The personalized pin placements reminds me of my HP badge, festooned with Vectra PC product emblems, an atavistic nod perhaps to the boy scout badges of our youth.

A space auction just completed last night, and I won some unique artifacts. This is a sentimental addition to the growing John Young collection, something he has waited to sell for many years.

Heritage Description: “Gemini Area Permit Badge with Pins
Directly from the Personal Collection of Astronaut John Young

A 2.375″ x 3.375″ heavily-laminated badge with original clip still attached on the blank verso. On the front is printed “AREA PERMIT” above the Gemini logo with “B/ I” stamped to the right. The number “6” and the name “JOHN W. YOUNG” are both typed in and Young has signed boldly: John W. Young. A yellow sticker “R” is affixed at lower left. At the upper left are two rare period metal pins:

(1) Gold-colored with an embossed black Gemini logo in the shape of the gender symbol for “man,” 0.75″ x 0.5″ overall;

(2) Black Titan II rocket on top of a blue Gemini logo and a red check mark symbol, 0.875″ x 1″ in size.

John Young flew on the first of the ten manned Gemini missions, Gemini 3, in 1965 with Gus Grissom, and also on Gemini 10 in 1966 with Michael Collins.”

He went on to fly two Apollo missions (10 and 16) and two Shuttle missions (STS-1, STS-9/Spacelab 1); he co-piloted the first manned Gemini-Titan and Shuttle launches, and is the only person to have flown twice in Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle.

20 responses to “John Young’s Gemini Badge”

  1. another piece of (composite) art–my favorite part would be the upper pin, but then again, it’s also an interesting case of graphic design.

  2. The collection is growing fast, Thanks for sharing

  3. Yep, nice one… lucky you! i have also learned that John Young really liked sandwiches… got him in trouble;)

  4. Fantastic. Can’t help but wonder: Where do these auctions take place?

  5. Dallas (Heritage), NY (Bonhams), and all over (Lunar Legacies, Regency, etc). Collect Space is a good place to see what’s going on at any given time.

    Yes, Young had a playful spirit… "and an almost childlike sense of wonder at the universe.” (Andrew Chaiken, A Man on the Moon)

  6. > The personalized pin placements reminds me of my HP badge, festooned with
    > Vectra PC product emblems

     
    As an HP alumnus, you’re in good company:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuz5OmOh_M#t=1m50s

  7. Oh that’s incredible. Apple has a core competency in architectural glass! Who knew.

    And wow, the first and last council questions blew my mind. I love it when Steve just lowers his head and says "I think we bring a lot more to Cupertino than free wi fi." (sometimes it’s good to let a simple statement echo in the mind like that)

  8. > Oh that’s incredible. Apple has a core competency in architectural glass! Who knew.

     
    😉

    US Patent #7,165,362

    Assignee: Apple Computer, Inc.
    Among the listed inventors: Steve Jobs

    GLASS SUPPORT MEMBER
    A monolithic glas member for supporting loads is disclosed. The glass member includes a plurality of glass sheets that are laminated together with one or more bonding layers. One of the glass sheets has a cut out at an edge thereof to receive a connector. The connector provides a means for connecting and supporting the glass member relative to other structures.

     

    Amusing coincidence: Apple’s planned circular building (planned capacity: 13,000 people) is almost identical in size to the circle that would circumscribe the Pentagon (the US DoD’s headquarters which is, according to Wikipedia, the largest office building in the world, where 26,000 people work).

  9. so, they are, uh, less dense? =)

    On the patent, great that Steve J is still getting involved in the details…. (though, that patent reminds me of the notched translucent plastic squares I used to play with to build houses…)

    The NY Apple Store also comes to mind
    Throw No Stones
    where it’s now funny to read what I wrote:
    "Dvorak posits that Jobs personally designed the store. The design reminds me of an x-ray of the original NeXT Cube, continuing the cubist design leitmotif. And for those who doubt that the Apple CEO would get involved in the details of retail architecture, I am reminded of my first days on the job at NeXT. As we walked around the building, my colleagues shared in hushed voices that Jobs personally chose the wood flooring and various appointments. He even specified the outdoor sprinkler system layout."

    But… Palo Alto…?
    iPod Power

  10. Great video: new UFO looking Apple campus and more green trees in Cupertino:)

  11. > so, they are, uh, less dense? =)

    In Cupertino, you’re much more likely to encounter aluminium than brass… 😉
     

    > But… Palo Alto…?

    Experience shows that companies transitioning to glass houses tend to discontinue their brick-shaped audio products that produce earth-shattering acoustic pressures  

  12. FYI: A great hi-res photo of Young wearing this badge can be found here.

  13. Wow! Thanks so much for that pointer! And he’s even got the pins

    s65-20593

  14. I actually tracked this photo down while looking for images of Young’s GT-3 White Room badge. I’ve got that one in my collection.

  15. Come across any with the GT-10 White Room badge? (If I recall, were these both in the same auction? Perhaps we were bidding against each other… =)

    Here are some B/W photos of the white room that came with the GT-10 badge.

    Have other John Young artifacts (beyond what you have posted on flickr)?

  16. As a badge collector I’m always on the lookout for good historical images of the astros wearing their badges. I don’t think I’ve seen an image of Young’s GT-10 White Room badge. Will let you know if I come across one.

    Young’s Gemini Area Permit was on the auction block at the 2011 Heritage sale. The GT-3 White Room badge was offered at the 2010 Heritage auction. I didn’t bid against you on the Area Permit but was an under-bidder on that flown GT-3 orbit chart that you won. Now that’s a beauty!

    My John Young collection consists of his passport, medical certification for spaceflight, GT-3 white room badge, and an original photo taken for his first NASA ID badge in 1962…thus far. I do have a nice paring of both Area Permit and GT-4 White Room badges from Jim McDivitt’s personal collection.

  17. Thanks [http://www.flickr.com/photos/8533266@N04] for the follow up! He just sent me this photo that he recalled 25 months ago:
    GT-10 Crew

    Zooming in…
    GT-10 Crew (Crop 1)

    Good eye! And good memory!

    "Looks like this was taken near the Gemini suit-up trailer at pad 16. The cool thing is that you can see pad 19 (with erector/white room is in its vertical position) in the distance. So there it is, Gemini White Room with Young’s White Room badge."

  18. Hey Steve. Just FYI. I recently reached out to you a few days ago on Facebook Messenger in reference to an Apollo 11 flown artifact. Oh, and Happy New Year!

  19. HNY! More from Bill: "The Gemini Area Permit badges were the standard form of access badge issued to both NASA and contractor employees for access to the facilities at launch complex 19 at the Cape.
    The number(s) printed on the bottom of these badges most likely refer to specific areas of access within the complex. I have seen examples of these badges with the numbers 1, 4, 5, and 6. Unfortunately, I have not been able to track down any official documentation which defines these area numbers. It is often misinterpreted that these numbers refer to specific Gemini missions. It is important to note that this is NOT the case. This is confirmed in a photo of John Young wearing this type of access badge with the number “6” taken at LC-19 during preparations for the first manned Gemini flight, GT-3.
    From what I have observed over many years of collecting, Gemini Area Permits with the number “6” are most common. It is possible that the number 6 may refer to “All Areas” at Launch Complex 19 with the exclusion of access to the spacecraft White Room which required special badging for access to that area which were issued for each individual Gemini mission. " Photo above is "John Young wearing his Gemini Area Permit with number “6” taken during GT-3. For additional reference, I have seen astronauts Young, McDivitt, and Slayton as well as many NASA contractors wearing number “6” badges throughout the Gemini Program."

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