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  Delta V - collectSPACE turns five

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Author Topic:   Delta V - collectSPACE turns five
Robert Pearlman
Editor

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

posted 07-20-2004 09:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It is hard for me to believe as I write this that five years have passed. It seems like such a short period of time and yet it feels as though I have been running collectSPACE for much longer. What started as a hobby site has grown to be nearly a full time profession. The experiences and opportunities it has afforded have widely exceeded my expectations. But it is the people - you, the readers and members, friends and colleagues - that have made the journey since 1999 enjoyable and rewarding.

I am appreciative to each and every one of you that has taken the time to post here, or e-mail privately, approach me at an event or even have written an old fashioned letter to express what collectSPACE has meant to you. It is because of your support that the site flourishes today and will do so for many years into the future.

A very special thanks to those who have contributed their knowledge and expertise, experiences and advice through articles and guides posted to the news and resources sections of the site. My gratitude to Stephen Beck for our first cross-link to his autopen guide and astronaut address information; to Donald and Tamara Boggs for their excellent series on NASA publications; Ray Cartier for sharing his knowledge of covers; Ben Cooper for his impressive photography; Joe Davies for his passion for lunar artifacts; Eugene Dorr for introducing us all to patch collecting; to Wayne Edelman for contributing his thoughts to a series of editorials; to Jürgen Esders for his sharing how to write to cosmonauts; to Francis French for his interviews and more recently, behind-the-scenes look at Apollo 9; to Roger Guillemette for his Dyna-Soar review; Joe Gutheinz for volunteering his legal expertise; to Ed Hengeveld and Philip Corneille for their dedicated index to astronaut portraits; to Bernie Hogya for his treasure trove of NASA documents; to our most recent contributor, Rick Houston and his soon-to-be regular series of DVD reviews; to Tracy Kornfeld for expressing his passion for model building; Larry McGlynn for his collection of book reviews; to Bob McLeod for his past and future contributions that inspire new interest in cover collecting; to Kim Poor for sharing his experience as both a world-class artist and a world-class dealer; to Matt Scherzi for our first book recommendation; to Jake Schultz for demonstrating that you really can live in a museum; to Dave Senechal for his model reviews; to Chris Smith for his Russian patch guide, one of our first; to Rob Sumowski for reminding us all the great feeling of sharing our collections with our communities; to Karl Tate for his love of space toys; and Howard Weinberger for his expert research on the history of Robbins Medallions.

A special thanks to Russ Still, whose "Relics of the Space Race" was not only an inspiration for collectSPACE since its beginning but who graciously volunteered his time to be our first contributing columnist.

And to Ken Havekotte for his tremendous support throughout these past five years and several beforehand. It is his passion and knowledge for space history and memorabilia that I have tried to emulate on cS.

To John Sisson, Dan Mangieri, Curtis Roos, Scott Schneeweis and Steve Zarelli for being the first five to list themselves in the collectSPACE Directory of Collectors and Dealers.

To Leon Ford, Cindy Schellenberg, Matt Miller, Dan Lorraine and George Motley for joining this very message board five years ago first. And to Bill O'Donnell for being our 1000th member.

To our regular posters, including Al Hallonquist, François Guay, Scott Cornish, Chet Diamond, Hart Sastrowardoyo, Jacques van Oene, Brian McKay, David Hitt, James Brown, Doug Henry, Colin Burgess, Kris Stoever, Noah Bradley, and many, many, many more who make reading the message boards daily both interesting and enlightening.

To Superior Galleries, Aurora Galleries, Christie's and Swann Galleries for inviting cS into their auctions and assisting with our coverage.

Thanks to our partners Florian Noller (Spaceflori), Scott Bleisath (Countdown Enterprises), Steve Hankow (Farthest Reaches), Gregg Linebaugh (AVD/The Space Source), and to our friends at the National Space Society, SPACE.com, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, the Association of Space Explorers and Space Adventures.

Thanks to the astronauts and former/present NASA directors that read and contribute to collectSPACE, you know who you are.

