Space Age Thermal

The Why of SEO - a Thermal Lifejacket for the Economic Ice Age!

Despite the many and varied articles written on how SEO is done, most people have only a vague appreciation of WHY it is absolutely essential. As the economic downturn bites into revenue streams, can you afford to ignore a key website business strategy?

That includes a depressing number of website designers, some of whom actually tell their clients that SEO is a waste of time and money, and that it’s quite unnecessary these days because Google is smarter than ever before... Au contraire - it becomes more and more critical every day, as website numbers expand exponentially! Lack of knowledge is not confined to website designers, it also includes a number of wanna-be SEO firms who make outrageous claims about their special relationship and affinity with Google etc, but have little idea of what it takes to consistently succeed in attaining Top 30 rankings.

There are many articles written on the HOW of SEO, covering the many and varied aspects of the art of improving your site’s position in search engine ranking pages (SERPs). Whilst most people have heard the term "search engine optimization" and have a vague appreciation (or apprehension) of the hoped-for outcome, surprisingly few people seem to really understand WHY it is absolutely essential.

Be very aware that in most cases website design is taught as an Art, not as a Business discipline. Website designers are rarely taught anything about search engine optimization, and few are interested in mastering the skills required to produce optimal results. That’s all very fine and dandy – but it leaves a lot of website owners desperately disappointed in mediocre results! You’ve probably heard the analogy about building a shop in the middle of a forest too, I bet? Seriously, it really does not matter how beautiful the site is – if no one finds it, then it’s just a gorgeous waste of virtual space.

Content is Still King

Regardless of the various conflicting opinions, Google conspiracy theories and misinformation, it comes down to a very simple concept - content quality, and accurate content classification. Content is where many sites fail dismally! The sites that thrive are those with well written, well organised original, interesting and useful content. Don’t copy other peoples stuff. Aside from being illegal, at best it immediately downgrades you to second best… As a general rule, from an SEO perspective, bear in mind the most fundamental issue - Google loathes duplicate content!

Classification

There are literally millions of websites, each competing for viewers in a particular niche. Reasons for their existence vary across the A to Z spectrum - advertising, entertainment, comedy, educational, humour, informational, music, news, promotional, sports, wine, video, zoos... you get the picture, right?

In the world of books we have the Dewey decimal classification system. Every published work is assigned an ISBN number, and libraries classify all books under a rigid hierarchical subject classification system. It’s not perfect, but it works pretty well because every one uses and understands it! Erudite people write insightful book reviews, which are sometimes included in advertising and promotions. Hold this thought, its relevant to a following section. You want to find a book on a particular topic, or by a specific author, you do a search and Eureka! You’ve found it, there's a list, even! The best books are reviewed multiple times, and take pride of place in the “best sellers” rack.

Relevancy Ranking

Using different terminology, search engines are trying hard to do the same thing – to give their searchers the most accurate list possible, containing exactly what they want, so they can pick and choose from it! Unfortunately, there is no Dewey classification system on the web. The closest thing to a hierarchical subject listing is the Open Directory, Yahoo, or one of the thousands of other web directories - all of which are inconsistently organised into completely different illogical structures!

So, here we have Google and other search engines trying valiantly to index and categorize the billions of pages on millions of websites, in hundreds of countries in a multiplicity of languages. Then, they have to calculate each page's relevance to specific search queries…

Are You Helping or Hindering?

That’s where YOU come into the picture… It’s a big, big task – have you made any effort at all to help Google to help you? Or is your website fuzzy and unfocused, with no clear statement of content or purpose? In most cases, sites are constructed with vague intentions to do SEO as an optional extra sometime in the future… What, you want Google to do everything for you?

Done Any Homework?

Do you have any idea how your primary audience searches for the information, products or services you offer? Do the pages on your site describe your content using terms your clients use? Because that’s the only way Google can match searchers with relevant content! What? You actually forgot to do any market research before launching the site? You have no accurate, researched, hard data on the keywords your potential clients would use? You asked your friends at work for ideas? Absolutely incredible!

Let us pretend you’re looking for clients for your small bed & breakfast business in Christchurch, New Zealand. You are optimistic that potential customers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK will be able to find your website amongst the millions of competing B&B pages on the web, be convinced by your persuasive advertising copy and elegant pictures… you’d also like them to come and book directly with you, to avoid hefty commission payments on the dozens of B&B Advertising Directory sites who also want you to pay to advertise! Dream on!

So You Want Google To Work For You?

