![]() ![]() Collectors need to make sure that they can trace the chain of ownership to show that an artifact was released by the government through the correct channels. "Today, you're lucky if you can find it for less than $1,000."Ībove all, though, the items have to be lawfully obtained. "About five years ago, you could buy an American flag that flew on the first space shuttle mission - of which there were 10,000 onboard - for about $500," explains Pearlman. Space walk Display the shuttle and telescope individually or together. Galaxy in motion Hubble features movable solar panels and an aperture door. Command module Cockpit opens to reveal flight deck with crew seating. Mission control Engage the landing gear and deploy the robotic arm. Items from the shuttle program have been rising in price. Star power Open the payload bay to deploy the Hubble Telescope. Something that flew on one of the Apollo missions is worth at least four figures. Memorabilia items range in value age plays a factor in determining price. It's something you can understand without having a long explanation given." "So if we can find something that relates to our own lives - something that we have done ourselves but maybe in a different way - then I think it's something that's pursued by collectors. "We want to relate to what it's like to live in space," says Pearlman. Similar flags flew on every space shuttle mission they were presented post-flight to space program workers and VIPs. One of 10,000 4-inch-by-6-inch American flags flown on STS-1, the first flight of the space shuttle in 1981. ![]() Among the more unusual items: a chunk of Mount Everest. And astronauts have sometimes taken personal items up with them. Pieces of popular culture have also made their way onto shuttle flights, including Luke Skywalker's light saber and a 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear action figure. Topping the list of collectibles are items that have flown on the space shuttle, like flags and mission patches, as well as parts of the shuttle, like the heat shield tiles or parts of the thermal blankets. You have 135 missions and 355 astronauts who flew on the space shuttle, and so you know what you need to collect and you can create that checklist to go after." "So collectors sort of stayed wary about getting involved with it. "Collectors like to collect in sets and, up till now, the space shuttle's been an open-ended program," Pearlman tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. No one knows this better than Robert Pearlman, the founder of the website, which is considered the online source for space history and artifacts. The final launch of Atlantis and the end of the space shuttle program have created an increased interest in space memorabilia, especially for artifacts from the shuttle era. The souvenir edition was slightly different. The STS-1 emblem is a rare version, produced only for the astronauts and NASA employees. Centered in this photo are the embroidered patches for the first and last missions, STS-1 and STS-135. Every space shuttle mission had its own mission emblem, designed and worn by the crews. ![]()
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