And finally, thanks to you, who is reading this post right now.

Hopefully what this long list of people will impart is that cS is more than just my site as its editor. It is yours, read by you, made by you, shaped by you and furthered by your interest. It is the accomplishment of a community and for that you are all due my thanks and gratitude.

With luck, this list will have doubled, if not grown exponentially by 2009, when cS reaches 10. Until then, keep collecting space!

- Robert

FFrench
Member

Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 07-20-2004 09:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'm honored to be listed in this post, Robert. THANK YOU for everything you've done to make this site the premier meeting place for anyone who wants to "talk space." And I look forward to visiting your newest venture, Rocket Town, and checking that out too!

FF

Rodina
Member

Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001

posted 07-20-2004 10:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rodina     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

Well held, Robert. Well held.

nojnj
Member

Posts: 503
From: Highland Heights, KY
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 07-20-2004 10:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for nojnj   Click Here to Email nojnj     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
THANK YOU, Robert for your never ending work on the website, and for what you do for all of us collectors. Thanks to everyone for the knowledge gained from all the posts. I say to all the website members, LETS PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTHS ARE- LETS THANK ROBERT BY CONTRIBUTING TO UPGRADE THE SERVER:
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T2LIV24XIATC9J/058-6813700-9056004

THANKS ROBERT!

------------------
Evan

music_space
Member

Posts: 1179
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 07-20-2004 10:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for music_space   Click Here to Email music_space     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
When I started collecting, CollectSPACE had been around for a few months. So I didn't know what it was to collect before CS. Anyways, the site is a daily ressource for me, and just imagining where it can go from there is challenging!

One day, there will be www. friendsofCS. com, where there will be a message board where we and our daughter and sons will be debating the historical importance and circumstances of CollectSPACE!

[This message has been edited by music_space (edited July 20, 2004).]

divemaster
Member

Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 07-20-2004 11:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you, Robert. It has been a pleasure to be affiliated with Cs in my own little way.

Cheerz!
Tracy

Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member

Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 07-20-2004 11:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In my pursuit of astronaut sightings and interviews/profiles, it has been my desire to meet one person: Rob Pearlman. In fact, it's become something of a standard commentary - "I would think Rob would be at this, I'm surprised he isn't," - but don't let that go to your head. It's also a running joke that we comment, "Gee, d'ya think [name of astronaut] will be here? They've been at almost every sighting we've been to."

Thank you, Robert. Thank you for not only furthering the hobby, but in your way for helping to further my journalism interest. I've met many cSers on-line and a few in-person, and I hope at Burbank a bunch of us cSers can meet at the bar and swap stories and a have a drink to you.

And hopefully, one day, we will have a chance to meet so I can thank you in person - no more close calls like "I was actually in the area, but I was visiting family...."

sts205cdr
Member

Posts: 649
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 07-20-2004 11:57 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for sts205cdr   Click Here to Email sts205cdr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Happy Birthday, collectSPACE!!!

And thank you, Robert, for establishing our own Tranquility Base here on the 'net!

--John

Jurg Bolli
Member

Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 07-20-2004 12:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, I agree, this is the best web site around, I just love coming here every day.
Thanks Robert.
Jurg

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 07-20-2004 12:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Happy 5th anniversary CS and Robert. Happy 35th anniversary Apollo 11.

Dave Clow
Member

Posts: 236
From: South Pasadena, CA 91030
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 07-20-2004 02:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dave Clow   Click Here to Email Dave Clow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Robert, thanks for the service you and cS do for the whole collecting community. You're the daily paper for us.

Dave Clow

Rizz
Member

Posts: 1208
From: Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 07-20-2004 02:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rizz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes Robert -

Way to go!

Through this site I've collected not only space artifacts, but friends, ideas and a wealth of information from the folks that post and contribute here.

Thanks to you Robert and everyone at cS!

