Magnificent ‘Apollo Program Office’ program for the Apollo 11 ‘Splashdown Party,’ 9.75 x 12.75, held in honor of the first lunar-landing mission at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on September 9, 1969, signed and inscribed in black ink, “Best wishes to Anthony N. Kontaratos – M. Collins,” in black ballpoint, “Neil Armstrong,” in blue ballpoint, “Buzz Aldrin,” and in black felt tip, “Wernher von Braun.” Archivally double-matted and framed to an overall size of 27.25 x 24, which features a photo of the Apollo 11 crew in their white space suits and a photo of Von Braun, the NASA Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, and President John F. Kennedy at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 16, 1963. In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from Zarelli Space Authentication. A rare memento from this exclusive celebration, made all the more desirable by the signature combination; items signed by von Braun and the full Apollo 11 crew are seldom encountered.
The program’s recipient, Anthony Kontaratos (1933-2009), was a revered Greek NASA scientist who served as Chief of Space Applications and Space Physiology at Bellcomm, Inc., the exclusive Technical Advisor to NASA’s Manned Flight Directorate, from 1965 to 1976. His work made him a member of the small group of Wernher von Braun’s close associates, who were responsible for designing and implementing the Apollo program to send humans to the moon. In this position, Kontaratos was head of a team of 16 experts from various disciplines – from biophysicists and psychologists to mathematicians and chemists – who served as NASA’s consultants on the health and safety problems of the Apollo astronauts and the interplanetary manned flights von Braun was envisioning.
Kontaratos’s greatest achievement, however, was his life-saving contribution made during the precious early stages of the Apollo 13 disaster. After an oxygen tank in the service module exploded two days into the mission, the Apollo 13 astronauts moved into the Lunar Module Aquarius, which had an oxygen supply designed for two men for two days. The three-man crew began to carefully ration their oxygen tanks, but they still needed to find a way to remove the mounting carbon dioxide levels. Engineers scrambled for a solution, and it was Kontaratos who conceived the design of a makeshift adapter for the LM’s lithium hydroxide canister; this fix, known famously as the ‘mailbox’ solution, allowed the square CM canisters to fit into the round LM system, removing CO₂ efficiently and preventing suffocation. Kontaratos, who received NASA’s Apollo Achievement Award in 1969, was even asked to play himself in Ron Howard’s 1993 Apollo 13 film — he did.
This item is Pre-Certified by STEVE ZARELLI
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$275.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
