The Jefferson Space Museum Blog

2012-01-31T04:50:00.000-08:00

JP Aerospace will send your logo to the edge of space for as low as $400.

A Japanese TV program took advantage of the program to send a chair into space and video taped it for an episode!

And Samsung sent their Galaxy phone into near orbit. Very cool!

The Jefferson Space Museum to go to the edge of space, thanks to the good folks at JP Aerospace. For a small fee, they will send your logo to the edge of space, and send you back pictures. For a few dollars more, you can send up practically anything (heck, look on their website -- someone sent up a chair! And Samsung sent up a phone!) Very cool. Astronaut Tom will very soon be a real astro! (Well, almost...) It also supports a good cause, in that each sponsored ad supports student experiements that fly up on the mission. 4 missions are slated to launch come March 31st. The Jefferson Space Museum will be along for the ride: we've booked our spot. How about you?

2012-01-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

Just added the above wonderful piece to our growing space-art collection. This is a painting by an emerging NJ artist named John Darvie, who paints under the name Apollo1. You can visit his gallery, Apollo1Gallery to see his amazing work. This painting is an acrylic/oil work, measuring 14" x 18". It pays homage to the crew of Apollo 1 (Grissom, White, Chaffee) who perished in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. It's a wonderful addition to our space art collection, and I encourage all to go to John's site, and support his work.

2012-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

We are honored to announce that Euromoney magazine has published a short little blurb article, both online and in their January, 2012, edition, about the Jefferson Space Museum. What a thrill! Euromoney has a circulation of around 140,000, and is the world's most prestigious monthly finance magazine read by central bankers, CFO's, CEO's, and the like. And I just love the title: "Buy me to the moon."

For those of you who have not visited our gallery of space flown $2 bills -- please do so by visiting the main museum website by clicking here. Enjoy! (And don't forget to stop at the gift shop! I highly recommend the note pads....very cool.)

2011-12-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the emails! We appreciate them. And yes, this is just the blog site of the Jefferson Space Museum. To visit the actual virtual museum, with all the bills cataloged with images and their history, go to The Jefferson Space Museum.

This blog site is simply a place where we will update news and space information relevant to the museum.

2011-12-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, after our first full month of being open, I am thrilled to announce we have had hundreds of visitors from many points on the globe -- in fact, the Jefferson Space Museum of flown US $2 bills has been visited by people from 26 different countries -- and from hundreds of cities in those countries. We've had visitors from the following countries (listed in order of their rank in terms of total number of visitors): the US, China, Russia, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Austria, Ukraine, Canda, Australia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Greece, Belarus, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Colombia, Iceland, Cote D'Ivoire, and New Zeland. Thank you all! Please spread the word - we are always open! And if you like what you see, please do send us a note at info@jeffersonspacemuseum.com. And don't forget to visit the gift shop. :) After all, what would be a trip to a museum, even a virtual one, without a trip to the gift shop???? (My personal favorite is the note pad.)

2011-12-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

On December 14, 1972, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt finish up their last EVA, and board the lunar module for their ride back to lunar orbit. The last two humans to walk on the moon leave the surface, and bring to a close one of the greatest adventures of the 20th Century. Gene Cernan becomes the "last man" to leave his bootprint in lunar soil.

A wonderful shot of the lunar module's ascent, as taken by Ron Evans orbiting in the command module.

A gorgeous, closeup view of the lunar module taken by Ron Evans as it approaches for docking to prepare for the return trip home.

2011-12-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

Bravo to Cambridge University, for putting 4,000 of Sir Isaac Newton's papers online, expanding the world of the virtual museum, and making available for people these most important works. Humanity would never have been able to reach the stars if not for the ground breaking work of Sir Isaac. (Remember the line from the Apollo 13 movie?) The Jefferson Space Museum welcomes this virtual effort!

2011-12-11T06:22:00.001-08:00

39 years ago today, on December 11, 1972, the last manned crew of the Apollo lunar program began their four day exploration of the Taurus Littrow valley.

