posted 09-23-2012 11:53 AM               

In 2000, I was fortunate enough to meet Alan Bean, Dick Gordon and Ed Mitchell at a signing. All lovely fellas and very friendly and gracious.

Next week, I turn 40 and my wife has arranged a holiday to Washington DC, so I can visit the Smithsonian and check out all their lovely Apollo stuff. I have never seen a capsule in real life, so it's going to be a real thrill for me.

In addition to this holiday, my wife and my folks have offered to club together and buy me something really special for my birthday and I am toying with the idea of a Russian Orlan glove.

I have seen Russian gloves on ebay for a while but they have always been out of my price range. But now, I may be able to get one — I am so excited!

However, there seem to be two main sellers of Russian space memorabilia. Jangospace (based in Russia) and Maksuta (seemingly based in the US).

They both currently have Orlan gloves for sale. Jangospace has a green ISS version, NON flown, which I like the look of.

Maksuta has one that looks a little earlier and claims it has been flown in space.

My question to you guys is, how reliable are these guys? They appear to have ALOT of stuff. Space suits that cost upwards of 20K etc... but can I trust them?

Are they the real deal? Or are they simply selling copies, made from the correct material for the collectors market?

I apologise in advance for asking, but this is a lot of cash for us and this thing has to be right for me.

Alternatively, if there are any other collectors out there who have gotten bored with their Russian glove, shoot me a mail.

posted 09-23-2012 12:51 PM               

The Russian government has never been fond of releasing their space memorabilia to the general public (ie; you and me). Most of the time the relics of a past age of space travel are left in military storage facilities or the like. That is not to say that a Russian astronaut or two hasn't taken a thing or two as a souvenir from their travels, but mostly you will find the stuff we are looking for is under lock and key.

There are 'organisations' and individuals within Russia whom when asked to procure a specific item, they can do just that. The term legally stolen means that the item in question IS stolen but nobody will ever question its origin due to the connections of said organisations/individuals. Anything flown that comes from Russia I can pretty much promise you has been acquired this way (unless brought back by an Astronaut).

It is important to remember that when buying some Russian memorabilia you probably won't have a visit from the Secret Service or Russia/USA/UK, but the products origin will be questionable at best. Russia is still a very corrupt country and even IF you find a glove, it may not be as advertised.

posted 09-23-2012 01:03 PM               

I've heard the Matsuka seller is selling real hardware, but not to hold too much faith in the 'flown' story behind it.

posted 10-05-2012 03:09 AM               

I took 860 photographs. I think 859 of them were of Dave Scott's lunar suit. I just couldn't tear myself away from it. It was grimy with lunar dust and lovely to see.

On another note, I have followed your advice and purchased a glove from Alex Panchenko. I went for a Sokol glove in the end, that was flown up to MIR by Manakov.

Aesthetically, I like Orlan gloves more than Sokols, but I'd rather have something that I knew was REAL, than something I would always have doubts about.