posted 04-01-2017 12:13 PM
Any thoughts on the authenticity of the autograph on this Apollo Era letter? The way the first name is slanted makes one think it is not an autopen but may be secretarial. As Chief of the Astronaut Office in 1972 did Alan Shepard have the time or inclination to sign such correspondence with space fans?
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 2914 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 04-01-2017 12:46 PM
Unfortunately, it's an autopen and one of the early (1960s) machine-generated signature patterns of America's first spaceman. Though while the lunar explorer did sign much of his correspondences during that time-frame, I am sure the majority of his letters from space fans were machine signed (I've got a few myself from that same Apollo era).