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Author
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Topic: Praise for Astronaut Sightings Section
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rlk
Member Posts: 61
From: west babylon, ny 11704
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-03-2006 10:13 AM
   
I just wanted to express my sincere thanks for making this sightings section available to all of us. It is a great service that you provide. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-03-2006 10:37 AM
Randy, I'm glad to hear that the Sightings calendar has been of some value. Your kind words are greatly appreciated. |
John K. Rochester
Member Posts: 1292
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 05-03-2006 10:48 AM
"of some value" ???Robert, Robert..
It is beyond a doubt the only reason most of us have the recent autographs that we do. The press certainly doesn't publicize astronaut visits as much as they could, and when they do it's the same day..so it's difficult to make plans. Sightings is the first place I go every morning when catching up on CollectSpace..and to me it's INVALUABLE!! |
ejectr
Member Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 05-03-2006 12:01 PM
Robert.....as far as the "Sightings" link is concerned...."We're not worth.....we're not worthy...!" |
november25
Member Posts: 646
From: Douglas, Isle of Man, UK
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 05-03-2006 12:35 PM
Thanks Robert,
I agree with John R. its invaluable to us Brits who vacation anywhere in the USA.
At least my forthcoming holiday to Florida-
I know who to find at the Astronaut Encounter,plus other things going on.
By days are full of great surprises.
Thanks again, best to you and all at Rocket Town.
regards from
Brenda.
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RMH
Member Posts: 577
From: Ohio
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 05-03-2006 03:27 PM
This whole site is invaluable. The sightings section has made it possible to see so many astronauts that I would not have known about other wise. A huge thanks to Robert and all those who have contributed to it. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 05-03-2006 08:04 PM
Robert, without a doubt the sightings section has been instrumental in my vacation plans in the last few years. It has allowed me to meet and shake hands with those few that have had the privilege of being in space and have walked on the moon. I have followed the endeavors of NASA for the last 44 years and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this site has open a whole new dimension in knowing what in going on within the Space Arena. Thanks so much for all you do and have done! |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-03-2006 09:17 PM
From the other side of things... in my last job, at the Fleet Science Center, it was an invaluable way to spread the word that we were hosting an astronaut talk / booksigning and getting the word out there. Thanks Robert! |
mikepf
Member Posts: 441
From: San Jose, California, USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 05-04-2006 12:43 AM
Hello,
I'll add to the chorus on praise to cS Sightings. The most recent event I attended thanks to Sightings was seeing Steven Robinson at NASA Ames last month. As an extra bonus, Janice Voss was there as well. Thanks to Robert and anyone who sends him information for this wonderfull resource.
Regards,
Mikie |
BobbyA
Member Posts: 147
From: Northern Virginia
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 05-04-2006 10:26 AM
Because of the sightings listed here I am going to see Jack Schmitt tomorrow and Neil Armstrong in about a month. I can't wait! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-04-2006 10:33 AM
Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I also want to credit the readers who have submitted events to the calendar. More than once, your entries have led to my own attendance, for which I am very grateful. quote:
The press certainly doesn't publicize astronaut visits as much as they could, and when they do it's the same day..so it's difficult to make plans.
I cannot tell you how frustrated I am when this occurs, or worse, when an article appears the day after an event but for which there was no prior promotion. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 05-04-2006 07:32 PM
quote:
The press certainly doesn't publicize astronaut visits as much as they could, and when they do it's the same day..so it's difficult to make plans.
To be fair, us press depend on press information people to keep us informed. I remember a cSer having a conversation with the planetarium director of a Major Museum and said director wished that more people would have come to see the two astronauts that were there that weekend. However, look on their Web site, and you have to hunt and peck through a few pages to get to the planetarium page, and then hunt and peck again to see what the calendar of events are for that museum. And then there are some events, like when an astronaut makes an appearance at a school, where the event is not open to the public. I would suggest that if there's some connection, some angle, then the press is more likely to put in a blurb before the event as well as cover it. Greg Olsen coming to two Lacey schools because his niece attends one of them (as well as his tour of schools to get more kids to get into science and math) is a good example on how to "market" an appearance. Simply say that astronaut Joe Jones is going to a church to talk about space travel when he's not an area resident or parishioner, that the church was simply short a speaker, and it may get briefed or covered if its a slow day. [This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited May 04, 2006).] |
Moonwalker1954
Member Posts: 245
From: Montreal, Canada
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 05-04-2006 08:02 PM
Robert,I join RMH and GACspaceguy comments: your sightings section has enabled me to meet with people who have done what I only dreamed of doing, that is to fly in space and walk on the Moon. Here in Canada, we don't have too many opportunities to meet with astronauts so your site is a unique source of informations. My last two year's vacations have been wonderful: I have several pictures of me standing beside an astronaut, some autographed items and many, many great souvenirs. Thank you Robert! Pierre-Yves
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Kirsten
Member Posts: 536
From: Delft, Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 05-06-2006 07:15 AM
The next opportunity to meet astronauts here in Europe will be the ILA aerospace exhibition in Berlin on May 16th - 21st.
As Frank de Winne told me last Monday <brag>, he doesn't know yet which ESA astronauts are scheduled to appear there. My guess is that ESA themselves can only confirm their astronaut appearances at public events as early as they are actually present at the events themselves, so they can't make advance announcements at their web site. All the best, Kirsten
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Jake
Member Posts: 464
From: Issaquah, WA U.S.A.