Rizz

andrewcarson
Member

Posts: 349
From: Liverpool UK
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 07-20-2004 03:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for andrewcarson   Click Here to Email andrewcarson     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Robert,

I stumbled across Collectspace a few years ago now...Living over here...across the pond..I never thought that I would get the chance to meet some of my heroes...least of all Al Worden, Neil Armstrong, Dick Gordon and all the other Astronauts and Cosmonauts that in such a short period of time I have had the privilege to meet.

I have also furthered my own knowledge through people who post here..I have also made some good friends, and have enjoyed their company at a number of events I have attended...that I would otherwise probably not heard about...so thank you for making all of this possible.

Well done...and well said.....

Andrew

[This message has been edited by andrewcarson (edited July 20, 2004).]

Kirsten
Member

Posts: 536
From: Delft, Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 07-20-2004 04:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kirsten   Click Here to Email Kirsten     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The protestant Christian student community I was an active member of during the second half of my university study had the slogan: "Our community is being created by everyone that is around and active with us."

Guess a similar slogan counts for every great community, especially this tremendous CS community - Robert said that in his message starting this thread ...

I second, third, fourth, ... all these nice words said about you, Robert, and collectspace ! What a wonderful place for all us space nuts to meet, share infos and advices, make (online, but maybe later IRL) friendships ...

Keep up the tremendous work Robert and everyone !

All the best, Kirsten

[This message has been edited by Kirsten (edited July 20, 2004).]

spaceheaded
Member

Posts: 147
From: MD
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 07-20-2004 04:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceheaded     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

As I write this, it's been almost 35 years.... landing will be in about 15 minutes. Visiting the Amazon link above seems like an appropriate way to celebrate that event, and the cS 5th as well.

Congrats, Robert, and thanks for all you've done. Love this space place!

Bill

Matt T
Member

Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

posted 07-20-2004 04:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt T   Click Here to Email Matt T     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Happy 5th collectSPACE!

Massive thanks and appreciation to you Robert for all the effort you must put into this site daily. Nice one.

Thank you to everyone who makes up this community; you all brighten up my day and help me fill my house with priceless junk. Here's to five more years round the collectSPACE campfire, and many more in person meetings.

Cheers,
Matt

------------------

www.spaceracemuseum.com

RMH
Member

Posts: 577
From: Ohio
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 07-20-2004 04:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for RMH   Click Here to Email RMH     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A special thanks to Robert for his vision for collectSpace and to every one else that contributes with articles and posts. I have learned much from all of you and enjoy sharing with you this great hobby.

Hawkman
Member

Posts: 400
From: Union, New Jersey
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 07-20-2004 07:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hawkman   Click Here to Email Hawkman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My collection and knowledge has grown considerably as a result of this site! Thank you, Robert!!!!

spaceman1953
Member

Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 07-20-2004 09:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaceman1953   Click Here to Email spaceman1953     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Many days I tell people that I wish I had the internet when I was a kid.....I tell them that the conversation would probably NOT be taking place, because I would be a multi-gazillionaire and be eating breakfast in Paris......

Today, after reading the lead post here from the founder, I can easily add that I wished I had collectSpace when I was a kid.....
I published an updated Space Primer back in 1973 and attempted to publish The Grand Tour as a monthly space collectors publication after that.....but lack of subscribers put me out of business after a couple-three years of off and on publishing.

collectSpace is a tremendous asset to all of our everyday space collecting lives and I wish it well on its' 5th birthday with many, many more to come.

Gene Bella
South Bend

Philip
Member

Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 07-21-2004 02:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Happy anniversary collectSpace.com , a website which has become part of our daily life as most of us spend on average 30 to 60 minutes per day on cS ...
Congrats for a job well done !!!

Richard Jackson
Member

Posts: 132
From: Palm Harbor, FL 34684
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-21-2004 06:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Richard Jackson   Click Here to Email Richard Jackson     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you Robert for collectSPACE and all the personal help you have given me over the last 5 years!

tegwilym
Member

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

posted 07-21-2004 01:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tegwilym   Click Here to Email tegwilym     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
What started as a hobby site has grown to be nearly a full time profession.- Robert

Full time profession? How do I get a job like this?