You’d really like Google et al to help connect your potential clients to your business via Search Engine Results Pages by making your site No.1… And you certainly want “qualified” traffic from Google, visitors who are specifically looking for exactly what you offer!

Anyone who thinks they can survive online without Google, Yahoo and MSN is either a thoroughly well-rounded idiot, or is a household name who does not need to advertise to generate qualified traffic. There is no middle ground.

But here’s where it gets hard! How will Google do that? What solid information have you provided Google in your on-site content, and in the off-site links to your site? Have you got a Domain Name which encapsulates your business type and location; Bed-Breakfast-Christchurch.co.nz? Or a cryptic name, like; BnBChChNZ.com? Of the two, which is most likely to give the SE its first clue as to what your site is about?

What is On-Site SEO

Think about it this way… Does your home page have an explicit and accurate Title that provides a direct and unequivocal statement of the site’s business purpose in 70 characters? Does the Title say “Bed & Breakfast Accommodation, Christchurch New Zealand” or does it say “Welcome to Dusty Lodge” or something equally asinine?

Does your home page have an explicit and accurate Description that provides a brief outline of your business purpose, unique selling proposition, and call to action, encapsulated in 150 – 200 characters? Or does it contain some vague warm and fuzzy drivel about beaches and sunsets?

Keep the book analogy in your mind, and take a look at your Home page, particularly the first heading and first paragraph… “Welcome to my website” is not a productive approach! What does it tell your visitors about you? It tells me that you are at best naïve and both you and your website designer need SEO counselling! And think about that first paragraph… is it an accurate summary of the site’s reason for existence? Eliminate that fruity, cheesy, fluffy verbiage immediately!

If your website is required to deliver a return on investment, particularly by selling products or services, or delivering customer service, informing or entertaining, your really need to accurately describe your website’s content, and allow it to become visible online. What’s that I hear? Oh, you want it to make you rich as well? But you don’t really want to make a serious commitment or effort to do the job properly? Right… good luck with that! And remember that old GIGO acronym – “Garbage In, Garbage Out!”

What is Off-Site SEO?

This may surprise you, but some people are dishonest about their site content. Frankly, some people handle the truth in a very awkward fashion indeed… Telling Google that your site is about Pamela Anderson, when its actually selling Bart Simpson comics, is deuced annoying to the people who visit it! Therefore, Google and other SE’s decided long ago that some external verification of every website’s content would assist their efforts to deliver the most relevant SERPs to their clients. Makes perfect sense to me…

How is this achieved, I hear you ask. Well, you’ve heard of links, right? Back to the book analogy – think of good links as being like a series of book reviews! What if lots of people are writing positive things about your site? What if multiple, external, widely distributed sites are all saying that your site is about “Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Christchurch NZ” huh? The balance of probability that your site is relevant to such a search is positively impacted by this external confirmation! A coincidence of keywords in on-site content and off-site links reassures Google immensely! Those keywords in the off-site links are referred to as anchor text, and should form the link title.

No, Its Not Rocket Science

Frankly, search engine optimisation, in the pure sense of the term, is not particularly difficult to understand, or to do. The aim of the search engines is to provide their customers with the content most relevant to the search they are making. Therefore, your salvation lies in making your content relevant to the known searches! Do some thorough keyword research, learn and understand your target audience’s searching behaviour. Plan pages that target specific, high-volume, low competition search phrases.

Don’t be vague, don’t waffle, and help Google to help you!

When the economic gravy pot is bubbling merrily, and there’s ample business gravy slopping over, even the mediocre get a share. But when the economic ice age casts midnight shadows at noon, and credit wolf packs softly pad the empty streets, howling balefully at the waning moon… then, when you’re sucking the last congealed streaks of business gravy off your tarnished website spoon, ask yourself... Can you afford your website to be second rate, disorganised and drifting ever further into the icy wastes of mediocrity?

With a better understanding why SEO is so important to your website's success, will you continue to ignore it?

About the Author

Ben Kemp, a 10-year veteran SEO consultant and website designer with over 21 years in the IT industry, provides guaranteed personal service on all projects, and in The SEO Guy’s Blog, offers free advice on SEO and WordPress CMS website design issues.

Web:www.ComAuth.co.nz

Space Shuttle Thermal 16oz. Travel Mug $19.95 Space Shuttle Thermal 16oz. Travel Mug Our newest travel mug depicts a beautifully rendered, 3 dimensional space shuttle on one side. It is a high quality,16oz. Stratford all Stainless Tumbler. Double Wall Thermal Stainless Steel Interior with Stainless Steel Exterior.