Dramatic panoramic view of the lunar module Challenger, and the lunar rover vehicle. Panoramas of this kind can be obtained by visiting the good folks @ www.moonpans.com.

Along with Commander Gene Cernan, the first scientist in space Jack Schmitt, a geologist, would capture some of my favorite imagery of the Apollo program.

Jack Schmitt, with the falg and Earth, is photographed by Gene Cernan on December 11, 1972. You can see Gene's reflection in the sun shield of Jack's helmet.

2011-12-10T06:41:00.001-08:00

After three days of travel, and conducting many experiments, the crew of Apollo 17 performs lunar orbit insertion manuevers that place them firmly in orbit around the moon as they prepare for the last lunar landing of the Apollo program. The crew also conducts lunar orbit photography and observation activities as well. Visit the mission flown $2 bill of Commander Gene Cernan in the gallery section of the Jefferson Space Museum.

Earthrise over the lunar surface on December 10, 1972, as seen from the lunar module Challenger. The flown $2 in the Jefferson Space Museum is stowed away in Gene's PPK in the lunar module, and will descend to the lunar surface the next day.

The Apollo 17 landing site in the valley of Taurus Littrow as photographed on December 10, 1972, from the command module America.

2011-12-03T08:28:00.001-08:00

This coming Wednesday, December 7, 2011, will mark the 39th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 17 -- the last of NASA's manned lunar missions. That mission launched in dramatic fashion at night, lighting up the skies over Florida, to bring to close one of the greatest chapters of US exploration. Aboard that mission was Commander Eugene Cernan -- the last man to leave his bootprint on the moon. For luck, and in memory and homage to his father, Gene also took with him a $2 bill that flew on his other flights --- and was given to him by his father to fly on his first space flight. It is amazing to think that we have not returned to the moon in all those years....but, you can visit the bill that historically flew with and landed on the moon by visiting it at the museum!

Apollo 17 Launches on December 7, 1972 for the last manned lunar mission of Apollo - on board is Gene Cernan's GT9A and A10 flown $2 bill, which was given to him by his father after his father carried it for years in his wallet for luck. The bill is now a part of the Jefferson Space Museum collection. View it at www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com

2011-11-30T07:40:00.001-08:00

A fantastic new post about the museum just hit Paul Fraser Collectibles wonderful blog. The article is a very nice tribute and overview of the museum, how I started the collection, and my interests in the bill. You will enjoy the other article's on Paul's site, too, so make sure you poke around -- especially in the space collectibles sections. UPDATE: And they did an expanded version of the article, with more pictures of the bills, and more background on the collection. Read this version here.

2011-11-29T08:09:00.001-08:00

Noted collector and paper money blogger Tom Chao wrote about the new Jefferson Space Museum on his blog site. You can see the post by clicking here. Tom's blog is great! If you are at all interested in Paper money, you really need to check it out. Also his famous world paper money gallery, which can be found here. Thanks for the blog post, Tom!

2011-11-27T07:48:00.001-08:00

Earlier this month, I spent time down at the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's annual gathering at the Kennedy Space Center. On my way down, I stopped off in Sarasota at the office of the Paper Money Guaranty folks to show them the flown Jefferson bills. They've got some fatastic offices and people down there. We spent some time chatting about flown currency, and I left them with a lot of resource material, provenance paperwork, etc. (Copies, of course....) And they were kind enough to certify and slab the bills in their PMG holders. I got the idea from going to the World's Fair of Money exposition in Chicago this past year, seeing all the wonderful exhibits of historic paper money....all of which was usually PMG slabbed, cataloged, and certified. It was a great experience, and another attempt by the Jefferson Space Museum to educate those in the paper money world about these unique bills. Afterward, I took the bills back to the ASF show, and here is a picture of Gene Cernan with the JSM bill of his that flew on all three of his missions, including landing on the moon during Apollo 17. It was a nice opportunity to reunite Gene with the bill, and we had a great time chatting about it once again.

