posted 04-07-2013 05:59 PM               

On an educator's salary I have to budget carefully for even a few autographs. I spent most of that on the Collins signing this spring.

posted 04-07-2013 06:18 PM               

Spacefest allows us to mingle and chat with a group of people who have accomplished the most extraordinary things, and most are very gracious with their time and memories. Then there are the guest speakers, an incredibly eclectic gathering of people whose lives and talents are driven by their fascination with space and astronomy-related subjects. Every year, Kim and Sally assemble these amazing people and they are readily accessible to anyone.

Then there are the volunteers and attendees themselves, and they inject so much fun into these shows. They assemble for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the conversations I've had with them over the years have been priceless memories of these shows. There also meals to share with the astronauts and guests; live auctions of space memorabilia; the awesome evening when folks set up their powerful telescopes for people to use to gaze out into the lovely firmament over Tucson, and of course there are dozens of stalls offering all manner of goodies for folks to purchase.

The autographs are there to be had if you want them, but for me it's the people that keep drawing me back time and again. And every year I leave knowing that there's a good chance that one or more of my childhood heroes may never attend again, for one reason or another. When I was growing up in Australia I never dreamt I would ever get to meet a real-life astronaut, and yet over the past couple of decades I have not only met many of them, but have befriended quite a few. There is still something special about an M-G-A astronaut greeting me by my first name. That - to me - is a pricless thing.

posted 04-08-2013 10:04 PM               

Below, I'll paste in what I wrote in a thread three years ago about where to find the best images for autographing:

For original, vintage NASA lithos and glossies, I second the recommendation of Jerome's "Mission Control Plus."

However, most of the photographs I want to have signed by astronauts these days I find online and get printed. (This is mostly because I like to get 16x20 prints signed, which are fantastic for display.) Here is how I find top-quality high-resolution images online.

Excellent websites for space program photographs, in approximate order of preference (quality of images; ease of searching, etc.):

• NASA Human Space Flight Gallery
  
• Great Images of NASA (GRIN)
  
• Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (fantastic, but just Apollo)
  
• NASA Images
  
• Space Archives (Italian, I believe)
  
• KSC index (mostly low-resolution images, but useful because the serial numbers are clearly listed, which you can use to then look up higher-resolution files of specific images).

posted 04-20-2013 12:05 PM               

Will take Cernan orders now for Sunday 8x10 photos and smaller only please.

posted 04-28-2013 04:25 PM               

I will bring a number of items for trade. Is it bad form to do this at the Spacefest? There are usually large round empty tables.

posted 04-28-2013 07:49 PM               

Maybe you have some duplicate autographs, or items you got in the mail years ago, that you would trade for an Apollo 9 beta cloth patch (trimmed to a 4" square) already signed by McDivitt and Schweickart (needs Scott); a Skylab 2 cover already signed by Conrad and Kerwin (needs Weitz, who really is a wonderful astronaut to get to talk with); or a Skylab cover signed by seven of the nine crew members (needs Bean and Lousma).

posted 05-01-2013 02:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by davidcwagner:
What is the protocol for making trades at Spacefest?

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posted 05-14-2013 07:45 PM               

Kate Doolan is also attending Spacefest for the first time this year, and the two of us will be available to sign copies of "Fallen Astronauts." If you can catch him on Sunday, and don't mind his fee, then Gene Cernan can also be asked sign the book as our Foreword writer.

Jay Gallentine will also be there, and available to sign copies of his superb Outward Odyssey book, "Ambassadors From Earth'" which deservedly won the Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award in 2009. Jay is also one of the very best spaceflight speakers I have heard in a long time, and I urge you not to miss his presentation on Friday morning (listed under "Colin & Co in Kim's schedule).

And finally, in my Friday talk, I will be announcing the next four books in the Outward Odyssey series, and the names of the authors. Some big surprises are promised.

posted 05-15-2013 08:11 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by carl walker:
Will be sorting out some spare lithos for exchange, plus some ESA goodies too - baggage weight allowing.

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posted 05-17-2013 05:41 PM               

I myself will take guests on a virtual walking tour of The Top Secret Town: a guarded Soviet outpost that was not on any map, and did not seem to have any name, but served as home base for a team of hand-picked men who drove and operated two Lunokhod moon rovers in the early 1970s.

posted 05-21-2013 05:18 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Whizzospace:
So distracted at the list of VIP guests, I just now had a look at the book signing schedule. Guess I need to start unshelving a few hardcopies for Francis' and Colin's attention, among others!

