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  Do you own a piece of Explorer I's pad? (Page 1)

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Author Topic:   Do you own a piece of Explorer I's pad?
Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-29-2007 08:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For many years (if not still), the Air Force Space Museum sold pieces of Cape Canaveral's Complex 26, Pad A, from where Explorer I was launched on January 31, 1958.

A quick poll: do you own a piece?

It doesn't matter what size, type or how it is presented (or even if it was obtained from the museum). If you have a fragment, please post a reply to this thread.

(A follow-up query will be posted depending on the initial response.)

FFrench
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Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-29-2007 08:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I do, and as of the time of the Sims-Hankow show at the Cape this summer, they were still selling pieces (I believe the money goes to support the museum).

Michael Clemente
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Posts: 186
From: Atco, New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 12-29-2007 08:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Michael Clemente   Click Here to Email Michael Clemente     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi Robert, I have a fragment presented on a card from the Air Force Space & Missile Museum that I received several years ago.

rjurek349
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Posts: 1190
From: Northwest Indiana
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posted 12-29-2007 09:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for rjurek349   Click Here to Email rjurek349     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one - which was, coincidentally, given to me by Francis on the bus at the KSC tour this past summer at the UACC show. Thanks, Francis!

sschreib
unregistered
posted 12-29-2007 11:10 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Have had mine for a few years. Piece of floor grating.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-29-2007 11:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks guys, this is great! Keep the reports coming and I'll chime in as to why soon...

STEVE SMITH
unregistered
posted 12-29-2007 11:23 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, I got mine at the Museum during a Then and Now Tour. This was at AHOF induction in 2003.

ColinBurgess
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Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 12-29-2007 11:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ColinBurgess   Click Here to Email ColinBurgess     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a piece (in a kind of X shape) on a souvenir card that was kindly send to me by my writing mate Francis French.

Ken Havekotte
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Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-30-2007 05:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Many pieces, fragments, and various sections of the launch gantry at Pad 26 are a part of my "pad" collections. Included is a core segment of concrete from the base of LC-26 along with a few other unusual artifacts.

Plans are underway to incorporate many small gantry fragments into special commemorative postal covers that will be celebrating Explorer 1's golden anniversary on Jan. 31, 2008 in a special way.

There will also be a pictorial postmark commemorating Explorer 1's entry into the Space Age — 50 Years of Americans in Space — from the Cape Canaveral post office.

GACspaceguy
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Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 12-30-2007 06:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, I have a number of pieces. I have picked up one of the cards mentioned each time I visit the museum.

mensax
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From: Virginia
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 12-30-2007 07:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mensax   Click Here to Email mensax     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Count me in too.

randy
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From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-30-2007 08:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for randy   Click Here to Email randy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a piece too.

Apollo-Soyuz
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From: Shady Side, Md
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posted 12-30-2007 08:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Apollo-Soyuz   Click Here to Email Apollo-Soyuz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I picked one up when I went to the STS-67 launch in 1995.

contra
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From: Kiel, Germany
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 12-30-2007 10:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for contra   Click Here to Email contra     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Me too.

apollo11lem5
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From: Seminole, Florida, United States
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posted 12-30-2007 10:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for apollo11lem5   Click Here to Email apollo11lem5     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a piece as well.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-30-2007 10:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Perfect! Thanks everyone for your replies, now here is why I asked...

I've been considering over the past couple of weeks what collectSPACE might do to mark the 50th anniversary of Explorer I's launch on January 31, 2008. I had placed my own segment of the launch gantry on my desk for inspiration, and it struck me a few days ago that the story of that fragment and those like it would make for a good article.

One of the aspects about the story that I thought was particularly engaging was how far the gantry pieces have now spread across the country and the world.

So, that's where you come in. First, I needed to confirm my own suspicion that many of you owned pieces, which this poll succeeded in doing. So thanks, and if you have a piece and haven't yet chimed in, please continue to do so (as well as participate in what I am about to propose).

To illustrate the article and underscore how something as simple as a small piece of metal can have the far reaching affects of exposing many people to space history, I'd like to ask each of you if you would, over the next couple of weeks, photograph your fragment.

Specifically, I'd like it if you would photograph it against a backdrop that would establish your (and your piece's) geographical location. For example, if you were in Paris, you might photograph the piece while standing in front of Eiffel Tower. If you don't have a local famous landmark, you could seek out "Welcome to [City]" signs, for example. Be creative, as the idea is to show a variety of locales rather than a collection of metal slabs sitting on shelves and desks.

I ask that you submit two photos: one that shows you at the locale holding the piece (or whomever you choose to appear) and a second that focuses on the piece itself (for an example of the latter, see this photo of a patch at KSC's Pad 39A).

All photos submitted will be used in the article and credit will be provided (please be sure to include how you wish to be identified and the location from where you took the photograph). It would be great if we could find and photograph a sample in as many of the 50 U.S. states as possible (seeing as though this is an American anniversary) but I'm also very interested in showing international examples, too!

I plan to interview Air Force Museum personnel for the article, as well as at least one person who worked at Complex 26 in 1958.

If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. You can submit photos to contact@collectspace.com. To be included, I would need all submissions by Thursday, January 24.

Thanks everyone! I hope you find this idea as fun and exciting as I do...

tegwilym
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Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 12-30-2007 12:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tegwilym   Click Here to Email tegwilym     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fun idea Robert!

Add me to the list, I do have one of those also. I think I might even have 2 of them, I'll have to dig through my stuff.

I'll have to find a Seattle landmark and try a photo to send over.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-30-2007 01:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks, Tom! If each of the people who have responded thus far were to contribute photos, we would already have represented a quarter of the U.S. and two other countries.