Flown in Space Atlantis Thermal Control Blanket in Acrylic $79.95 Flown in Space Atlantis Thermal Control Blanket in Acrylic This acrylic contains a flown piece of insulation blanket installed in the orbiter Atlantis, flown on STS-86. September 26 - October 6, 1997.The presentation includes a large 2 inch strip of flown insulation blanket encased in acrylic. This makes for a great collectible or unique gift. Each block is in the size of 4" x 6" and about 1' thick.

Space Shuttle Thermal Tile Box Set: 1.65 Inch Square Section $39.95 Space Shuttle Tile collectible at The Space Store. Unique Space Shuttle gifts and collectibles available online at The Space Store.

Space Shuttle Thermal Tile Box Set: 1" Triangle Section $22.95 Space Shuttle Thermal Tile Box Set: 1" Triangle Section Includes a Statement of Authenticity Card The Space Store is the sole owner of the only legally owned Space Shuttle thermal tile material for resale. This is an actual piece of thermal tile material that was made in the late 1970s for the Space Shuttle Columbia , the first shuttle to fly into space. Our 1 inch section is available for a limited time only. These sections are only cut from sections in which we could not get a full 1.33 inches (or more) for the larger sizes. We only have a limited amount of thermal tile material and once they're gone, they're gone forever Material Background: Thermal tiles are made of a 'foam glass' material. Each Space Shuttle contains more than 34,000 separate tiles, each specifically cut for its own location, to protect the Shuttle when reentering the Earth's atmosphere. Note: This tile material is not from the loss of STS-107. It comes from the same lot of material originally installed on Columbia Packaging: Packaging includes a clear plastic box with an authentic piece of Space Shuttle tile material resting on a sky blue foam insert. It also now includes an inscribed plate, which includes information about the Thermal Tile. This is an excellent educational item for students and a must-have for collectors. Product features are presented below. Also see below for more information on how this tile material became commercially available. Supplies are limited. Plastic display box is 3 x 3 x 1 inches The tile material is a 1 inch triangle Includes an inscribed information plaque Includes a Statement of Authenticity Card Note: Tile material is brittle and has a chalky film. This film can get on your hands and irritate the skin if handled directly. History of the Tile Material: In October 1978, D.G. Noble was assigned as Chief of U.S. Air Force Quality Assurance on all NASA contracts at Lockheed Missile and Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California. The main NASA contract at that time was for the production of Space Shuttle tile for the first Space Shuttle to fly in space, Columbia. At that time, Space Shuttle tile was being thrown into a large discard receptacle. There were no strict policies in effect at that time, precluding removal of anything from these receptacles. Noble's interest in the discarded tile was as an insulating material for a fireplace, so he removed enough material to accomplish this purpose. A few years later, a NASA representative came to Noble's home to discuss when and how he obtained the discarded Space Shuttle tile. NASA concluded that Noble had obtained the tile legally which could also be sold commercially.This was reaffirmed in a letter from the Inspector General for NASA to Michael Noble in June 22, 1994 letter from George T. Lenehan, Chief Counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel, for Ames Research Center, NASA. The Space Store legally purchased Mr. Noble's entire thermal tile material stock in July, 2009.

Creating Space $30.95 Creating Space The Story of the Space Age Told Through ModelsThe Heavens - and trying to get there - have always intrigued man, and have been included in our artwork throughout all of history. In recent years they have been the subject of countless books, articles, radio and television shows and films, and have more and more featured the practical method of achieving these dreams - Spaceships. Creating Space takes us on a journey through the history of the space age, up to the present and beyond. From the advent of the "space race" with the V-2 rocket of World War II to the International Space Station and the future, a complete and detailed chronicling of vehicles is given, side by side with pictures and details of models that depict the multitude of aircraft and spacecraft developed throughout the world.In addition, extensive appendices provide details of all of the space-related models ever made and the many manufacturers and distributors who have supplied them - all in the words of an experienced professional insider. Mat Irvine worked in the BBC Visual Effects Department for 20 years, contributing to many projects including Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Edge of Darkness, the various NASA flights, and many science and space-oriented documentaries and programs. Creating Space is presented in 12 chapters which logically group together the history, the vehicles and the models into logical and meaningful categories. This book will be equally valuable to space enthusiasts, modellers, and space historians.

