $ 995 is the very first bag to have contained lunar samples.
NASA confirms the authenticity as well as the lunar nature of the dust remaining in the bag. Upset with their own blunder they tried to recover the artefact but the auction had been guaranteed by the US Marshals Service. Two lawsuits confirmed the regular ownership by the bidder who now promises to give to various charities a portion of the proceeds of the sale which she is entrusting to Sotheby's.
The trade of Lunar material was still forbidden by NASA and the dust traces had been put away by them and reconditioned in SEM sampling aluminum stubs 10 mm each in diameter.
The NASA has lost a legal battle to keep these particles out of private hands. Five stubs, numbered 2 to 6, were returned to the winner of the 2015 auction. Their content was SEM tested and four of them were guaranteed as Apollo 11 Lunar material by NASA in February 2022. The five were sold together for $ 500K by Bonhams on April 13, 2022, lot 21. The number 1 is retained by NASA.
Neil Armstrong had described the dust as follows : "The surface is fine and powdery, I can kick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers, like powdered charcoal, to the sole and sides of my boots."
1970 Three Samples of Lunar Dust
2018 SOLD for $ 860K including premium
Facing their American competitors, the Soviets found a brilliant engineer to conceive and operate their space program. To ensure his protection, his identity will not be revealed until his untimely death in 1966 : Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
Korolev was the manager of all the important projects : ballistic missiles, Sputnik which was the first spacecraft to orbite the Earth, the approach to the Moon by the robotic Luna probes, Vostok which first traveled a man in space, and the Soyuz space vehicle.
Luna made several great achievements : first impact on the Moon of a man-made spacecraft with Luna 2 in 1959, first photograph of the far side of the Moon in the same year by Luna 3, first soft landing by Luna 9 in 1966.
Luna 16 in 1970, Luna 20 in 1972 and Luna 24 in 1976 scratched the soil of the Moon and brought back some dust for a cumulative weight of 326 g. For comparison Apollo human missions carried 380 Kg of lunar rocks and dust on Earth.
As a tribute to Korolev, three tiny particles collected by Luna 16 were presented to his widow. They were encased together under glass below an adjustable lens. This set is the only example of lunar soil from the space programs that has ever been in private hands : samples kept by governments and their diplomatic gifts cannot be available for trade.
This lot was sold for $ 440K including premium by Sotheby's on December 11, 1993. It is estimated $ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 29, lot 63.
Korolev was the manager of all the important projects : ballistic missiles, Sputnik which was the first spacecraft to orbite the Earth, the approach to the Moon by the robotic Luna probes, Vostok which first traveled a man in space, and the Soyuz space vehicle.
Luna made several great achievements : first impact on the Moon of a man-made spacecraft with Luna 2 in 1959, first photograph of the far side of the Moon in the same year by Luna 3, first soft landing by Luna 9 in 1966.
Luna 16 in 1970, Luna 20 in 1972 and Luna 24 in 1976 scratched the soil of the Moon and brought back some dust for a cumulative weight of 326 g. For comparison Apollo human missions carried 380 Kg of lunar rocks and dust on Earth.
As a tribute to Korolev, three tiny particles collected by Luna 16 were presented to his widow. They were encased together under glass below an adjustable lens. This set is the only example of lunar soil from the space programs that has ever been in private hands : samples kept by governments and their diplomatic gifts cannot be available for trade.
This lot was sold for $ 440K including premium by Sotheby's on December 11, 1993. It is estimated $ 700K for sale by Sotheby's in New York on November 29, lot 63.
1971 Commander Scott explores the Moon
2015 SOLD for $ 1.62M including premium
Dave Scott was rightly concerned about the mastery of time. The official supplier of watches and chronometers to the Apollo program was Omega. For the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, Scott received permission from NASA to take two additional instruments, both of Bulova brand. Considering that it was a personal initiative of its commander, NASA did not record these instruments in the official list of equipment.
The stopwatch was used by Scott to provide a redundancy for controlling the operating time of the descent of the Lunar Module, specified to 24 seconds with a tolerance of only 0.3 second. Scott considered that the dial of his Bulova was easier to read in operation than the Omega instrument. It passed with an estimate of $ 120K at Bonhams on May 5, 2011.
The other instrument is a more classic chronograph that Scott carried on his wrist in the third and final moonwalk of the mission. The most spectacular feature of Apollo 15 was the first use of a motor vehicle on the moon, the Lunar Rover. In this tour that departed the astronauts up to 5 Km from the LM, an error in assessing the time could have caused a fatal lack of oxygen or of battery power.
This piece of equipment escaping the official mission is the only watch in private hands that has been used on the surface of the moon. It will be sold on October 22 in Boston by RR Auction, lot 9001. Here is the link to the post issued by the auction house.
The stopwatch was used by Scott to provide a redundancy for controlling the operating time of the descent of the Lunar Module, specified to 24 seconds with a tolerance of only 0.3 second. Scott considered that the dial of his Bulova was easier to read in operation than the Omega instrument. It passed with an estimate of $ 120K at Bonhams on May 5, 2011.