(By the way, don't worry if you're state/country is already represented. The more the merrier!)

Lou Chinal
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Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007

posted 12-30-2007 03:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lou Chinal   Click Here to Email Lou Chinal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Add me to the list. A friend of mine gave me a piece of the wire mesh on a card back in the 1980's. I passed on to a model builder in Georgia because he was so into Explorer 1, if I only I knew. Your idea is great!

It would be nice to see a piece of the pad on the Moon!

Larry McGlynn
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From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 12-30-2007 03:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ken Havekotte gave me my piece back a few years ago.

ColinBurgess
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From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 12-30-2007 04:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ColinBurgess   Click Here to Email ColinBurgess     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'll be taking my card with the pad piece to Sydney Harbour in the next few days and will supply photos.

lewarren
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Posts: 269
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 12-30-2007 06:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lewarren   Click Here to Email lewarren     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one.

Murph
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From: New York, NY USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 12-30-2007 07:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Murph   Click Here to Email Murph     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Got mine last summer at KSC while attending the UACC show. The show, The Cape, the launch. A trip like no other!!

MrSpace86
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Posts: 1618
From: Gardner, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 12-30-2007 11:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MrSpace86   Click Here to Email MrSpace86     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one as well. I will try to find a Kansan place to take a pic with it.

poofacio
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From: United Kingdom
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posted 12-31-2007 04:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for poofacio   Click Here to Email poofacio     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have two here in the UK.

danpal
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Posts: 48
From: Roma, Italy
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 12-31-2007 05:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for danpal   Click Here to Email danpal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have two pieces from two different tour at museum of CCAFS.

nasamad
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Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 12-31-2007 06:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for nasamad   Click Here to Email nasamad     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Add me to the list as well. I have one card mounted piece here.

star61
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From: Bristol UK
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posted 12-31-2007 07:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for star61   Click Here to Email star61     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My piece was given to me by Col Ernest Malnassey who was in charge of the Kittyhawk museum in 1988.

Like the idea and will participate.

Gilbert
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From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 12-31-2007 07:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a piece.

Tim Collins
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Posts: 45
From: Harrisburg, PA
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 12-31-2007 09:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tim Collins   Click Here to Email Tim Collins     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Have two of the "x - shaped" gantry fragments on the "post card"

MCroft04
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Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 12-31-2007 01:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MCroft04   Click Here to Email MCroft04     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I do not own a piece, but am interested in purchasing one. Can anyone tell me if pieces are still available for purchase?

KenDavis
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Posts: 187
From: W.Sussex United Kingdom
Registered: May 2003

posted 12-31-2007 02:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KenDavis   Click Here to Email KenDavis     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one that I bought when I visited the States in 1995. The visit to the Air Force Museum was one of the highlights of the trip

FFrench
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From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-31-2007 02:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mel: I do not own a piece, but am interested in purchasing one. Can anyone tell me if pieces are still available for purchase?

You could try e-mailing the Air Force Space & Missile Museum where they were on sale (you took one next to a a suggested donation box). While others here might be able to sell you one if this approach is not successful, I would try this first as I believe the money goes directly to the museum (which was why I bought extras and gave them to colleagues on my last visit).

dtemple
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From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 12-31-2007 02:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dtemple   Click Here to Email dtemple     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have long wondered how any pieces of the pad 26 gantry remain available at the Air Force Space & Missle Museum. How long ago was it the gantry was demolished? A few decades ago wasn't it? With people going through the museum on a near daily basis year after year after year... I picked up a couple of "X" pieces mounted on the card when I toured it in 2000. Perhaps most people don't take any of them. I think I sold mine when I acquired the souvenir launch pad fragments created by Ken Havekotte and Rick Boos.

4allmankind
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Posts: 1043
From: Dallas
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-31-2007 03:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 4allmankind   Click Here to Email 4allmankind     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have two left in my collection from a trip in 2005.

They were freshly made as I witnessed them cutting pieces of the gantry and gluing them onto their cards.

R.Glueck
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Posts: 115
From: Winterport, Maine, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 12-31-2007 09:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for R.Glueck   Click Here to Email R.Glueck     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one "X" of grating, painted a faded red and glued to a 3" x 5" card. It's probably in a file folder right now. I also have a flat spacer from Pad 34, where Gus, Ed, and Roger, died, and some chunks of urethane foam from the tank on STS-71, which I picked up in the flame trench while the rocket was inert.

Ken Havekotte
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From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 01-01-2008 08:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For "dtemple"--Actually, the gantry tower at Pad 26 was never demolished. The original gantry at Complex 26, built in 1956-57, is the oldest and longest-standing launch pad service structure left in place at the Cape.

nas9-1100
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posted 01-01-2008 02:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for nas9-1100   Click Here to Email nas9-1100     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Have the RED X postcard piece for some time now... One of the first purchased items in my collection of the now hundreds of "been there or done that" items. It still sits at my desk in an open frame... Of all things

mikepf
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Posts: 441
From: San Jose, California, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 01-01-2008 04:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mikepf   Click Here to Email mikepf     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great idea Robert! I have one of the red X shaped pieces glued to a card. I gave 2 to some friends a couple of years ago. So that would be two here in San Jose, Ca and one in Phoenix, Az. I'll see if they will take some pictures too. This should be fun.

cfreeze79
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Posts: 455
From: Herndon, VA, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 01-01-2008 07:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cfreeze79   Click Here to Email cfreeze79     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have one of the AFSM relic cards, and one of the Boos/Havekotte cards (from the set of several other pad cards).


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