2011-11-25T07:36:00.001-08:00

And in an ultimate display of vanity -- and fun loving commercialism -- we've launched a Jefferson Space Museum gift shop, with logoed items that are, ahem, reasonably priced. Some cool items. And best yet, they feature the museum logo, which was custom designed for us by noted German space artist and illustrator Detlev van Ravenswaay. Now how cool is that?

2011-11-23T07:45:00.001-08:00

After many years of collecting the bills for the Jefferson Space Museum, we have finally reached a point to launch a full fledged virtual museum! The site will go live on Sunday, November 27, 2011. Check out our new place on the web at The Jefferson Space Museum. (Many thanks to Fish-I Design & Video for their work on the site.) And please join us here in the conversation, as we post to this blog updates on new acquisitions, research on the bills in the collection, and discuss space artifact collecting in general.

1953 Series A Jeffferson Flown with John Glenn on Friendship 7

2008-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

This $2 bill, serial number A60730193, accompanied Lt. Col. John Glenn on the historic, first manned orbital flight of the US space program aboard the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962. The spacecraft, and the bills onboard, made 3 full orbits, making John Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth -- and spent a full 4 hours and 56 minutes, before spashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Together, they flew 75,679 miles and reaching a maximum velocity of 17,526 miles per hour! This bill is hand signed by Lt. Col. Glenn, his backup pilot, and mission Capcomm and fellow Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, and Joe Trammel, the launch crew member who placed the bill in the capsule and wrote "Good Luck, John" on it. The bill is further flight certified on a parchment certificate, also hand signed by Glenn and Carpenter, and notarized May 9th, 1962, as having flown on the mission. This bill, along with other $1 bills and a few $2 bills, are some of the earliest known currency to ever fly into space. The flight of these bills caused a bit of a stir in the press and among Congressmen, who expressed fear that "such articles" might jam the delicate electronic equipment aboard the ship. In press reports at the time, one writer termed the bills as "contraband cargo of souvenir dollars", and an unnamed space agency officially called their flight on the craft "foolish business." When Glenn testified in front of the House Space Committee, he claimed at the time to only know of one $1 bill to have flown, wrapped in a wire bundle behind the control panel. But a NASA spokesperson is later quoted as reporting that some 200 bills (mostly $1 bills) were hidden aboard Glenn's spacecraft by launch crew personnel. Further research at the John Glenn Achives, however, has turned up a memo dated March 9th, 1962, written by Charles L. Buckley, Jr., of the NASA Security Office. According to Mr. Buckley's memo, "approximately $52 to $56 or a total of 32 bills of one and two dollar denominations were place aboard the capsule by a McDonnell Aircraft employee..." So the universe of flown bills from this mission are extremely limited to just 32 bills. According to Same Beddingfield, Kenndy Space Center employee number 4, and the engineer responsible for the weight and balance of the Friendship 7 capsule, this was the first flight in US manned spaceflight history to carry a $2 bill, and the majority of bills flown were of the $1 variety on this flight. (For more on Sam, please see the post below.) An amazing bill and one of the very, very few surviving examples of flown $2 bills from THE VERY FIRST FLIGHT into space for a Jefferson. I'm proud to have this historic flown bill as a part of the Jefferson-in-Space Museum!

First mission with a $2 bill aboard? Friendship 7

2008-01-26T19:53:00.001-08:00

While down at Kennedy Space Center for the 2009 Astronaut Scholarship Apollo 12 40th Anniversary dinner, I made the treck over to the Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville (a wonderful, but often ignored gem of a private museum). I had the pleasure of meeting Sam Beddingfield -- KSC employee #4, who worked at NASA from Mercury through to the Shuttle program, being the Shuttle program's first employee, and retiring as the program's Deputy Director. During Mercury, Sam was responsible for overseeing the weight and balance of the spacecraft. I spoke with him about flown currency -- and the Glenn bill from Joe Tramel. He remembered Joe very clearly, and told me that the $2 bills were the rarer of bills flown on early spacecraft. In fact, he told me, only 3 one dollar bills flew on the first Mercury flight with Alan Shepard. They, too, were autographed. He owns one of the three. No $2 bills flew on that flight. This year, I was at the Kansas Cosmosphere, and was shown the surviving two flown one dollar bills from that flight: no $2 bills survived. So the Glenn $2 bills are the first exemplars of $2 bills ever flown in space aboard a manned US space craft.