Registered: Jun 2002
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posted 05-09-2006 12:24 PM
Here, here Rob't,Sightings has allowed me to meet a number of individuals at public events where, in most cases, I would have had no other way of knowing of their appearance. Thanks... ------------------
Jake Schultz - curator,
Newport Way Air Museum (OK, it's just my home) |
hammer&feather
unregistered
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posted 05-09-2006 02:53 PM
Hi all,
Yes indeed the Astronaut Sightings section is one of the best features of the entire site. I met several Astronauts because the section is very detailed and correct.
One suggestion. Is it possible to enlarge the Astronaut sighting photos a little more. When I click on the little thumbs the new window opens to approx 4
by 4 inch. It would be nice to view the pictures larger and in high resolution.
I am sure Robert and crew can solve this issue. Many thanks for all the information offered on CS
Andy |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-09-2006 03:03 PM
Andy, the size of the photos is purposely kept small for a few reasons but primarily because not everyone has the ability to send through high resolution photos. In fact, most submissions I receive are of small size. By keeping the format limited to 300 by 300 pixels, it allows more people to participate.That, and the small size also prevents unauthorized copying and printing. I regret that its the situation, but I could easily see the scenario where an unscrupulous seller might take one or more of the photos from the gallery and try to sell it on eBay or elsewhere. |
hammer&feather
unregistered
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posted 05-09-2006 03:36 PM
I fully understand. At least we all can enjoy the scans in low resolution. Not a problem. Thanks for making this point clear.
Andy |
rocketJoe
Member Posts: 103
From: Huntsville, AL USA
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 05-13-2006 05:07 PM
In addition to the good work that Robert performs, I want to add my thanks to the author of this particular thread. I've been aware of the Astronaut Sightings section on collectSpace for some time, but I must admit I don't check it regularly. Upon reading this thread, I discovered an event scheduled for the next day in my area (Huntsville), the Von Braun Forum, where Charlie Duke was scheduled to participate. Because of Robert, and this thread, I was able to attend the forum and chat with General Duke for a few minutes!Robert, thanks again for providing this valuable resource! [This message has been edited by rocketJoe (edited May 13, 2006).] |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2610
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 05-14-2006 07:14 AM
quote:
Originally posted by hammer&feather:
It would be nice to view the pictures larger and in high resolution.
I am sure Robert and crew can solve this issue. Andy
Robert always mentions the name of the photographer. You could check the Collectspace member list, contact the person by e-mail, and ask him for a scan. Not everybody will have a high resolution file, but some may. ------------------
Jürgen P Esders
Berlin, Germany
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Astroaddies |
Naraht
Member Posts: 232
From: Oxford, UK
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 05-14-2006 07:33 AM
I'm wondering about the criteria for including non-astronauts in the "Sightings" section. I was looking at the listing for the MAPLD 2006 conference, and I noticed that while Sy Liebergot and Fred Haise were listed as attending, Jack Garman and Robert Seamans (both of whom are very interesting people) were not mentioned, despite the fact that both of them are going to be there too. Can I enter a plea for more attention to non-astronauts in this section? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-14-2006 12:02 PM
Without a doubt Garman and Seamans are "interesting people" and if I were to attend this conference, I personally wouldn't want to miss hearing them talk. For Sightings, my issue has always been where to draw the line. Its easy to define the group that encompasses space explorers; less so, when it comes to other space workers. Currently, Sightings tracks a small group of others, mostly chosen because they are "favorites" among the readership: Chris Kraft, Gene Kranz, John Aaron, Sy Liebergot, Dee O'Hara, Cece Bibby, James Lewis and Guenter Wendt (among a few others). Sometimes the list is event specific; when the Seattle Museum of Flight hosted an Apollo 13 celebration and had many of the controllers in attendance, I listed them all. So how would you suggest defining the boundaries for this other group? I am very open to your ideas. [This message has been edited by Robert Pearlman (edited May 14, 2006).] |
Naraht
Member Posts: 232
From: Oxford, UK
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 05-15-2006 04:11 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
So how would you suggest defining the boundaries for this other group? I am very open to your ideas.
This is a very fair question--I realise that it's actually a lot more difficult than I had first considered. I'm sure you have your finger on the pulse of this site, and thus have a much better idea than I do of which non-astronauts people are interested in hearing about. (It might, nonetheless, be interesting to start a thread on the topic to see what people say.)For my own part, I would say that I think anyone who merits more than a passing mention in (say) Murray and Cox's "Apollo" is probably important enough to spaceflight history for their public appearances to merit a mention. But I'm aware that this would probably mean a lot more work for you! Please don't think me dissatisfied with your website--it is an excellent resource just as it is. But I can always use all the help I can get in pursuing my interest in mission control... |
tegwilym
Member Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 05-15-2006 11:06 AM
I'll add my compliments to the list also. I've been happy that I've occasionally been able to add one to the list now and then. Last week I went and saw Mike Melvill at the Seattle Museum of Flight. He was kind enough to sign autographs afterwards also. He is an EXCELLENT speaker, and had a great slideshow with photos and videos of his Spaceship One flight. If he comes to your city, be sure to go see him. Tom |
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