Posts: 733
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 06-19-2003 05:47 AM               

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What documentation was presented along with NASA's Manned Flight Awareness medallions?

I know of certificates for the Apollo 8, and ASTP medals, and of the rectangular blue cardboard surround for the Apollo 11 medal. I am guessing there would have been an accompanying letter of some sort, but did every medal come with a certificate? And did some of them come differently packaged for different people?

Posts: 1372
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

posted 06-19-2003 01:19 PM               

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You've stumbled on to an obsession of mine, Manned Flight Awareness (MFA) and other participation certificates.

I have seen maybe a dozen different presentation certificates, cardboard mounts and even folders for the Apollo 11 MFA medallion alone. It appears that different teams within NASA (say Launch Support or Tracking) might receive individually tailored certificates for their particular field.

Additionally the contractors and subcontractors often put together their own presentation pieces for staff. Some of these certificates really enhance the appearance of the MFA medallion; I have one in a pale blue A3 folder that opens to show a shot of the moon printed on thick card with the medallion recessed into the card. The accompanying text explains the source of the flown metal and the value of the recipients work.

I have seen a similarly fancy foldout presentation with the Apollo 11 MFA medallion a couple of times.

So far, I have MFA medallions with certificates for Apollo 8, Apollo 11, ASTP, Skylab, ALT and STS-1. I have seen some of the later space shuttle MFAs in the little cardboard holders.

Posts: 733
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Registered: Mar 2003

Posts: 1372
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

Posts: 2185
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001

Posts: 1372
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

Posts: 3466
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 02-18-2016 06:43 PM               

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Picked up a folder which contains both the ASTP and ALT medallions and blank certificates (I really wanted the ALT one and will put up the ASTP for sale). The folder contains a bare-back ALT patch, as well as a generic letter about the distribution of the awards. When I get a chance I'll scan the letter, but the folder was given out in mid-1978, according to the letter, a year after ALT and three years after ASTP.

Which leads to the questions of how many were minted (probably can never be answered), and how many were left over after ASTP (probably also can never be answered) and if it was a case of, "Hmmm. We have all these leftover ASTP coins, we'll give them out with the ALT one."

Was anything similar done with future MFA medallions, e.g., giving out the ALT with STS-1, or STS-1 with STS-3?

Posts: 89
From: United States
Registered: Apr 2013

posted 02-18-2016 07:57 PM            

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I was at KSC during the ALT program. I don't remember seeing any ALT medallions at KSC, but I've seen a number here in the KSC area in the years since. I've only seen the medallions by themselves or with the large presentation sheet. Nothing else.

As far as I can tell the STS-1 medallions and certificates were given to everybody at KSC. I've encountered many during the years.

Posts: 3466
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 02-21-2016 09:45 PM               

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Here's the letter which accompanied the ASTP and ALT MFA certificates and medals (and an ALT patch), all in a Rockwell International Space Systems Group folder.

Not really helpful in terms of documentation — it tells the recipient "...enclosed you will find some mementos of each of these missions in appreciation for a job well done," without listing what those mementos are!