Joe Trammel - The Man Responsible for This Flown Jefferson

2008-01-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

Joe Trammel worked for McDonnel Aircraft on the Mercury spacecraft, and his signature is on this particular flown $2 bill. As it happens, Joe is the one responsible for the flying of this particular Jefferson aboard Friendship 7. The video below is from KETC, LIVING ST. LOUIS Producer Jim Kirchherr, who attended a reunion of the McDonnel Aircraft crew that built the Mercury Capsule. The reunion has been organized by the wife of Joe Trammel because he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's and planned the reunion to see his old teammates and look back on the times they spent together. This video is one of the most moving explorations of these critical ground support personnel....and it also tells the story, right in the middle of it, of the flown currency on John Glenn's historic flight, and Joe's role in cataloging them. An amazing, and moving tribute!

Official NASA Memo About Glenn Flown Currency

2008-01-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

I received a copy of a March 9, 1962 NASA memo from the John Glenn Archives that gives insightful information not only on the bills flown on Glenn's flight, but the formation of the tradition of flying bills on the early Mercury flights. This memo, which was sent to me by Jeff Thomas, archivist of the John Glenn Archives at Ohio State University, is located in the John Glenn archives, Non-Senate Papers sub-roup, NASA series, Mercury 7 sub-series, box 66, folder 7. It was written by Charles L. Buckley, Jr., NASA Security Officer, Atlantic Missle Range, stationed at the Launch Operations Directorate, Cocoa Beach, Florida, and sent to Lloyd Blankenbaker, Director of Security, at NASA in Washington. The memo included newspaper clipings from the Associated Press and the UPI, all of which discussed the issue of bills being carried into space in his capsule, and concerns by Senate officials that this would cause a hazard. The memo copies R. R. Gilruth, W.C. Williams, G.M. Preston, Col J.C. Powers, Deke Slayton, and Glenn himself.

The memo states, in full:

"This is a report based on recent news releases similar to those attached and distributed by the Associated Press and UPI. The report concerns money placed aboard Col. Glenn's capsule just prior to the February 20th flight.

Investigation has revealed that two bundles of bills having a total value of approximately $52 to $56 or a total of 32 bills of one and two dollar denomination were placed aboard the capsule by a McDonnell Aircraft employee under the direction of the McDonnell Launch Pad Foreman and approved by the McDonnell Pad Leader and NASA Inspectors. The bills belonged to both NASA and McDonnell employees who were assigned to work on the launch pad and capsule. The money was placed in the capsule at 10:30 pm, February 19th during the early part of the final countdown. It was secured in thermofit tubing which was attached to a wire bundle (group of wires) by nylon cord and then low temperature heat was applied. The heat shrunk the tubing, making it tight and fast to the wire bundle. This method secured it in a manner safe for flight. In fact, it was more secure than some of the necessary equipment the Astronaut took with him. One bundle was located on the main trunk line and the other attached to a wire bundle under the head rest. There was absolutely no danger of "jamming delicate equipment" as stated in the news articles. There was no danger of a conflagration due to external heat since the money was within the internal capsule atmosphere. The money was as clean as the outside of the Astronaut's suit or the typed flight instructions on the instrument panel. NASA inspectors verified and approved the installation.

Every capsule, with the exception of "Capsule 8-A" has carried money installed in approximately the same manner. Alan Shepard's capsule for MR-3 flight carried an American flag, which has been presented to a local elementary school. Several officials questioned mentioned that they were aware of the tradition, and indeed, that is what the action has become. They stated that "it's just as American as apple pie." The people closely associated with the Astronauts and the capsule have a warm and tender feeling that is difficult to understand for outsiders and are justly proud of their work. The money is tangible evidence that they have been close to the Astronaut and capsule and affords them a memento similar to those kept by World War II veterans, which were called "short snorters."