Congratulations on 5 years. This has been one of the web sites that I check nearly every day (or more). I don't think I want to know how much time I've spent here while at work, I'm sure that would be a very large and somewhat embarassing number!
I've met some great email friends here, my collection has grown with the help of other members selling me their extra and/or unwanted stuff, and met a guy nearby (Jake) who is my inspiration for my own home musuem. Ha! (I'll never catch up though)

Tom

dss65
Member

Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 07-21-2004 11:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dss65   Click Here to Email dss65     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
cS is one of the highlights of my day, pretty much every day. Thanks, Robert, and thanks to so many of you who have posted. I hope I get to meet a whole bunch of you in Burbank. You must be as nuts as my wife says (knows) I am!

------------------
Don

Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member

Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 07-22-2004 12:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Hart Sastrowardoyo   Click Here to Email Hart Sastrowardoyo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dss65:
You must be as nuts as my wife says (knows) I am!

More nuts, if you count the hours we spent after the lecture (and finding his limo, but not him) waiting for Mike Melvill. I've taken NJ Transit to NYC and them Amtrak to Connecticut to meet Cady Coleman (successful) and Franklin Chang-Diaz (unsuccessful.) I've also taken Amtrak from Wilimington, Delaware to have a very expensive coffee with Bill Nelson (this was the day Charlie Bolden was to have been confirmed as deputy NASA admin, or something like that, but got pulled at the last minute, and I wasn't aware of that.) I spent just as much, if not more time, with Bob Phillips (who was eager to talk about Spacelab 4) than the main attraction at the National Science Teachers' Convention, Barbara Morgan. I've interviewed Jake Garn in NYC and then made a mad dash thru the Queens-Midtown and on the LIE - known as the world's largest parking lot - come literally to a screeching halt in Garden City, jumped out the car and ran to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, press pass in hand, for Fred Haise's lecture last year.

And this October, lured by a bargain air fare, I want to fly to North Carolina and back the same day (!) to see Sally Ride. And I've seen her once before....

mark plas
Member

Posts: 385
From: the Netherlands
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 07-22-2004 04:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mark plas   Click Here to Email mark plas     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Robert for creating this wonderfull site.
I am a member for almost 4 years now and it still feels great when i start my PC and the red and black colours of Collectspace pop up.

Mark

Rob Sumowski
Member

Posts: 466
From: Macon, Georgia
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 07-22-2004 07:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rob Sumowski   Click Here to Email Rob Sumowski     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hi Robert:

I'm humbled that you included me in your list of thank yous, but hat's are off to you, my friend. You have been the singlest biggest boost this hobby has seen in the past five years. You're a spokesman, an enabler of opportunities, a unifier, at times an arbitrator, but always a friend to every collector.

I've met almost every fellow collector I know thanks to you.

Thank you.

Rob Sumowski

TrueNorth
Member

Posts: 161
From: Bathurst, NB, Canada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 07-24-2004 07:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TrueNorth   Click Here to Email TrueNorth     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Quite frankly, if it weren't for this site, I don't think I would be collecting. I have always had an interest, but this has been the tool that has fired it up. It has, as others have said, enabled us to meet via this forum and email many others with the same interest. And these people have been without exception helpful, friendly and giving of their expertise. I take this opportunity to thank them also.

Thanks for all your efforts Robert, and for your excellent moderation of this board. You have the perfect way of swooping in and calming the many passionate viewpoints that are expressed here. See you in Burbank.

John

Rob Joyner
Member

Posts: 1308
From: GA, USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 07-25-2004 12:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rob Joyner   Click Here to Email Rob Joyner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Happy Anniversary cS!
Robert, thank you for what you do here. Thank you for your perserverance and patience. Thank you for allowing the rest of us to speak our minds.
I think you have a great bunch of members here on cS who are intelligent and beyond that, considerate of their fellow members.
I know that it is passion which drives you to do what you do and it is very much appreciated.
I wish you a happy anniversary and look forward to saying that for many, many years to come.
Rob

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