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  Value of Apollo onboard white jumpsuits

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Author Topic:   Value of Apollo onboard white jumpsuits
James913
Member

Posts: 265
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 11-10-2014 11:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for James913   Click Here to Email James913     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I’m interested if anyone has ever seen an auction or sale of any of the white jumpsuits that Apollo crews wore onboard during their missions (like the Apollo 12 jumpsuit shown below).

I would like to be able to put a ballpark value on these (realizing that there will be some value variation between specific flights or between flown and non-flown versions). I've checked the stack of space auction catalogs that I have, talked to friends at JSC, and tried a web search, all to no avail, so any historical value data would be a big help.

Thanks for your help!

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-10-2014 12:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The garment is called the in-flight coveralls.

Two pairs of the coveralls used by the Apollo 12 crew during training were sold a decade ago for about $10,000 each.

All the flown inflight coveralls were, I believe, transferred to the Smithsonian.

p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-10-2014 03:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I know a few astronauts kept them, Lovell's is currently on display at the Saturn V building at Kennedy Space Center, just saw it October.

FYI, that's my photo of Conrad's suit, taken in September 2011, can be seen in the KSC visit portion on a rarely-used section of my personal website.

I'm okay with people using it, but it would be cool to note it as someone else's shot...

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-10-2014 03:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A number of the flown and training inflight coveralls can be seen in the National Air and Space Museum's online collection catalog.

Greggy_D
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Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 11-10-2014 03:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Greggy_D   Click Here to Email Greggy_D     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Young's training jacket was offered by Heritage a few years ago. His in-flight Apollo 16 coveralls were on display at the Davidson Center (USSRC) when I visited in 2011. The patches were pretty faded though.

James913
Member

Posts: 265
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Oct 2004

posted 11-10-2014 06:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for James913   Click Here to Email James913     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
All: Thanks very much for the info -- that does help.

Sincere apologizes for the photo-swipe, it was unintentional (someone sent me that jpeg in response to my e-mail question about this subject and they didn't say where it was from). I appreciate the use here, and don't plan to use it anywhere else.

p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 11-10-2014 06:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by James913:
Sincere apologizes for the photo-swipe...
It's all good. I just get sensitive about that as a photo I took of something non-space-related got permanently attached to an email about someone and has gone viral, listed as someone else's shot. You can imagine how ticked off that makes me when I see it every few months...

Chuckster01
Member

Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 01-07-2017 03:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Chuckster01   Click Here to Email Chuckster01     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just thought I would see if there is any update to this post? I just purchased a set of in-flight coveralls and wondered if any other members have a set also or if any have come for sale since 2014?

datkatz
Member

Posts: 176
From: New York, NY
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 01-07-2017 05:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for datkatz   Click Here to Email datkatz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well, as values are set by sales, could you let us know what you paid for yours? Flown, or unflown?

Chuckster01
Member

Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 01-07-2017 08:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Chuckster01   Click Here to Email Chuckster01     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My set was not flown and has no name attached but does have the NASA meatball. I have the pants and jacket with matching tags. The set is in near pristine condition with one hole in the back of the pants.

We have been negotiating on the set for a few years now and I caught him on the right day. I paid $3,500 and I feel I got a great deal. we started at $10,000 about three years ago.

These are very hard to value as I have never seen another set for sale but it is a very cool item and now I am looking for a mannequin to display them on.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-08-2017 12:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Charles Conrad's in-flight coveralls used during training for Apollo 12 sold for $9,375 at RR Auction in September 2015. (Alan Bean's training coveralls were included in the same auction but went unsold.)

These examples and others I have seen were sized to specific individuals. Chuck, what do your tags read as to sizing?

Chuckster01
Member

Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 01-08-2017 07:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Chuckster01   Click Here to Email Chuckster01     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Robert, both the jacket and the pants are size - MR, both have a manufacture date of 12/23/68, both are manufactured by B. Welson Co. The official nomenclature on the tag says "Chamber suit."

This looks exactly like the photos in the link you posted minus a name tag and without a mission patch.

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 2914
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 01-08-2017 12:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The In-Flight Coverall Garment suit you have, Chuck, was indicated as a "Chamber Suit," which is probably why it was never intended for actual Apollo spaceflight use.

This particular ICG suit was more likely produced for an astronaut participation in an Apollo spacecraft altitude chamber test run. Earlier coveralls like this were used a lot in 1966-68, both at JSC and KSC, while conducting a full altitude chamber test series of both spacecrafts.

I think $3.5K for this one was a fair value, based on the fact that the same ICG suit was available in a prior RR Auction, but didn't quite reach its projected bid reserve, though it did come very, very close.

If there had been an astronaut's name tag included on an later-version ICG along with an Apollo Beta mission crew patch, and sometimes with an American Beta flag on an arm's shoulder, perhaps an estimated value could be higher, especially if used by an astronaut while in Apollo training.

By far, though, ICG suits of any kind coming up on the auction floor are not at all common.

Chuckster01
Member

Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 01-08-2017 03:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Chuckster01   Click Here to Email Chuckster01     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you Ken. Infligh coveralls and flight suits are kind of new to my collecting so information is much appreciated. I now have Col. Lyman "Mike" Kidders (Commander, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) flight suit and jacket, one of Bob Springer's flight suits and now the chamber coverall. Not a bad start.

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