The money was exstracted on February 21st at approximately 5:00 pm after the capsule was returned to Cape Canaveral for examination. Since that time, it has been kept intact and at the present time it is in the Astronaut Quarters, Hanger S, where it awaits Col. Glenn's signature. The dollar bill shown to the press by Col. Powers was not aboard the capsule and was given to him for autographs by a man who failed to get his dollar aboard the capsule before flight.

Although this procedure has become tradition, it was confined to those workers closely associated with installation and inspection of the capsule and with the knowledge of NASA and McDonnell officials."

A great memo, that not only establishes the tradition of carry the bills being tied to the Short Snorter tradition, but also the exact chain of custody and provenance of these bills until they were signed and notarized by Glenn post flight. A great memo now in the Jefferson-in-Space Museum archives. Many thanks to the Ohio State University John Glenn Archives archivist Jeff Thomas (what an appropriate last name!) for providing me with a copy.

1917 Jefferson Carried Aboard Mercury 9

2008-01-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

This large paper US $2 note was flown by Colonel Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. within the pocket of his flight suit aboard Mercury capsule Faith 7, the last flight of the Mercury Program, and the longest US manned flight at that time. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 15, 1963, Tom and Gordo flew 22.5 orbits around the Earth (at an altitude of 165.9 by 100.3 statue miles) during an elapsed mission time of 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds. Together, they travelled 546,167 miles at a speed of 17,547 miles per hour. If you click on the scanned image, you will see that it was folded into 8ths so that Cooper could fit it snuggly into his flight suit. The bill is dated 1917, carries the serial number D92207287A, and bares Cooper's hand signed, flight certification to the lower right. According to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, this particular bill was one of over 146.4 million printed between January 25, 1922, and September 30, 1927. It is the only $2 bill known to have flown on this mission, as it was a singular and personal memento taken by Cooper for himself. (He also carried a $1 silver certificate as well in a similar fashion, so George was along for the ride to keep Tom company!) Given the availablity of more modern design Jeffersons at the time of the flight -- for example, the 1953 Series A bill flown on the Glenn flight -- I wonder what compelled Cooper to take this particular bill with him. Was the early 1917 date of significance to him? Was it a bill that was given to him by someone special? Was it a lucky charm -- since he kept it in his suit pocket, instead of stowed away in the capsule? And why a $2 bill?My personal belief is that Gordo's mission was scheduled for and achieved 22 orbits, the longest spaceflight at that time, and so he took a $2 bill and kept it with him on his person as a personal talisman and goodluck charm for the success of the mission with a double-2 goal on orbits. Since Colonel Cooper has passed away, we probably will never know the answer for sure. But one thing remains for sure. It is one of the more unusual and unique Jeffersons to have ever orbited the Earth during the Mercury program.

MA-9 Launch, Orbit and Recovery Photos

2008-01-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

All with this very special $2 Jefferson tucked safely in Gordo's suit pocket!

Of course Gordon Cooper and the rest of the Mercury astronauts were immortalized in the book and film The Right Stuff. Click below on the movie trailer link to get a sense of the historic importance of Gordo's flight and the mercury program. And watch the full movie sometime, as the flight of Mercury 9, Gordon Cooper (and of course Tom) play a critical role at the end.

Cooper's Handwritten Flight Certification

2008-01-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

Along with the note, which I purchased at auction from the Cooper Estate, I also received the envelope in which the note was stored. On the envelope, Cooper had written: "This old 1917 issue $2 bill was flown by me in my flight suit pocket on MA9." It is wonderful to have hand-written flight certification on the bill itself, and on the envelope that held the bill...but to also know that the bill was not only on board the spacecraft, but was also on Cooper's person during the entire length of the flight is very unique and adds to the historic importance of this bill.