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I look forward to signing / countersigning any copies of Into That Silent Sea, In The Shadow of the Moon, Falling To Earth or anything else I've contributed to. If you're bringing your own copies, feel free to catch me with them at any time during the events! See you all soon!

posted 05-22-2013 05:32 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Jay Gallentine:
home base for a team of hand-picked men who drove and operated two Lunokhod moon rovers in the early 1970s.

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That sounds absolutely fascinating. A couple of years ago I bought and read ten years' worth of back issues of Air and Space magazine, and one of my favorite articles was about the Lunokhod (Russian for "moonwalker") rovers.

posted 05-25-2013 12:32 PM               

I depressingly couldn't make the main days of Spacefest, but have business in California during the next week and am considering a straight drive down and trying to catch Monday's events. I had asked earlier in this thread and I did get a reply there would be a couple, but I'm verifying who and when before I make that long of an extra drive and to know what pictures/etc. to bring with me.

posted 05-25-2013 06:37 PM               

It may be more of a situation where you could potentially see one or two of the astronauts at the talks (assuming they attend them) or bumping into them around the resort, but I am not sure if there are any scheduled encounters.

posted 05-28-2013 10:13 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by ColinBurgess:
And finally, in my Friday talk, I will be announcing the next four books in the Outward Odyssey series, and the names of the authors. Some big surprises are promised.

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posted 05-28-2013 01:35 PM               

• First and foremost, congratulations to Kim, Sally, Randy, Al and everyone who made Spacefest V what it was. I cannot think of another event that has brought together such a diverse cross section of the space and astronomy community and kept everyone entertained. It really was unique in its scope and audience.

• It was great having the chance to catch up with many cS'ers and I'm sorry for those I missed seeing but heard were there. The overall audience may have been a bit more intimate than in past years (or so I am told), but the physical size of the Starr Pass Resort meant that it was quite possible to be "at Spacefest" without being surrounded by everyone who was also there.

• With the exception of Gene Cernan, whose one-day appearance resulted in a steady and busy line, it was great to have the chance to catch up with the astronauts, in addition to collecting their autographs. I particularly relished the time I had chatting with Scott Carpenter, who I have missed seeing at the last few events, but all the astronauts — and other guests, Sy and Curt and Geoff and everyone — were wonderfully accessible.

• My thanks to Jay Chladek for including me on the space modeling panel, even though I am not a space modeler. It was fascinating learning more about Jay's take on the status and success of the hobby, as well as seeing the skill that both Mike Mackowski and Nick Proach put into their scale miniatures.

• The talks and panel discussions were fantastic in general, but I was very happy to catch Michael Cassutt's talk on the current status of the astronaut corps, as well as sit in on the Apollo and asteroid sessions. Carolyn Porco's and Brian Cox's evening talks were fascinating — there's exciting news coming from Cassini at Saturn soon — and their post-talk Q&A was fascinating for their social commentary.

• And I'm very happy with what was very much an impulse buy: a 4.4 gram fusion-crusted fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Russia on Feb. 15, 2013. The sample is certified by Geoff Notkin of Aerolite Meteorites, one of the "Meteorite Men" on the Science Channel series.

Ultimately though, I thought that Notkin's comparison of the meteorite market to commercial asteroid mining as he discussed during Sunday's asteroid panel offered an interesting angle by which to capture the crossover in audience and focus that was present in many of Spacefest's other formal and informal discussions.

Asteroid miners ponder potential clients for space rock samples at annual Spacefest

Commercial asteroid miners may find an initial market among meteorite collectors but the long-haul customers for returning space rock samples to Earth are more likely to be scientists, entrepreneurs said at a recent convention in Tucson. The event brought together private space companies, government space explorers, academia and the public.

The suggestion that public interest can drive advances in science and profits in space was a running theme at this year's Spacefest, an annual meeting for all types of space and astronomy enthusiasts. Organized for the fifth year by Novaspace Galleries, a space art and astronaut autograph dealer based in Tucson, Spacefest was held May 24-27 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Arizona.

posted 05-28-2013 06:47 PM               

I did enjoy the addition of a star party, which I think was added with Spacefest IV? I'm still surprised when people mention they've not looked through an astronomical telescope before.

posted 05-29-2013 12:42 AM               

It was great to finally meet you, Robert, even if it was a short conversation - but I forgot to say thank you for creating collectSPACE and the community it engendered. Many were there; it was good to finally put faces to names, and I made some new friends for sure.

