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Estate sale find, vintage original autopen signed picture of NASA Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa.

Stuart Allen Roosa (1933-1994) was an American aeronautical engineer, smokejumper, United States Air Force pilot, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. The mission lasted from January 31 to February 9, 1971, and was the third mission to land astronauts (Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell) on the Moon. While Shepard and Mitchell spent two days on the lunar surface, Roosa conducted experiments from orbit in the Command Module Kitty Hawk. He was one of 24 men to travel to the Moon, which he orbited 34 times.

Roosa was one of 19 people selected as part of the astronaut class of 1966.  He was the Capsule communicator (CAPCOM) at the Launch Complex 34 blockhouse during the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967.  In 1969, he served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 9 mission.

On Apollo 14 he spent 33 hours in solo orbit around the Moon, conducting an extensive series of experiments. On the Apollo 14 mission Roosa carried seeds from loblolly pine, sycamore, sweet gum, redwood, and Douglas fir trees as part of a joint U.S. Forest Service/NASA project. The seeds were germinated on his return and planted throughout the United States, becoming known as the "Moon Trees".

Following Apollo 14, Roosa served as backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, and based on crew rotations, would probably have commanded one of the last Apollo missions had they not been cancelled. He was assigned to the Space Shuttle program until his retirement as a colonel from the Air Force in 1976.

Roosa logged 5,500 hours of flying time; 5,000 hours in jet aircraft. He also logged 217 hours in space.

When the seven Mercury astronauts were announced to the world in 1959, they were almost immediately deluged by autograph requests. They received so much fan mail that it became practically — if not actually — impossible to respond to it all. Instead of ignoring the letters, NASA decided to employ the use of a machine that would allow secretaries and mail room assistants to apply pen-drawn autographs to astronaut photos and other mailed-in items.

The "autopen" relied on a pattern, referred to as a matrix, that the machine would trace. These patterns, for which each astronaut may and often did have several different styles, began with an authentic signature. The machine's operator would select the type of pen and manually feed the item to be signed. As this was a mechanical process the results were not as smooth as an authentic signature.

Still, to the untrained eye, autopen autographs appear to be real. As they were based on authentic signatures, the autopen could be passed off easier than an attempt by a secretary to forge the astronaut's handwriting. 

NOTE - Autopens come to an abrupt halt at the end of a letter and frequently leave a noticeable spot of ink at the ends of letters and words. In addition the lines of the Autopen are typically of the same thickness.

The item measures approximately 8" X 10", approximate shipping weight 4 ounces.

PLEASE SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS - AS IS - NOT AUTHENTICATED - MORE THAN LIKELY AN AUTOPEN SIGNATURE - The item appears to be in overall Fair to Good Minus used condition, signs of wear, creases, fading, tears, chipping, sunning and age toning, soiling, stains, writing, no odors, please see images. 

(C1B19-211)