1963 Series C Flown on Gemini 3

2008-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

This Jefferson flew on the first manned flight of the Gemini space program -- aboard the unsinkable Molly Brown with Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965. During this 4 hour and 52 minute flight, Tom made 3 orbits of the earth, and traveled over 80,000 miles after reaching an altitude of over 121 miles above the Earth. This bill is a 1953 Series C Jefferson, with serial number A77446053A. It is one of only 50 $2 bills to accompany the crew aboard this historic flight.

GT-3: Countdown, Launch, Orbit, Recovery

2008-01-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

The historic flight of Gemini 3 has the distinction of being America's first two-manned flight, Tom's presence aboard excluded...and check out the video of the launch, splashdown, and recovery of this mission. It is a short clip, but you can see Gus' face as he's being hoisted out of the ocean.

John Young holding the flown Jefferson

2008-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

In late September, 2008, retired astronaut John Young conducted a private signing at Novaspace Galleries in Arizona for space memorabilia collectors. He graciously agreed to pose with the flown Jefferson from his mission, which bares his signature from the period. It was a rare opportunity to orchestrate this reunion between John Young and this "stow away" extra passenger on Gemini 3!

GT-3 Flown Flight Certification

2008-01-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

The Gemini 3 flown $2 bills (along with a set of flown $1 bills) are some of the most famous, and well documented flown paper currency. Russ Still documented their flight - and story - in his wonderful Relics of the Space Race book. As the story goes, three members of the McDonnell Douglas launch crew assembled 50 $2 bills and 41 $1 bills and stowed them inside the capsule with Gus Grissom's permission. The bills were stuffed behind the instrument panel on the right side. This gave Gus Grissom the opportunity to execute one of the great space race Gotcha's of all time. He had his secretary find all the play money she could. He secretly took it with him on the flight, and during orbit, switched out the real money with the play money. Upon return, when the launch crew went into the capsule to recover the flown currency, they found the play money instead. The guys never said a word. Grissom later called the guys to explain how "funny things can happen in space" and then hung up. Later, the guys received a package from Grissom -- inside were all the flown bills, signed and flight certified by both crew members. Later, Don Wagner designed the above certificates to record the flight status of each bill, and they, too, were signed by the crew.

1963 Series $2 bill flown on GT-4

2008-01-18T15:02:00.000-08:00

On June 3, 1965, this 1963 Jefferson, with the serial number A07690488A, lifted off with the crew of Jim McDivitt and Ed White on the second manned Gemini flight. This historic flight witnessed America's first space walk by White -- making this bill (and the other three aboard the flight) the first to be exposed to the pure vacuum of space upon the opening of the Gemini capsule for the 22 minute EVA. In all, this bill made 62 orbits and travled 1,728,486 miles before returning to Earth June 7, 1965, after more than 4 days in space. This bill remained a part of astronaut McDivitt's private collection until it was acquired by me in early 2008. Astronaut McDivitt has hand signed and flight certified this bill in his signature green ink.

GT-4 Provenance Certificate

2008-01-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

This hand signed, flight certification certificate establishes the provenance of this flown bill as having come directly from Jim McDivitt.

GT-4 Launch, Orbit & Recovery

2008-01-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

Ed White's Historic Space Walk - and Tom was there!

2008-01-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite images of Ed White's historic space walk -- you can almost reach out and touch him. Jim McDivitt took this picture, from the open hatch of their Gemini capsule. If you look closely enough at Ed's visor, you can see the refelction of their ship. An amazing shot. And Tom was along for the ride!

Watch a video of the historic launch and EVA -- with audio starting a few seconds into this clip with the launch! Just click on the video below, and turn up your volume.

