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  [Heritage] Space Exploration (Jun 2025)

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Author Topic:   [Heritage] Space Exploration (Jun 2025)
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 54706
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-25-2025 06:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Heritage Auctions' next Space Exploration Signature Auction is scheduled for June 13-14, 2025.

There are 654 lots, which will open for proxy bidding on or about May 23, 2025.

palmeris
New Member

Posts: 4
From: Loxahatchee, FL USA
Registered: Oct 2023

posted 04-25-2025 06:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for palmeris   Click Here to Email palmeris     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My collection of autographed and signed Paul Calle prints will be in this upcoming signature auction.

There are multiple items, all #10 in the series. There are also non Calle items listed.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 54706
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 05-29-2025 12:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Heritage Auctions release
Heart of Hubble, the Power Control Unit from Iconic Telescope, Comes Into Focus in Heritage's Space Exploration Auction June 13-14

Auction features Part II of Family Collection of Jacques Bracke, which is considered among the world's finest belonging to a non-astronaut

The allure of space travel and exploration has long sprinkled its stardust across the dreams of kids, adventure-seekers and transportation buffs alike. Some no doubt have attempted to scratch that anti-gravity itch with trips to museums and NASA, but few have had the opportunity to bid on the original heart of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Indeed, Heritage's June 13-14 Space Exploration Featuring The Family Collection of Jacques Bracke Part II Signature Auction offers up the Hubble's original Power Control Unit, as well as other significant artifacts and critical components to historic missions.

But first, back to that Hubble Heart, which is the heart of this auction. Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) changed astronomy forever. Hubble has provided cosmic insights, capturing images like the "Pillars of Creation" and the Hubble Deep Field. It has observed planets, confirmed supermassive black holes and gathered evidence of dark energy, leading to data that has led to more than 10,000 scientific papers. In March 2002, astronauts undertook Servicing Mission 3B to replace the PCU. It was described as "open-heart surgery" on Hubble, and the removal of the original PCU marked the end of an era. While it witnessed Hubble's first observations, repair missions, and countless discoveries, its proactive replacement also advanced science by preventing future failure and upgrading HST's capabilities. The successful swap stands as one of NASA's great engineering success stories.

The countdown to bid on NASA's success has generated immense buzz.

"It is almost surely the only opportunity anyone will have to acquire an item that spent nearly 12 years in space and flew nearly 2 billion miles," says Brad Palmer, Director of Space Exploration at Heritage Auctions.

And it is not the only Hubble-related lot. Ready for control center reenactments is the monumental Lockheed Vehicle Power Interface (VPI). The full-scale, multi-bay rack system was built for ground operations support and is the bridge between spaceflight engineering and celestial science — a critical component without which the Hubble mission could not have been realized.

It is rare to happen upon artifacts from the Hubble Space Telescope program — particularly those directly tied to structural fabrication for science-critical systems. As NASA's most celebrated orbital observatory, Hubble changed humanity's view of the universe. The Hubble Telescope Fixed Head Star Tracker AFT Shroud Door Mold (of which there are two in this auction) is a direct link to the engineering behind that revolution and was acquired directly from the Goddard Space Flight Center, with accompanying original blueprints.

For collectors looking for out-of-this-world ephemera that skews more easily stored or displayed, set bids to launch. This auction is the second in a series of auctions — the first was in December 2024 — featuring lots from the family collection of Jacques Bracke, a Belgian collector whose collection is considered one of the very finest in the world from a non-astronaut.

There are several astronaut-signed standouts from various Apollo missions. First, the largest American flag, flown the longest distance from Earth (248,655 miles), coming from the personal collection of Apollo 13's Mission Commander James Lovell. He has written on the bottom white stripe: "On board Apollo 13 Around the Moon James Lovell." Then, there is an official commemorative cover flown to the moon, held in quarantine with and signed by Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. (There's also another American flag flown from mankind's first lunar landing and signed by Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin, and originally from his personal collection.)

The Hubble and Apollo names are often the first thoughts in space, but Palmer assures this is an auction with a large orbit.

"In regard to nostalgia, the offering of Apollo-era items that commemorate the moon-landing missions is very prolific," he says. "But this auction is exciting in that it covers all aspects of space exploration, from the Mercury program to substantial offerings of the Space Shuttle era, and even to the current-day SpaceX material."

As for those embarking on new collection discoveries or even taking their first giant leaps into the category, the auction has opportunities for all levels of interest and budgets.

So, bidders, suit up — and not in U.S.S. Wasp's Mission Commander Jim McDivitt's recovery flight suit, although it also is available. Get ready for excitement and for the bids to take off.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 54706
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-06-2025 01:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was recently invited by Heritage Auctions' Brad Palmer to come see and talk about the "Heart of Hubble," the space telescope's original power control unit (PCU). It was really amazing to see it all these years later after having watched the NASA TV coverage of John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan remove the PCU during STS-109 in 2002 (that mission was also one of my first shuttle launches to see in-person).

Good luck to the bidders and please give the PCU a good new home!

thisismills
Member

Posts: 592
From: Michigan
Registered: Mar 2012

posted 06-10-2025 09:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for thisismills   Click Here to Email thisismills     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Lot #50731 is listed as being part of the Space Shuttle program, however it is most certainly a heat shield panel with openings for thrusters from Soyuz.

As an example, a TMA-03 recovery photo confirms the location of this type of thruster panel on a Soyuz capsule, which shows charring from re-entry. Each re-entry capsule has two thruster panels, one with thruster openings facing left and one with them facing right as in the auction lot.

SpaceBP
New Member

Posts: 4
From:
Registered: Apr 2023

posted 06-10-2025 10:18 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceBP   Click Here to Email SpaceBP     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you for the info! The description has been updated to reflect this.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 54706
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-14-2025 10:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The "Heart of Hubble" sold for $31,250. By comparison, the Apollo 13 flown large American flag sold for $35,000.

The top performers sold on June 13 were:

  • Norman Rockwell's "From Concord to Tranquility" original oil painting for $575,000;

  • John Young's flown Apollo 10 spacesuit patches for $93,750; and

  • Apollo 11 flown crew-signed "Type One" quarantine cover for $35,000.

All times are CT (US)

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