collectSPACE is an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

publication and community for

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually con ...

history enthusiasts featuring articles and photos about space artifacts and memorabilia, information on past, current, and upcoming space events, space history collecting resources, and links to other space-related websites. It also provides an array of

message board An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

s where registered members can discuss various aspects of space history and the space collecting hobby; buy, sell, or trade items; or pose "what if?" historical questions. Users often abbreviate the website's name as "cS," and members often refer to each other as "cSers." collectSPACE, founded and edited by Robert Pearlman, has published articles and reviews by authors Andrew Chaikin (''

A Man on the Moon ''A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts'' is a 1994 book by Andrew Chaikin. It describes the 1968-1972 voyages of the Apollo program astronauts in detail, from Apollo 8 Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first ...

''), Kris Stoever (''For Spacious Skies''),

James Oberg James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous ...

(''Red Star in Orbit''), Frederick Ordway III (''Imagining Space''),

Francis French Francis French (born 1970) is a book and magazine author from Manchester, England, specialising in space flight history. He is a former director of events for Sally Ride Science, and a director at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. French's spa ...

(''

In the Shadow of the Moon In the Shadow of the Moon may refer to: * Shadow of the Moon ''Shadow of the Moon'' is the debut studio album by the group Blackmore's Night, released June 2, 1997. It stayed on the German charts for 17 weeks. It received a gold certification ...

''), David Hitt (''Homesteading Space''), Russell Still (''Relics of the Space Race''), Colin Burgess (''

Into That Silent Sea ''Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era 1961–1965'' is a 2007 non-fiction book by space historians Francis French and Colin Burgess. Drawing on a number of original personal interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts and those who wor ...

''), Jay Gallentine (''Ambassadors From Earth'') and

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

astronaut Walt Cunningham, among others.

History

The website's intended name was spacememorabilia.com, for which a logo had been designed; however, the

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

was owned (though not in use) by former Gemini and Apollo astronaut Pete Conrad. Pearlman instead bought the URL collectSPACE.com, which came online on July 20, 1999, the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing (Conrad died unexpectedly July 8). collectSpace originally contained a photo gallery, drawing on Pearlman's personal collection; "Sightings," a calendar of astronaut appearances; and a short article about Apollo 11 anniversary toys. "Sightings" was chosen to show up in Internet searches for ''

Sightings Discovery is the act of detecting something new, or something previously unrecognized as meaningful. With reference to sciences and academic disciplines, discovery is the observation of new phenomena, new actions, or new events and providing ...

'', a TV series about UFOs. The site's original tagline was "memorabilia from the conquest of the final frontier," which became "The Source for Space History & Artifacts." collectSPACE earned national media attention later in 1999 for its role in halting a controversial

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

auction for Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' debris. In September 1999, it first covered a space memorabilia auction—

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, t ...

East—followed by Superior Galleries of

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

the following month. collectSPACE was the first to webcast space memorabilia auctions, providing live audio (and one year, video) from Superior Gallery's auction floor, as well as live hammer results (auction houses subsequently added their own webcast capabilities or partnered with

for live online bidding). The site's message board went online in November 1999. Among those posting and replying to messages have been former Apollo ( EECOM flight controller) Sy Liebergot; Stephen Clemmons, a member of the Apollo 1 ground support crew;

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...

astronaut Scott Carpenter's daughter Kris Stoever; astronaut Pete Conrad's son, Pete Conrad, III; National Air and Space Museum curator Allan Needell, space historian Dwayne A. Day, ''Who's Who in Space'' authors Michael Cassutt and Rex Hall, Kraig McNutt of "Today In Space History," and The Surfaris' former bassist Andrew Lagomarsino, among others. A number of astronauts are known to be cS readers. collectSPACE was nominated for ''

The Houston Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'''s best

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

in its Ultimate Houston Readers Pick for 2005. In 2006, collectSPACE was the first to reveal the name of NASA's next planned crewed spacecraft, Orion, and publish its logo; as well as the name

Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql or ...

for the next planned lunar lander.

Charitable auctions

In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, collectSPACE organized ''Heroes Helping Heroes'', an online auction benefiting the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...

. In partnership with

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

Auctions, the site offered bidders the chance to have an item of their choice signed by one of 22 retired astronauts, who volunteered to participate. $12,686 was raised. Between 2003 and 2006, collectSPACE hosted annual silent auctions benefiting the

Astronaut Scholarship Foundation An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally ...

. The astronaut experiences and artifacts auctions have raised more than $180,000 for exceptional college students seeking degrees in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, www.collectspace.com Internet forums Space organizations American educational websites Space advocacy organizations