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Flown 5.25 x 5.25 Beta patch featuring the insignia of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), carried to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-2 in 2003. The patch is signed in black felt tip by pioneering cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, and signed and flight-certified by the commander of ISS Expedition 7, Yuri Malenchenko; it also bears two on-board ISS stamps. Double-matted and framed with a color satin-finish photo taken during Expedition 7, closely approximating the sunrise image of the ASTP patch, signed in gold ink by Malenchenko, to an overall size of 16.25 x 22.25. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Malenchenko, in part: "The seventh crew of the International Space Station lifted off in the Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 25, 2003, at 10:54 p.m. CDT. The crew docked on April 28, 2003, and returned to Earth on October 27, 2003 at Kazakhstan at 9:41 p.m. EST. This is to certify that the accompanying Apollo Soyuz Test Project beta patch, authentically signed by Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, and hand stamped and flight certified by myself, ISS-7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko, did indeed fly in space with me and ISS-7 flight engineer Edward Lu during our mission. This patch flew over 184 days in space and made 2,911 orbits of the Earth. This flown beta patch symbolizes American and Russian co-operation in space flight and is a wonderful historic artifact of international manned space exploration."
Additionally includes two other photos signed by Malenchenko, and a photo album of 30 smaller photos related to the mission. The Soyuz TMA-2 mission took place after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, which grounded the Shuttle fleet during the post-accident investigation; the Russian Space Agency became the only source of transportation to and from the ISS.
The Richard Jurek Collection.
