posted 05-23-2023 02:41 PM               

The two heavy stock cards, “SIVB TLI - NOMINAL FIRST OPPORTUNITY” and “SIVB NOMINAL SECOND OPPORTUNITY, are both Velcro backed to facilitate attachment to the DSKY from where the crew monitored the progress of the TLI burn as it occurred in real-time. The first of these cards is the actual card that was utilized by the crew during the mission, while the other, a contingency card, was not needed but went along for the ride. From a historical perspective, the first card represents one of only nine moments in time where humans have broken free of the earth’s gravitational influence and journeyed into deep space and another celestial body.

It is interesting to note that the lightning strikes encountered in the rain at liftoff of the mission necessitated that the crew perform a contingency realignment of the spacecraft’s guidance platform prior to initiating the TLI burn. Due to the combined efforts of both Alan Bean and Dick Gordon, the crew were able to set out on their lunar voyage at the first of only two available opportunities to do so.

I acquired these cards twenty years ago and have since put together some other related items to go along with them, including some signed photos and three vintage tracking and trajectory charts that graphically illustrate where these cards have traveled.

I’m asking for $8,000 on the pair of flown TLI cue cards with signed COA or $8,500 for the cards with the additional items and signed photos. The supplementary items are not available for sale separately and are offered only as a group purchase along with the cards.