Although they probably aren't listening here, thanks also to all the astronauts, who always light up whatever room they're in - and without taking anything away from the other amazing presenters, they really make Spacefest special.

posted 05-29-2013 02:24 PM               

Good to see you and everyone else, and glad everyone had a great time.

posted 05-29-2013 10:53 PM               

My panel discussion on Sunday was a little bit light in attendance, but lunchtime and Geoff Notkin I suppose can do that. Not that I'm complaining since I LOVED Geoff's talk last year and he puts a lot of love into his work. It was an experiment I admit and those that did attend enjoyed it. It was an honor getting Mike, Nick and Robert to do the talk as I hope we all helped to plant a seed so other collectors might add models to their collection... or build models themselves. And I WILL say, if you have the money, but not the skill, give Nick a call as his work is FIRST RATE from what I can see. I myself and VERY tempted to get one of his 1/48 Dragon Spacecraft models as I doubt I could improve on his quality... even if I had a kit at my disposal.

I met old friends, rekindled relationships and made a few new ones. One thing that does indeed keep me coming back is the relationships you forge at a show like this. Where else can you joke with Jim McDivitt, shake hands with Dr. Porco, listen to Andy Chaikin bend a six string, or discuss the fine points of artwork, flying experiments in high performance jets AND asteroids with Dan Durda? Spacefest is unique in that regard.

posted 05-31-2013 11:13 PM               

Kim and Sally, Randy, Al and everyone associated with the show this year are to be commended for another wonderful effort, but I know they were also disappointed in the numbers. While this provided guests with an almost unprecedented chance to spend some quality talk time with many of the astronauts, it was disappointing to see such icons of the space age as Scott Carpenter and Ed Mitchell sitting quietly and patiently waiting for anyone to approach and purchase their signature - or even have a chat.

On the plus side, what a great bunch of people were there. Many of course from past Spacefest shows, but a lot of "newbies." It was fun meeting everyone again or for the first time, and this year I was able to attend far more talks and panel discussions than in previous years, all of which were highly entertaining and informative. My favourite was of course the Apollo panel, with some true highlights and much laughter. I would also like to mention one of the newer panels, with its members discussing the multi-faceted hobby of model creation and building. I say "hobby" with a little hesitation, for it is obvious this was a passion for the panel members, and it showed with abundance in their individual presentations and the examples of their craft that they had brought along.

Insofar as the Outward Odyssey series is concerned, I was on a panel of series authors which included Francis French, Kate Doolan, Jay Chladek and Jay Gallentine, who I should mention gave an outstandingly interesting talk on the story of the Lunokhod probe and the associated Shkolnoye facility which had everyone in the room enthralled.

I announced that the four new books now under consideration for the Outward Odyssey series were:

GO FLIGHT!: The Unsung Heroes of Mission Control, 1965-1993, to be written by Rick Houston and Milt Heflin. The proposal for this book has already been accepted for publication by the University of Nebraska Press and a contract will be issued.

EIGHT MILLION MILES OF WORK: Flying Three Space Shuttle Missions, to be written by payload specialist Charlie Walker. The proposal for this book has been sent to the Nebraska Press for review and acceptance.

PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS: Flying the First Non-NASA Astronauts, to be written by Mel Croft and John Youskauskas. Their proposal is currently also with the Nebraska Press awaiting the go-ahead from the educational board.

The fourth book is yet to be officially announced pending acceptance of the yet-to-be-prepared proposal, although it is a very exciting prospect that involves the unpublished story of an Apollo astronaut. Very broad hints were given at Spacefest for those in the panel audience that day, but the person associated with this book project prefers that no names or subjects be formally announced until the proposal is accepted for the book to go to publication. As I am working under instructions, I'm afraid that is all I can generally reveal about this particular project, although hopefully a full revelation may just be a matter of a few weeks away.

I should add that following certain discussions at Spacefest, there is the distinct possibility of two more books being added to that list, which would bring the final series total to 18 books.

And so it seems we have to bid a fond farewell to the wonderful Starr Pass Resort in the hopes of attracting a whole new audience to a whole new and exciting venue, with perhaps a few new faces appearing at the autograph tables.

posted 06-04-2013 08:47 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by ColinBurgess:
In talking with most vendors and artists at Spacefest V it seems that they were quite happy with their sales, but I think everyone agrees that the attendee numbers were well down this year and a change of venue must occur.

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posted 06-05-2013 11:54 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
Some of the decline may be tied to reduced Apollo crewmember participation. An Aldrin cloning program will do more for Spacefest then a venue change.

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Seriously though, as our Apollo astronauts get older, I would expect a decline of participation of them to continue. That is just down to age and other factors beyond anyone's control (Armstrong's loss shows just how fragile health can be as one gets to octogenarian status).