Space Monkey Benders $19.95 Boldly going where no Monkey Bender has gone before! Just monkeying around in space! Give a new home to these three adorable monkey benders (who we've affectionately nicknamed Ham, George, and King Louie here at The Space Store). They come with space helmets and 'official' uniforms and live aboard a little space ship.Simply pop the hatch and let your Space Monkey Benders explore. Powerful magnets in the hands and feet let them hang on tight to the rocket ship or tether together for safe space walks. Monkey lovers will simply adore this new addition to their collections! Recommended Age 6 to adult Durable plastic coated wire Magnets in hands and feet Bend sculpt and pose into nearly any position imaginable

3D Shrinky Dinks - Space $6.5 3D Shrinky Dinks - Space Create 3-Dimensional Astronauts, Sapce Shuttles, Rockets and more, to play with and display!Shrinky Dinks 3D Kits are new for 2011! Trace, bake, shrink and build your favorite Space Shuttles in 3D! Classic Shrinky Dinks® with a new 3D twist! Make your own space program with the Astronauts, Space Shuttles, planets and more. The new 3D Shrinky Dinks® Space kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5? x 8?) and Space tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions and you?ll be making your own 3D fleet in no time!Kids can use color pencils, markers and every color of the rainbow to create their own 3D masterpieces!These kits are great for craft time, group play dates as well as a fun rainy day activity. Perfect for kids age seven and up!Did you know that Shrinky Dinks have been in outer space! They were sent up in the space shuttle Atlantis in 2000 as part of a science experiment. They wanted to see if a Shrinky Dink would shrink in the extreme temperature changes.

Space Mission 747 Shuttle Carrier $6.95 Space Mission 747 Shuttle Carrier Transport the space shuttle on the 747 all the way across your room. Set includes a 6" diecast 747 shuttle carrier aircraft and a 3" diecast space shuttle. Shuttle separates from the carrier. Small parts - not for children under the age of three.

It Came From Outer Space $24.95 It Came From Outer Space It Came From Outer Space uncovers some of the important space age innovations that have changed our world.In this illuminating program, MODERN MARVELS explores how high-level NASA breakthroughs, originally developed for use in space, are now being applied to terrestrial challenges. Learn how paint that can withstand the heat of space shuttle reentry is also used to protect steel-framed high-rises from collapsing in a fire, and see how the oxygen tanks used by today s firefighters look remarkably similar to those used by astronauts during the famous Apollo missions. Finally, discover how batteries that keep crucial satellites in orbit are the same as those that take popular sports cars from zero to 60 in seconds flat. Features: Format: Color, DVD, NTSCM Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO DVD Release Date: August 25, 2009 Run Time: 50 minutes

Space Age $16.99 Space Age

NASA Vector Thermal Knit Blanket $19.95 Keep your newborn astronaut warm in this 100% cotton blankie. Dimensions: 27" x 40" This blanket is of high quality. It is very soft and plush.

Astronaut Living In Space - DK Level 2 $3.95 DK Readers are one of the best ways to get kids to read. This Level 2 Reader (Beginning to read alone)teaches what it takes to be an astronaut! Stunning photography and age-appropriate stories about holding down a job in zero gravity...

America In Space: NASA's First Fifty Years (Nasa) (Hardcover) $49.95 America In Space: NASA's First Fifty Years (Nasa) (Hardcover) NASA launches a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary in the fall of 2007, and Abrams is privileged to publish this visual history of its many achievements in manned and unmanned space travel. Written and edited by a team of experienced NASA staffers, and illustrated with many unpublished and rare photographs from the voluminous NASA archives scattered across the country, America in Space offers an unparalleled vision of half a century of exploration and discovery. The story of America�s space age is told with more than 400 carefully selected images. The story begins in the 1950s with intrepid test pilots venturing ever faster and higher, and opens out into the now-legendary Mercury and Apollo missions of the 1960s that made astronauts into national heroes. The space shuttle era shows us what everyday space travel might look like, while grand vistas of the universe expand our sense of wonder. The large format of the book captures both the human drama and the vast scale of NASA�s projects. America in Space is a photographic record of the greatest adventure of our time. Features: Hardcover: 352 pages Forward by Neil Armstrong Publisher: Abrams Books (October 1, 2007) Language: English Book Dimensions: 14.8 x 11.1 x 1.4 inches