The other instrument is a more classic chronograph that Scott carried on his wrist in the third and final moonwalk of the mission. The most spectacular feature of Apollo 15 was the first use of a motor vehicle on the moon, the Lunar Rover. In this tour that departed the astronauts up to 5 Km from the LM, an error in assessing the time could have caused a fatal lack of oxygen or of battery power.
This piece of equipment escaping the official mission is the only watch in private hands that has been used on the surface of the moon. It will be sold on October 22 in Boston by RR Auction, lot 9001. Here is the link to the post issued by the auction house.
1971 Hasselblad, Back from the Moon
2014 SOLD 660 K€ including premium
From 1962, Hasselblad provides cameras for NASA space missions. The production quality from the Swedish brand is remarkable and explains the exceptional pictorial beauty of these photos that have been seen all around the world.
This phase culminates with the missions on the surface of the Moon, beginning in 1969 with Apollo 11. The HEDC (Hasselblad Electric Data Camera) is derived from the model 500EL, adapted to be easily operated by the large gloves of the astronauts. Each magazine is sized for 200 photos.
These instruments are heavy. The procedure requires that only the magazine loaded with the film must return to Earth, the normal fate of camera and lens being to remain on the Moon in order to minimize the weight for the travel back to Earth.
However, the Hasselblad used on Apollo 15 in 1971 by James Irwin was recovered in its entirety. It is possible that the withdrawal of his second film did not work and that NASA did not want to lose the precious images.
Irwin continued to make shots during the return trip. Knowing how NASA is little inclined to improvisation, it seems more likely that this unit had benefited from an extended program planned in advance.
This camera with such a unique history is estimated € 150K, for sale by WestLicht in Vienna on March 22. It is illustrated on the article shared by Canoe.
POST SALE COMMENT
This remarkable instrument of the Lunar exploration was sold for 550K € before fees.
This phase culminates with the missions on the surface of the Moon, beginning in 1969 with Apollo 11. The HEDC (Hasselblad Electric Data Camera) is derived from the model 500EL, adapted to be easily operated by the large gloves of the astronauts. Each magazine is sized for 200 photos.
These instruments are heavy. The procedure requires that only the magazine loaded with the film must return to Earth, the normal fate of camera and lens being to remain on the Moon in order to minimize the weight for the travel back to Earth.
However, the Hasselblad used on Apollo 15 in 1971 by James Irwin was recovered in its entirety. It is possible that the withdrawal of his second film did not work and that NASA did not want to lose the precious images.
Irwin continued to make shots during the return trip. Knowing how NASA is little inclined to improvisation, it seems more likely that this unit had benefited from an extended program planned in advance.
This camera with such a unique history is estimated € 150K, for sale by WestLicht in Vienna on March 22. It is illustrated on the article shared by Canoe.
POST SALE COMMENT
This remarkable instrument of the Lunar exploration was sold for 550K € before fees.
1977 The Space Stations
2014 SOLD 1 M€ before fees
Lunar exploration was a feat worth to excite the public and to push the development of new technologies. The political impact was huge but the Moon brought nothing economically nor for Earth observation.
The era of the space stations succeeded the lunar adventure. The Soviets had not challenged the Americans on the Lunar project, but they also did not take a technological backwardness. The programs Skylab and Salyut were developed simultaneously.
The concept of a permanent orbiting laboratory that can be occupied by a crew was new and so was the technique of transferring capsules for their mooring to the station and subsequent come back to Earth.
Some Salyut stations were made for military use. It was the Almaz program, on which very limited information was published at that time.
On May 7 in Brussels, Lempertz sells a VA capsule (Vozvraschaemyi Apparat) used in the Almaz program. This piece 2.20 m high and 2.80 m in larger diameter weighing 1.9 tons is estimated between US $ 1M and 2M. It could transport three cosmonauts or unmanned heavy equipment. Here is the link to the first pre-sale press release.
Sent into space in 1977 and 1978, this unit was certainly the first spacecraft that was reused. At that time NASA began developing their space shuttle.
It was confirmed before sale that its two missions were unmanned.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good price for the space capsule : € 1M before fees.
The era of the space stations succeeded the lunar adventure. The Soviets had not challenged the Americans on the Lunar project, but they also did not take a technological backwardness. The programs Skylab and Salyut were developed simultaneously.
The concept of a permanent orbiting laboratory that can be occupied by a crew was new and so was the technique of transferring capsules for their mooring to the station and subsequent come back to Earth.
Some Salyut stations were made for military use. It was the Almaz program, on which very limited information was published at that time.
On May 7 in Brussels, Lempertz sells a VA capsule (Vozvraschaemyi Apparat) used in the Almaz program. This piece 2.20 m high and 2.80 m in larger diameter weighing 1.9 tons is estimated between US $ 1M and 2M. It could transport three cosmonauts or unmanned heavy equipment. Here is the link to the first pre-sale press release.
Sent into space in 1977 and 1978, this unit was certainly the first spacecraft that was reused. At that time NASA began developing their space shuttle.
It was confirmed before sale that its two missions were unmanned.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good price for the space capsule : € 1M before fees.
