DALLAS – In celebration and honor of the milestone Apollo 13 mission 45 years ago, Heritage Auctions will feature a variety of rare Apollo 13 artifacts as the centerpiece of its May 22 Space Exploration Signature® Auction, a sale consisting of the finest flown, signed or astronaut-owned articles of space history.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide absentee and Internet live bidding.
Could it really be 45 years ago? It was April 17, 1970, when the world was finally able to breathe a collective sigh of relief: Apollo 13, the seventh manned Apollo mission – and the intended third moon landing – had launched on April 11. Two days later, on April 13, the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the Service Module. For the crew, Commander James Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, the mission had become, simply, about survival.
Top among the offerings is a grouping of Apollo 13 material in the form of a flown coiled LM utility light cord, netting, and Beta Mission Insignia (estimate: $20,000+), mounted on a plaque as presented by Haise to Lunar Module maker Grumman’s George M. Skurla, with an engraved plate in which Haise thanks Skurla for saving the life of the crew with his incredible spacecraft.
Highlights from the mission include an Apollo 13 Flown Silver Robbins Medallion, Serial Number 156, originally from the personal collection of Mission Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert (estimate: $7,000+).
Also belonging to Swigert is an Apollo 11 Robbins Medal.
Another Apollo 13 relic is a flown American flag on a crew-signed certificate (estimate: $5,000+), originally from the personal collection of Mission Commander James Lovell.