Hubble Space Telescope Pocket Guide - Autographed by Story Musgrave $20 Hubble Space Telescope Pocket Guide - Autographed by Story Musgrave The Hubble Telescope's tasks has been listed as: Explore the solar system Measure the age and size of the universe Search for our cosmic roots Chart the evolution of the universe Unlock the mysteries of galaxies, stars, planets, and life itself From its unique vantage point 600 kilometers above the surface of the Earth, the Hubble Space Telescope looks out into space to capture dazzling images from distant stars which would be impossible to obtain from the ground. The Hubble Space Telecope is mankind's eyes on the universe.The dazzling vistas that the Hubble Space Telescope has recorded since its launch in 1990 are presented, along with the explanations of what exactly Hubble has seen during it's years in orbit. It tells the complete Hubble story - from the program's shaky start to the extraordinary success that followed, inspiring bigger and better successors in the years to follow. Line drawings of its hardware offer a supplementary understanding of Hubble's technological development. Features: Paperback: 96 pages Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing Inc (September 1, 2006) Language: English Book Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 0.5 inches

Space Age- Space Camping $19.99 Space Age- Space Camping - Masterprint

Space Age Playboys $8.49 Space Age Playboys

Shuttle Atlantis Flown Blanket $59.95 The Space Shuttle was the first reusable spaceship in the world. A total of 6 Space Shuttle's were build : Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. Two Space Shuttle's were lost in flight : Challenger (STS-51L) and Columbia (STS-107). This presentation bears a piece of a thermal blanket installed in the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity plus a fact sheet about the Shuttle. The source of this piece of blanket is a scrapped part of the Shuttle by NASA.Copies of the original scrapping papers from NASA come along with the presentation. Your presentation package includes : 8x10 color glossy presentation - ready to mat and frame Flown piece of thermal blanket Certificate of authenticity Attractive fact sheet with interesting facts about the Space Shuttle No discounts allowed on this item

STS-3 Mission Patch $4.95 3rd Space Shuttle Mission3rd Flight of Columbia Crew:Jack R. Lousma, CommanderC. Gordon Fullerton, Pilot The third test flight of a Space Shuttle continued the task of validating the orbiter for future operational flights. Testing of the Shuttle's remote manipulator arm progressed smoothly, as did experiments in thermal response of the orbiter at various positions relative to the sun.

Exploring the Solar System $3.95 Exploring the Solar System Young Space Colorists will learn fascinating facts about the solar system as they enjoy 44 dramatic Space Age illustrations, including images of an asteroid, a spacecraft observing the landscape of Mars, representations of all the planets, and much more. Descriptive captions accompany illustrations. Book Features: Reading level: Ages 9-12 Paperback: 48 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Language: English Book Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.1 x 0.2 inches

STS-125 Mission Sticker $1 STS-125 Mission Sticker STS-125 will be the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The mission will be flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-125 has been delayed until at least May 2009 to prepare a second data handling unit replacement for the telescope. The current target date is May 12th.Atlantis will carry two new instruments to the HST, in addition to a replacement Fine Guidance Sensor, six new gyroscopes and batteries to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2013. The crew will also install a new thermal blanket layer to provide improved insulation, and a "Soft-Capture mechanism" to aid in the safe de-orbiting of the spacecraft by an unmanned spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan.Otherwise known as Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 (HST-SM4), the mission will mark the thirtieth flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the last planned manned mission to the space telescope, and the final flight of a Space Shuttle not related to the assembly of the International Space Station. Mission name STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch pad LC-39A Launch date May 12th. Launch Window: 60 minutes Mission duration 11 days

APOLLO 9 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display $225 APOLLO 9 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display Flown Kapton Tape is From the Jerald B. Wilken Space Collection, Limited Edition of 10. APOLLO 9 Acrylic Display Includes: Flown Thermal Tape piece 9/16"x 9/16" Approximately from Command Module CM/104, dual faced graphic in custom Acrylic display 4" X 6" x 3/4? Thick. Kapton Tape: Du Pont-made, pressure sensitive Kapton polyimide tape is coated with aluminum and oxidized silicon monoxide. It was the exterior thermal-control coating and was applied over the ablative heat shield of the Apollo CSM spacecraft?s command module. Certification of Authenticity from the Wilken family will accompany item. Flown Foils are guaranteed genuine and collected by Jerald B. Wilken and offered by the Wilken Family. Jerry Wilken worked for Space Division of NORTH AMERICAN ROCKWELL CORP. Starting in 1962 as an Associate Test Engineer and from 1967 to 1969 was assigned as test conductor for Apollo Post Flight Operations. Display designed and created by hand by Robert Wilken: Certified Limited A9CM104-LMTKT Edition of 10. SORRY, NO DISCOUNTS ON THIS ITEM

