Two Space Collectors Collecting Space

Rich and Jason speak to Michigan-based engineer and space flown artifact collector Jeff Mills. The boys go in-depth with Jeff about his passion for his Mercury and Space Shuttle era collections, M-G-A era vintage lucites, and the fascinating backstory and the extensive research behind his amazing Souvenirs of Space website. Learn about the fine art of researching provenance and space history through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and how such requests have fueled the valuable information that Jeff shares on his website. And don’t miss when the guys wrap up at the end by discussing the recently completed Heritage space auction that saw a number of amazing prices and fantastic lots, especially from the collections of Apollo 13 LMP Fred Haise and from the estate of the late European collector Jacques Bracke.

Before interviewing Bryan, Rich and Jason honor the memory of Karan Conklin from the Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, Florida. They also discuss the newly released Netflix Apollo 13 documentary and Rich's recent interview about coins flown in space. After that comes super space memorabilia collector Bryan Edwards from Minnesota. Bryan discusses his unique path into space collecting. Learn about his father rubbing elbows with NASA personnel in Houston and how growing up in Houston fueled his passion for collecting space memorabilia. They then discuss everything from autographs to flown heat-shield lucites. Downsizing a bit, Bryan is moving to North Carolina shortly and -- teaser! -- there won't be a garage sale. You will, however, hear some fun stories from the hey-day of the autograph shows, including a unique interaction with the Last Man to Walk on the Moon, Gene Cernan.

In this episode, Rich and Jason speak to the alpha-omega space collector, Steve Jurvetson, who has arguable the most complete space flown hardware collection in private hands. A board member of Space X, Steve was an original investor in Elon Musk's journeys off-Earth. (In fact, he's owned the first production Tesla Model S, and the second production Model X, which he has since donated to the Peterson Automobile Museum.) Getting bitten by the collecting bug after buying some John Young items, Steve's massive collection now spans all programs and is primarily made up of unique, one-of-a-kind flown mission critical items such as parts of the spacecraft itself. Hear how he assembled his collection, his perspective on the types of items he collects, and how he decides what stays and goes. Steve co-founded Future Ventures, where he investments in trailblazing, purpose-driven entrepreneurs with unique, moon-shot ideas that have the potential to reinvent entire industries, and President Barack Obama appointed Steve as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. With his mind firmly focused on the future, you will hear about how Steve leverage's the past to inspire and inform the next generation. Join the guys as they discuss everything from Steve's expansive office museum to secret, buried space treasure in Houston!

CollectSPACE founder and space collecting hobby legend Robert Pearlman joins the podcast to discuss how he got started in the industry and where he envision the hobby heading in the future. Richard and Jason also discuss the recent Heritage Auction space sale and under appreciated Gemini program memorabilia.

Join Rich and Jason as they interview Richard Garner from The Space Collective. Richard, based in the UK, is both a dealer and collector, and he gives his unique perspective on collecting and selling historic space artifacts. Listen carefully as Richard offers up a generous promo code exclusively for TSCCS listeners! You'll also hear about the hosts recent acquisitions in their personal collections and a discussion on some upcoming auctions. Get ready. 3...2...1...download!

In this inaugural episode, Rich and Jason introduce their new podcast series for and about space collectors, pay special tribute to the late astronaut General Tom Stafford, discuss some hidden gems listed in the April RR Space Auction, and engage in a fascinating conversation with noted space and aviation authenticator Steve Zarelli.