1953 Series B Goes to the Moon Aboard Apollo 15

2008-01-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

This 1953 Series B bill flew together with the crew of Apollo 15 on the ninth manned mission of the Apollo program, and the fourth mission to land man on the moon. Tom went on what was the first of the "J" missions -- long duration stays on the moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions. This was also the first mission with the LRV, or Lunar Rover Vehicle (also known as the moon car). Tom left Earth with the crew (Dave Scott, mission Commander; Jim Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot; and Al Worden, Command Module Pilot) on July 26, 1971. He remained in lunar orbit with Al Worden, while Dave Scott and Jim Irwin ventured down to the lunar surface on July 26, 1971. (Dave and Jim took some $2 bills down to the lunar surface with them as well; sadly, those bills were forgotten on the lunar surface. Who knows? If mankind ever returns to the moon, someone could give those Toms a lift back home!)Lunar-orbit-Tom and Al spent over 66 hours and 54 minutes alone in the Command Module, circling the moon. When the two moonwalkers returned, Tom and the crew headed home, landing in the Pacific Ocean on August 7, 1971, after over 295 hours in space, and after spending a total of 145 hours in lunar orbit! This bill, serial number A70489989A, is surely one well traveled Tom! Upon return the crew signed the backs of each of the 49 such flown bills to verify their flight status.

Apollo 15: Launch, Orbit, Earthrise, & Return

2008-01-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to think that this $2 bill experienced the roar and thunder of launch into that Silent Sea of space aboard the great and mighty Saturn V rocket! And to get a true sense of the mission, click on the video link below. It is about 9 minutes - and serves as a nice overview of the mission. Don't forget to turn up your volume!

Apollo 15 Flown Flight Certification

2008-01-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

The crew of Apollo 15 not only signed the backside of the flown $2 bills, but they also had very attractive flight certification parchments made, detailing the flight status of each bill by serial number. The crew then authentically signed each certificate.

Al Worden & Dave Scott With the Moon Flown Jefferson

2008-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

I was able to reunite the moon flown Jefferson with the two surviving members of Apollo 15 at the Astronaut Scholarship Fund Autograph Show at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November of 2008. In the top photo, Tom is pictured with Al Worden, the Command Module Pilot that orbited the moon with the bill, while Commander Dave Scott, pictured next, walked the surface of the moon with the late Jim Irwin.

Did Tom Ever Fly the Shuttle?

2007-11-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sadly, there are currently no known flown US $2 bills from the Space Shuttle program era. Coins and currency are not currently allowed to fly aboard the the Space Transportation System vehicle, even though it was a time honored tradition in the past. As Russ Still points out on page 285 of "Relics of the Space Race," this is a recent policy decision relative to the Shuttle: "Monetary items have been carried on many U.S. manned spaceflights. Although NASA spokesman Gloria Demers has indicated that it is currently against NASA policy to fly US currency, it does have a long history." (A long history to which my flown Jefferson's can clearly attest!) You can read about the restrictions on Shuttle cargo and personal effects at the following link on collectSpace. According to the listed regulations, astronauts on the Shuttle are prohibited from carrying "items such as philatelic materials and coins that, by their nature, lend themselves to exploitation by the recipients." This has been interpretated by NASA, I believe, to include currency. Therefore, the Jefferson-in-Space Museum will most likely never have a Shuttle flown exemplar. Although one can always hope, right? As of this writing, I am aware that some of the Russian cosmonauts that have flown on the shuttle to the International Space Station have carried currency with them -- and I have in my own collection a flown $1 bill from such a flight. But I am not aware of any $2 bills having been flown. Additionally, Purdue University students were reprimanded and their flown $1 bills confiscated, when they snuck them aboard via a University and NASA sponsored science project that flew on a shuttle mission. Those bills are in the possession of NASA. Therefore, if you ever hear of a flown shuttle $2 bill, please do contact me directly! I would be very interested in learning more about it, and perhaps acquiring it for the museum.

