6th Annual Online Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia Takes Off

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Imagine dining with legendary astronaut John Glenn, hitting the slopes with moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, or viewing a Space Shuttle launch with the very first space shuttle pilot Robert Crippen. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is offering these experiences and many more during its 6th Annual Online Auction of Astronaut Experiences and Memorabilia at www.astronautscholarship.org/2008_auction.pl.

The online catalog debuts today and features astronauts such as Scott Carpenter, Jim Lovell, and John Young who have delved into their personal collections to provide artifacts, autographed items, and once-in-a-lifetime astronaut experiences. Unique items from every era of the American space programs are also up for grabs, from Lovell’s flown Gemini 12 medallion, to an Apollo 13 flown food container belonging to Fred Haise, to a rare NASA’s 50th anniversary print signed by more than 20 astronauts.

Registration is now open and online bidding will begin Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2008, and continue through Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, at 9:30 p.m. (EST) with online and in-person bidding coinciding at the ASF’s Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, FL, where astronauts will be signing for the public.

All the astronauts have donated their time and artifacts to the auction as a way to raise funds for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides scholarships to college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. The Foundation funds nineteen $10,000 scholarships annually and has awarded more than $2.6 million to students nationwide. For more information visit www.AstronautScholarship.org or call (321) 455-7012.

The ASF’s Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show is the world largest astronaut autograph show and will feature more than 25 heroic astronauts and space icons at its November 7-9 show. All proceeds from the autograph show ticket sales benefit the ASF. For more information on the autograph show visit www.astronautscholarship.org/show2008/index.html.