APOLLO 8 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display $225 APOLLO 8 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display Flown Kapton Tape is From the Jerald B. Wilken Space Collection, Limited Edition of 10. APOLLO 8 Acrylic Display Includes: Flown Thermal Tape piece 9/16"x 9/16" Approximately from Command Module CM/103 the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon dual faced graphic in custom Acrylic display 4" X 6" x 3/4? Thick. Kapton Tape: Du Pont-made, pressure sensitive Kapton polyimide tape is coated with aluminum and oxidized silicon monoxide. It was the exterior thermal-control coating and was applied over the ablative heat shield of the Apollo CSM spacecraft?s command module. Certification of Authenticity from the Wilken family will accompany item.Flown Foils are guaranteed genuine and collected by Jerald B. Wilken and offered by the Wilken Family. Jerry Wilken worked for Space Division of NORTH AMERICAN ROCKWELL CORP. Starting in 1962 as an Associate Test Engineer and from 1967 to 1969 was assigned as test conductor for Apollo Post Flight Operations. Display designed and created by hand by Robert Wilken: Certified Limited A8CM103-LMTKT Edition of 10. SORRY, NO DISCOUNTS ON THIS ITEM

APOLLO 10 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display $225 APOLLO 10 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display Flown Kapton Tape is From the Jerald B. Wilken Space Collection, Limited Edition of 10. APOLLO 10 Acrylic Display Includes: Flown Thermal Tape piece 9/16"x 9/16" Approximately from Command Module CM/106, dual faced graphic in custom Acrylic display 4" X 6" x 3/4? Thick. Kapton Tape: Du Pont-made, pressure sensitive Kapton polyimide tape is coated with aluminum and oxidized silicon monoxide. It was the exterior thermal-control coating and was applied over the ablative heat shield of the Apollo CSM spacecraft?s command module. Certification of Authenticity from the Wilken family will accompany item. Flown Foils are guaranteed genuine and collected by Jerald B. Wilken and offered by the Wilken Family. Jerry Wilken worked for Space Division of NORTH AMERICAN ROCKWELL CORP. Starting in 1962 as an Associate Test Engineer and from 1967 to 1969 was assigned as test conductor for Apollo Post Flight Operations. Display designed and created by hand by Robert Wilken: Certified Limited A10CM106-LMTKT Edition of 10. SORRY, NO DISCOUNTS ON THIS ITEM

APOLLO 7 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display $225 APOLLO 7 Kapton Tape 4?x 6? Dual Faced Limited Edition Display Flown Kapton Tape is From the Jerald B. Wilken Space Collection, Limited Edition of 10. APOLLO 7 Acrylic Display Includes: Flown Thermal Tape piece 9/16"x 9/16" Approximately from Command Module CM/101, dual faced graphic in custom Acrylic display 4" X 6" x 3/4? Thick. m/LI> Kapton Tape: Du Pont-made, pressure sensitive Kapton polyimide tape is coated with aluminum and oxidized silicon monoxide. It was the exterior thermal-control coating and was applied over the ablative heat shield of the Apollo CSM spacecraft?s command module. A Certification of Authenticity from the Wilken family will accompany item. Flown Foils are guaranteed genuine and collected by Jerald B. Wilken and offered by the Wilken Family. Jerry Wilken worked for Space Division of NORTH AMERICAN ROCKWELL CORP. Starting in 1962 as an Associate Test Engineer and from 1967 to 1969 was assigned as test conductor for Apollo Post Flight Operations. Display designed and created by hand by Robert Wilken: Certified Limited A7CM101-LMTKT Edition of 10. SORRY, NO DISCOUNTS ON THIS ITEM

Magellan Model Kit $18.95 Magellan Model Kit The Magellan Space Craft Science Kit represents NASA's Venus radar mapper. The laser-cut, paper card stock kit looks quite realistic, with blue & silver solar panels. Lots of bonded metallic gold foil illustrates thermal control components. Styrofoam High-Gain Antenna dish. Information is included on Magellan's 3 modes of radar sensing which it used to map Venus's cloud-hidden surface, Magellan's aerobraking adventure, and the Venus gravity field survey. Assembled model is about 10 inches (26 cm) overall. Scale is approximately 1/30.

