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Author
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Topic: Do you miss space autograph shows?
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gareth89
Member Posts: 470
From: Ireland
Registered: May 2014
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posted 03-24-2022 09:49 PM
   
I've found over the past three years the opportunities to send in items to astronauts for autographs and of course and more prominently to meet them has become a great deal more difficult, especially in the European Union and the UK. I went to two Autographicas, multiple Space Lectures events in Ponteftract. I've been to Spacefest back in the day and I've met six of the 12 moonwalkers and 12 of the moon orbiters, but I still have ambitions to meet more! I enjoy sending items to signings and thoroughly enjoy getting my pieces back in the mail. I'm 33 now and started collecting about 17 years ago, I got in at the end but treasure the items I have that are personalized to me and my family in my collection! I find it incredibly sad that these opportunities are running out. It's great excitement for me when a Novaspace or Artifact Cloud item arrives at my door! I'd be delighted to spend time with the astronauts who flew on the shuttle, and the ISS more recently too, I've met several of these gentleman and women who have both amazed and entertained me, and hope to meet many more, but I'd also be delighted if say Rhea, Kathy, Hoot and all of the other legends were available for autographs and craic and chat through the the mail! I hope it will be so with my unconditional support. |
hbw60
Member Posts: 258
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 03-24-2022 10:39 PM
I agree completely. Especially because I've only been able to attend one such event, with SpaceFest 2019. I've loved the early space program since I was a boy, but it wasn't until 2018 that I realized that it was possible to meet astronauts, collect flown artifacts, and connect with so many amazing people who share the same interests.And so in 2019, I attended my first SpaceFest, had the pleasure of meeting six Apollo astronauts, and also got to meet so many kind and intelligent people. It was one of the best experiences of my life. At the time, I was a little dismayed at my relatively late arrival to this hobby. The SpaceFest Apollo guest list was half the size it was in 2013, auction prices had doubled over the last decade, and time will only make it worse. But I was still so grateful for everything, and I was hoping to attend the Cosmosphere's 50th Anniversary event for Apollo 13. The potential of getting a photo with Lovell or Haise in front of Aquarius was so special. But then the pandemic hit, and it was cancelled. And it felt like most of the remaining Apollo-era astronauts saw that as a reasonable time to retire from public life. Cunningham, Duke and Haise are still doing their best, which is great. But I've been waiting on an order from Cunningham for over a year, an order from Duke for eight months, and I never heard back about a request for Haise. Borman and Haise both lost their wives recently, others are losing their health, and all of them are getting too old for extensive travel and public appearances. It's a sad thing for so many reasons. And the pandemic was a harsh, abrupt way for these kinds of events to end. But I'm so glad to be on this forum with all of you! I don't post a huge amount, but I visit several times a day, and I love being a part of this group. We may not have the in-person opportunities we once had, but I value all of your kindness and expertise! |
gareth89
Member Posts: 470
From: Ireland
Registered: May 2014
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posted 03-24-2022 11:20 PM
I went to Spacefest in 2016 as Mike Collins had been a hero of mine since I'd read "Carrying the Fire" when I was 15. I'd always wanted to meet him, I'd met Al Worden twice in the previous couple of months in the EU and we'd struck up good conversations and a fondness for Jameson 12 and he introduced me to Mike as 'My buddy Gar from Ireland': my proudest moment to date. Mike simply shook my hand and exchanged pleasantries, a gentleman all the way. Anyway, my point is that I was incredibly lucky have gotten into the hobby, even as late as I did! I have autographs ordered from websites too, if they never come so be it! Of course I'd love to be surprised when I open the mailbox tomorrow but I won't count on it. It's clear the Apollo guys aren't really signing anymore, but by gosh I'd love to have the shuttle guys from last year's Spacefest lined up for an in the mail signing! |
CEKebalo
Member Posts: 28
From: Winnipeg, MB, CA
Registered: Jun 2021
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posted 03-25-2022 08:53 AM