1995 Jefferson Hitches a Ride on the International Space Station

2007-11-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

This Series 1995 $2 bill with the serial number F07347783B caught a ride on Soyuz TMA-2 (both there and back!) for a 6 month ride on the International Space Station - granting this Tom the distinction of being the longest space-faring Tom in the collection. Launched on April 25, 2003 from Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, this bill accompanied Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (ISS-7 Commander) and Astronaut Ed Lu on a six month mission as part of the 7th manned crew of the International Space Station. It is one of only 5 such bills that flew, docked at the ISS on April 28, 2003, and then spent 184 days in space, making 2,911 orbits of the Earth, before returning on October 27, 2003. This bill carries the official onboard ISS cancelation mark to the left on the front side of the bill, and Yuri Malenchenko's signature on the right.

ISS-7: Launch, Approach, Orbit, Sunrise, Return

2007-11-03T14:20:00.001-07:00

Tom had a comfortable six month stay in the Russian Zvada module of the International Space Station...although the landing was a bit rough...

And now, take an actual "fly around" tour of the ISS in space. Just click on the link below -- and experience the wonders of Earth Orbit.

ISS Flown Flight Certification

2007-11-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko as he signs the flown Jefferson, as well as the individual flight certification sheet post flight. It is interesting to note that Tom witnessed another first on the flight of ISS-7: the first wedding in space! Yuri and his bride were married "virtually" over the phone. (Note the ring on Yuri's left hand in the photo!)

...And three more, make 4 Flown!

2007-11-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just recently, I was able to acquire the other three of the known flown US$2 bills from this mission, including their notes of provenance of flight. You will notice that of these three -- two are sequential in serial number, which is very cool; and they also carry the blue onboard ISS stamp along with the black ISS stamp. Like the first one I acquired, these are in crisp, uncirculated condition and come from the personal space collection of Yuri Malenchenko. OF the two new sequential bills, you will also note they are just one off in number from the first bill listed. This means I own 4 of the 5 known flown bills, and I would imagine that the one still outstanding is probably the one missing serial number between the first bill, and the second of the new three. I will always be on the hunt for that fifth bill...

2003 Jefferson Aboard SpaceShipOne for Historic Ansari X-Prize Flights

2007-11-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is one of 10 uncirculated $2 bills that made both of the historic SpaceShipOne flights to claim the Ansari X-Prize, and establish SpaceShipOne as the leading private space craft vehicle. This particular bill (serial number I15894613A) took part in the first flight (X-1), which took place on Septebmer 29, 2004, with Astronaut Mike Melvill as the pilot. During a 24 minute and 11 second flight, Mike and Tom flew at the speed of Mach 2.92 and reached an altitude of 102.9 km in space. This very same bill was then flown on October 4, 2004 during X-2, by Astronaut Brian Binnie at the speed of Mach 3.09 and reached 112 km in space during a 23 minute and 56 second flight. With this second successful flight, Mike, Brian and Tom won for Scaled Composites the coveted Ansari X Prize, and forever placed them in the history books of manned space flight.

SpaceShipOne: Launch, Orbit, Earth, Landing

2007-11-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

With the successfull winning of the Ansari X Prize by the crew of SpaceShipOne (with Tom's help, of course ), regular private spaceflight and a new chapter in space exploration inches closer and closer to reality.

And now, experience a hard-rock tribute to these historic flights. If the music is too loud, just turn down the volume. The pictures speak louder than words....and amazing trip for Tom, Brian, and Mike!

SpaceShipOne Flight Certification

2007-11-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Both Astronauts Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie have signed detailed flight certification letters for the SpaceShipOne flown Jeffersons. It is interesting to note, if you click on the image of the letter, that you can see in the lower right hand corner that the stationary used to print up the certification ALSO flew aboard the second flight.

Next stop...

2007-11-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

With Thomas Jefferson being one of America's most experienced and well traveled unofficial accidental Astronauts, I wonder where off the planet he will find himself flying to next? Stay tuned...
...and if you hear of any other flights aboard which Tom might have flown, or (better yet)have one in your possession, please do contact me at richjurek@ameritech.net. I would love to hear from you -- and possibly add your Tom to my collection. Thanks for visiting.