Space Age- Cosmic Adventures $19.99 Space Age- Cosmic Adventures - Masterprint

Space Age- Chapter I $19.99 Space Age- Chapter I - Masterprint

Space Age- Chapter V $19.99 Space Age- Chapter V - Masterprint

Space Age- Chapter VI $19.99 Space Age- Chapter VI - Masterprint

Space Age- Chapter II $19.99 Space Age- Chapter II - Masterprint

A Ball, A Dog, and A Monkey $14.95 A Ball, A Dog, and A Monkey A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey tells the remarkable story of America's first efforts to succeed in space, a time of exploding rockets, national space mania, Florida boomtowns, and interservice rivalries so fierce that President Dwight Eisenhower had to referee them.A Ball, A Dog, and A Monkey covers roughly the first year of the Space Age, from the launch of Sputnik in October 1957 through Project SCORE, which placed an entire Atlas booster in orbit with a small communications payload, including a tape-recorded message from President Eisenhower, just before Christmas 1958. The book examines both the Soviet and American programs, but places far more emphasis on the latter, from the political machinations in Washington to the technical difficulties of launching satellites to the effects the massive influx of space and missile workers had on the once-sleepy communities around Cape Canaveral. (The title itself refers to Sputnik, Laika, and a squirrel monkey named Gordo that the US launched on a suborbital spaceflight in late 1958.)The book does serve as a reminder that the history of that era is about not just about satellites and rockets, but also the people who created them or were touched by them in some way. With a story as well known as the opening of the Space Race, and one with few new revelations and insights, A Ball, A Dog, and A Monkey focuses primarily on stories from some of the people (primarily American) involved in that first year of the Space Age. Some of them are famous: Eisenhower, Wernher von Braun, and James Van Allen, the Iowa physicist whose experiments were flown on Explorer 1. Others are more obscure, yet still interesting. "A SCIENCE BOOK OF 2007" - NPR'S SCIENCE FRIDAY "A FUN, FAST READ...AMAZING WE HAD TO WAIT 'TIL THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THAT YEAR'S TUMULTUOUS EVENTS TO GET THE POPULAR HISTORY THEY DESERVED" - Angela Gunn USATODAY.COM Paperback 320 Pages Simon & Schuster, September 2008

STS-125 Mission T-Shirt $12.95 STS-125 Mission T-Shirt Our STS-125 Mission T-Shirt is screen printed on a Hanes Heavyweight 100% Cotton T-Shirt. It features the official STS-125 emblem, as well as a colorful, elaborate design, which includes the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the Hubble Telescope, and an Astronaut on an EVA.STS-125 has been delayed until at least May 2009 to prepare a second data handling unit replacement for the telescope. The mission will be flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis.Atlantis will carry two new instruments to the HST, in addition to a replacement Fine Guidance Sensor, six new gyroscopes and batteries to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2013. The crew will also install a new thermal blanket layer to provide improved insulation, and a "Soft-Capture mechanism" to aid in the safe de-orbiting of the spacecraft by an unmanned spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan. Mission name STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch pad LC-39A Launch date May 12th. Launch Window: 60 minutes Mission duration 11 days

Into That Silent Sea - AUTOGRAPHED by authors Francis French and Colin Burgess $30 Into That Silent Sea Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965Francis French and Colin BurgessWith a foreword by Paul Haney ?Eminently readable, well-crafted. . . . The merits of this popular history rest in the elegant narrative and the authors? thoughtful awareness of the space explorer genre.? ?Air & Space Smithsonian(The Space Review (website) I found the book a great source of new information that was both well documented and thoroughly fascinating to read - in fact, I believe it is deserving of winning some awards. Before I flew in space, these men and women in America and Russia paved the way and were my personal heros. If you want to know who they were, then this is the book. - Alfred M. Worden, Apollo 15 AstronautIt was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character. These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarin?s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepard?s firm purchase on the American dream. It also examines the controversial career of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and the remarkable struggle and ultimate disappointment of her American counterparts. It tries to uncover the truth behind the allegations that shadowed Gus Grissom and Scott Carpenter and then allows the reader to share the heart-stopping suspense of Alexei Leonov?s near-fatal first space walk. Through dozens of interviews and access to Russian and American official documents and family records, the authors bring to life the experiences that shaped the lives of the first astronauts and cosmonauts and forever changed their world and ours. Francis French is the former director of events for Sally Ride Science, and the current director of education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Colin Burgess is a former flight service director with Qantas Airways and the author of many books on space flight, including Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon and Teacher in Space: Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Legacy, both available in Bison Books editions. A NASA public affairs officer from 1958 to 1969, Paul Haney was known widely as NASA?s ?voice of mission control. Book Details: Hardcover: 402 pages Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 23, 2007) Language: English

