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Author Topic:   Astronaut stripes from Apollo spacesuits
Altidude
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Posts: 57
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Registered: Jan 2016

posted 04-28-2019 07:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anyone collect Apollo commander stripes from Apollo spacesuits? Did they remove the stripes from only the flown suits or from all of the suits?

Mike Dixon
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Posts: 1397
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 04-28-2019 09:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I very much doubt that the five flown suits would have been touched.

Rick Mulheirn
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Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 04-29-2019 02:45 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
While crewmen were usually gifted their mission patches (US flag, NASA meatball, mission patch and name tag) from their flown suits the stripes I'm certain were untouched.

Shuttle EMU stripes are attached using velcro and are a different matter altogether.

Altidude
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posted 04-29-2019 11:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That's good information. I saw on the episode of Space Dealers that one of the commanders had his stripes framed, so I figured that the same may be for the Apollo missions as well.

I did not know that the shuttle stripes were attached differently. However, I would not think that it would be a very complicated matter for them to have removed the stripes from the Apollo suits as well. Especially since they did do this for the patches of the flown spacesuits for the Apollo missions.

Altidude
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posted 04-30-2019 08:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just to clarify, has anyone seen any examples of commander’s stripes being removed from any of the Apollo suits?

Larry McGlynn
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Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 04-30-2019 08:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
No. All the A7L suits retained their stripes. I have seen Shepard's, Scott's, Young's and Cernan's suits and they all have their stripes on them.

I do have Scott Kelly's CDR stripes from his year-long mission.

Altidude
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posted 04-30-2019 09:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
However, they also have their patches as well which were removed and replaced later. So, can you be sure?

Just playing devil's advocate. Not trying to be controversial.

Rick Mulheirn
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Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 05-01-2019 08:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Larry is correct. I have seen Apollo astronaut flown patch presentation pieces and none have included the red stripes. Perhaps it was something to do with affecting the integrity of the suit since the stripes went around the entire circumference of each leg and arm.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 05-01-2019 09:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There may have been a sense of fairness to it, too.

If NASA gave out the red stripes, then the commander of each mission would have received an additional significant piece of his suit that his two crewmates did not receive. Whereas with the patches, all three crew members received the same items.

Larry McGlynn
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Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 05-01-2019 07:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Questioning is always good. It keeps things honest.

I have seen several Apollo spacesuit patch sets. Stafford's, Cernan's, Scott's, Duke's and Bean's (or what was left of them) in their homes or Stafford's museum. Young's were sold at Heritage with no stripes. There would only be five sets of stripes. Apollo 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Dave Scott and Gene Cernan did not have stripes included in their patch displays. Did not see any stripe with Young's patches at the auction. I have not seen Shepard's or Lovell's patch displays.

The first stripe I ever saw was of a lucite containing a fragment of Story Musgrave's stripe from his first EVA.

Altidude
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Registered: Jan 2016

posted 05-01-2019 07:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Altidude   Click Here to Email Altidude     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have actually seen a set of stripes from Apollo reportedly from Shepard on Apollo 14. I will have to see if I can get in contact with the person who has these to find out more info.

Go4Launch
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Posts: 542
From: Seminole, Fla.
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 05-01-2019 08:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Go4Launch   Click Here to Email Go4Launch     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have seen a nice mint, unused set of the red CDR stripes in a private collection. They were obtained from an Apollo NASA suit tech some years ago.

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