It is a very unsettling thought to imagine how the community will change so dramatically, once the chapter of Apollo with us, is closed. Soak up every moment while we can and each day will help us appreciate the memories we have been able to make, up until then. My first post on cS was showcasing proudly, a hand written letter that arrived in the mail from Charlie Duke to my four year old son. This will live on for another generation through him when he is older. That's what it is all about. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4456
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 03-25-2022 08:55 AM
I certainly miss meeting astronauts: I miss meeting up with buddies on a regular basis more so. |
Kite
Member Posts: 1027
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 03-25-2022 01:41 PM
Me too Rick, can't wait until events start again. I really miss my two trips to Pontefract each year and also to Autographica. Realise that the Apollo guys are now unlikely to appear again but hopefully plenty of Shuttle and Soyuz legends will be able to take their places.Will be nice to see old faces from the attendees again as have missed them and hope they all have fared well during the pandemic. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3450
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-26-2022 11:09 AM
We should remember with gratitude the opportunities we had in the first two decades of this century to meet many of the space pioneers. Others will make the journey to the Moon and beyond, but many of us had the chance to meet the Apollo astronauts who made the first footprints. We shall not see their like again. But there may still be a few opportunities. We should treat each as if it is the last. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1772
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 03-26-2022 03:36 PM
Yes I have missed the shows, not only to meet and talk to astronauts, but to meet up with friends I've made attending these events.But things are beginning to get back to normal. I attended the November 2021 ASF Hall of Fame and Space Rendezvous event and I had a great time. I'll be in Houston next week for the ASF Apollo 16 50th celebration, and have a ticket for the June 2022 Hall of Fame/SR event. No, the signings have not returned, but with time I hope they will. And who knows, in my lifetime I just may be able to meet - and get autographs - of some future moonwalkers! |
spaceman
Member Posts: 1167
From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 04-02-2022 02:25 PM
We were lucky enough to visit Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in March and the Astronaut Encounter schedule enabled us to meet five different astronauts during the period of our stay and to attend their respective lectures. Face coverings were still a requirement for the visitors however, you did get the chance for a quick photo op with mask pulled down. Thank you astronauts (Sherwood Spring, Winston Scott, Guy Gardner, Ken Cameron and last but not least Tom Jones), KSCVC and the team there including Nick Thomas. |
machbusterman
Member Posts: 1790
From: Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-01-2022 05:54 AM
I miss attending these events for sure. Particularly the Autographica events here in the UK. Meeting astronauts, cosmonauts, test and combat pilots, Bond girls and some true Hollywood greats! More than that however I miss the social scene, spending time with friends at the bar and of course the gala dinner where more often than not one could be found sitting having dinner with the likes of Jim McDivitt, Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke, Kathryn Thornton and who can forget the time when I was sat with five Bond girls for dinner! |
OLDIE
Member Posts: 324
From: Portsmouth, England
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 05-01-2022 10:44 AM
I too miss the good old days with visits to Autographica in the U.K. and ASF events in the USA. The late Rex Hall was instrumental in bringing over many Soviet cosmonauts. Autographica events which stand out in my mind are sitting down to dinner with Valentina Tereshkova at one event, and at another, sitting down to dinner with a Penthouse Pet and a former Playboy Playmate of the Year.
It was at an ASF event, I think, that Neil Armstrong was a guest speaker. Who can forget that! |
Rob Sumowski
Member Posts: 468
From: Macon, Georgia
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 05-07-2022 06:49 PM
My first post in a few years.I miss the shows. I miss the conversations. I miss the amazing interactions we collectors had with each other at the shows in Florida or D.C. throughout the first decade of the 2000s. I made so many terrific friends among this group. We all share a love and appreciation for this period of history, and I felt most at-home sitting around a table with a pioneer astronaut or two and a handful of you good people. Great memories worth savoring and now sharing with the next generation. It would be great if we formed some sort of coordinated educational outreach to share this history we have collected with kids. | |
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