STS-116 Mission Patch $4.95 The twentieth shuttle mission to the ISS, STS-116, will be led by the experienced commander Mark Polansky . Current plans call for a crew rotation and logistics mission utilizing the SPACEHAB Single Module. STS-116 continues assembly of the International Space Station. The primary mission objective is to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation will be conducted during the first of the three planned spacewalks, and will involve use of both the shuttle and ISS robotic arms. The remainder of the mission will include a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Service Module Debris Panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbiter. The crew patch depicts the space shuttle rising above the Earth and ISS. The United States and Swedish flags trail the orbiter, depicting the international composition of the STS-116 crew. The seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major are used to provide direction to the North Star, which is superimposed over the installation location of the P5 truss on ISS. Launch: NET Dec. 14, 2006 Orbiter: Discovery Mission Number: STS-116 (117th shuttle flight) Launch Window: TBD Launch Pad: TBD Mission Duration: TBD Landing Site: KSC Primary Payload: Twentieth station flight (12A.1), P5 Truss, SPACEHAB

Best Lock Moon Buggy 55 Piece Construction Set $7.95 Best Lock Moon Buggy 55 Piece Construction Set This is a 55 piece building block set from Best Lock that is a NASA spacecraft Moon Buggy. Best Lock blocks are compatible with other major building block manufacturers. Features: 55 piece set For age 3 and up

1/72 Apollo 10 Command/Service Module and Lunar Module $89.95 1/72 Apollo 10 Command/Service Module and Lunar Module This is the 1/72 Scale NASA Apollo 10 Command Service Module and Lunar Module from the Space Collection Series by Dragon Wings. It is absolutely a marvel just to look at!The incredible detail and value for this model actually astonishes me! FEATURES: True-to-scale precision model Displayable die-cast spacecraft with high collectable value Aesthetically pleasing color finish with delicate imprinted markings Elegant metal stand for easy display INCLUDES: One NASA Apollo 10 Command Service Module (CSM) and Lunar Module SPECS: Scale: 1/72 COMMENTS: Due to small parts that could cause a choking hazard please keep away from children 3 years of age and younger tos

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON - AUTOGRAPHED by Francis French & Colin Burgess $30.95 IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON - AUTOGRAPHED by Francis French & Colin Burgess This book has been signed by both authors - Francis French and Colin Burgess Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight SeriesRead an Excerpt (pdf)Digital Media Kit (pdf)In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. While describing awe-inspiring technical achievements, the authors go beyond the missions and the competition of the space race to focus on the people who made it all possible. Their book explores the inspirations, ambitions, personalities, and experiences of the select few whose driving ambition was to fly to the moon.Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure. From the Gemini flights to the Soyuz space program to the earliest Apollo missions, including the legendary first moon landing, their book draws a richly detailed picture of the space race as an endeavor equally endowed with personal meaning and political significance.Francis French is the former director of events for Sally Ride Science, and the current director of education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Colin Burgess is a former flight service director with Qantas Airways and the author of many books on spaceflight, including Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, available in a Bison Books edition. He is the coauthor with Francis French of Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961?1965 (Nebraska 2007). A NASA astronaut from 1963 to 1971, Walter Cunningham was a crew member on the first manned Apollo flight.

Autographed Photo - Alan Bean on Ladder $265 Autographed 8 x 10 Photo - Alan Bean on Ladder Here's Apollo 12's Alan Bean descending from the LM. Nice detail of the lander, with gold foil thermal insulation, and dimly illuminated window above. The crater containing Surveyor 3 drops off just behind the lander. Bean has signed boldly in gold. 8 X 10 Autographed Photo of Alan Bean Certificate of Authenticity included Money Back Guarantee No discounts or rush shipping available on this item

'Gumdrop' 8 x 10 Autographed Photo $145 'Gumdrop' 8 x 10 Autographed Photo "Spider," after a successful separtion from CM "Gumdrop," begins to pull back a safe distance. Aboard the LM are Jim McDivitt (who took this photo) and Rusty Schweickart. Dave Scott is in "Gumdrop," its mylar thermal coating reflecting the scenes below and above.. 8 X 10 Autographed Photo of Jim McDivitt Certificate of Authenticity included Money Back Guarantee No discounts or rush shipping available on this item

'Gumdrop' 8 x 10 Autographed, Framed Photo $285 'Gumdrop' 8 x 10 Autographed Photo "Spider," after a successful separtion from CM "Gumdrop," begins to pull back a safe distance. Aboard the LM are Jim McDivitt (who took this photo) and Rusty Schweickart. Dave Scott is in "Gumdrop," its mylar thermal coating reflecting the scenes below and above.. 8 X 10 Autographed Photo of Jim McDivitt Includes a 3" Mission Patch Certificate of Authenticity included Money Back Guarantee No discounts or rush shipping available on this item

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