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Author
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Topic: Ross Perot's (1930-2019) space artifacts
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dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 07-09-2019 01:28 PM
   
Eccentric billionaire (and former presidential candidate) Ross Perot deserves our respect for buying lots of Russian space memorabilia auctioned by Sotheby's in 1993 and loaning it to the National Air and Space Museum's collection. RIP Most of the Soviet space objects displayed in the [National Air and Space Museum's Space Race gallery] were purchased by The Perot Foundation of Dallas, Texas. Before purchase, some of these items had suffered from years of neglect and deterioration; others were in danger of being lost or destroyed. The Perot Foundation intends to hold these artifacts in trust for eventual return to the Russian people. Meanwhile they have been placed on loan to the Smithsonian Institution. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-09-2019 01:33 PM
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SpaceCadet1983
Member Posts: 227
From: United States
Registered: May 2012
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posted 07-09-2019 01:34 PM
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star51L
Member Posts: 340
From: Vilano Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 07-09-2019 05:07 PM
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ManInSpace
Member Posts: 114
From: Brooklin, Ontario Canada
Registered: Feb 2018
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posted 07-09-2019 05:23 PM
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-09-2019 06:21 PM
Lesser known than his loan of Russian space artifacts to the Smithsonian, Ross Perot also assisted NASA in the recovery of a goodwill moon rock. This moon rock had been given to Honduras by President Richard Nixon in 1973. However, after a coup in 1975, the rock was given as a gift to a Honduran military colonel, and then sold and fell into private hands in 1995.To conduct the sting, the agents had to come up with $5 million — the price set by the seller. The seller also demanded proof of the money before he would sell the 1.142 gram lunar rock. Due to the high price, Joseph Gutheinz, who led the investigation, said the sting operation reached an impasse. "None of the federal agencies would put up the money," Gutheinz said. Gutheinz decided to call the wealthy businessman to ask for $5 million. "I told him I was running a sting operation," Gutheinz said. "I needed the $5 million to get back the moon rock." "No problem!" Gutheinz recalls Perot saying. |
Grounded!
Member Posts: 367
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 07-09-2019 08:01 PM
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Kevin T. Randall
Member Posts: 1082
From: Chesham, Bucks UK
Registered: Dec 2008
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posted 07-10-2019 01:45 AM
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1202 Alarm
Member Posts: 436
From: Switzerland & France
Registered: Nov 2003
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posted 07-10-2019 03:08 AM
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Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 07-10-2019 07:01 AM
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capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 07-10-2019 08:45 AM
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Kite
Member Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 07-10-2019 01:54 PM
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Gilbert
Member Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-10-2019 02:29 PM
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MB
Member Posts: 155
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio U.S.A.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 07-10-2019 06:03 PM
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Jeff
Member Posts: 474
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009
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posted 07-10-2019 07:50 PM
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benguttery
Member Posts: 547
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 07-19-2019 06:50 PM
Fort-Worth Star Telegram: Perot gave $5M to NASA sting operation to recover a moon rock. That’s not the whole story. Operation Lunar Eclipse would’ve crumbled without Perot, Gutheinz said. In fact, he said, the mission could’ve ended on multiple occasions, as they spent months trying to convince a smart and suspicious man they truly wanted to buy a moon rock.Along the way, they relied on some quick thinking, a little bit of luck and the help of the Texas billionaire Perot. |
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