Space Items

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Space Association of Australia back in April 1981, the Committee is pleased to make available these attractive lapel pins. Each enamelled lapel pin features the Association logo and is made of silver plate on dye black metal, 25mm x 25mm x 1.5mm. 

Space Association of Australia Lapel Pins

Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the future
Alice Gorman

“Going boldly forth as a pioneer in the fledgling field of space archaeology, Dr Alice Gorman (aka Dr Space Junk) turns the common perception of archaeology as an exploration of the ancient on its head. Her captivating inquiry into the most modern and daring of technologies spanning some 60 years — a mere speck in cosmic terms — takes the reader on a journey which captures the relics of space forays and uncovers the cultural value of detritus all too readily dismissed as junk.”  

NewSouth Books website

Honeysuckle Creek:
The story of Tom Reid, a little dish, and Neil Armstrong’s First Step
Andrew Tink

“Honeysuckle Creek reveals the pivotal role that the tracking station near Canberra played in the first moon walk. Andrew Tink gives a gripping account of the role of its director Tom Reid and his colleagues in transmitting some of the most-watched images in human history as Neil Armstrong took his first step. Honeysuckle Creek makes a significant contribution to the story of Australia’s role in space exploration.”  

NewSouth Books website

Australis OSCAR 5:
The Story of how Melbourne University Students Built Australia’s First Satellite
Owen Mace

In the 1960s, a group of University of Melbourne science and engineering students banded together to build a satellite in their spare time. Share the journey of those students as they built Australis OSCAR 5 and had it launched into orbit by NASA in January 1970. The satellite operated successfully for nearly two months before its batteries ran out.  

ATF Press website

Australia in Space
Kerrie Dougherty

Kerrie Dougherty is an acknowledged expert on Australia’s space history, having co-authored the original edition of Space Australia and published more than a dozen other papers on the topic. 

This revised and updated edition of Space Australia tells the story of Australia’s involvement with space activities, from the earliest rocketeers to the latest satellite projects. 

Space Association of Australia online Shop

Fallen Astronauts:
Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, Revised Edition
Colin Burgess and Kate Doolan with Bert Vis
Foreword by Eugene A. Cernan

Kate Doolan is a longtime space researcher, writer and member of the Space Association of Australia.

By telling the stories of the sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach the moon between 1962 and 1972, this book enriches the saga of humankind’s greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race.

Find Fallen Astronauts on Australia's own Booko

Tracking Apollo to the Moon
Hamish Lindsay

This is perhaps the most complete, detailed and readable story of manned space-flight ever published. The text begins with the historical origins of the dream of walking on the Moon, covers the earliest Mercury and Gemini flights and then moves on to the end of the Apollo era. In readable, fascinating detail, Hamish Lindsay - who was directly involved in all three programs - chronicles mankind's greatest adventure with a great narrative, interviews, quotes and masses of photographs, including some previously unpublished. 

Find Tracking Apollo to the Moon on Australia's own Booko

This site celebrates Western Australia's role in space research and, in particular, Carnarvon's critical role supporting NASA's Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects. 

Follow the link on the Carnarvon page to buy the companion book, Carnarvon and Apollo: One giant leap for a small Australian town, published by Rosenberg Publishing.

You can purchase this CD by broadcaster and 'human headline' Derryn Hinch, who was actually at Cape Kennedy to witness the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. He gives a first hand account of his experience and a long lost audio recording of his live call of the launch, that was broadcast live around Australia.

You can purchase a range of historical CDs and DVDs from Colin Mackeller’s amazing website dedicated to the men and women of Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station and the wider Australian involvement in space exploration.

Acquisition!: The story of Orroral Valley Space Tracking Station
Philip Clark

This is the inside story of the Orroral Valley Space Tracking Station near Canberra and of the people who worked there. The book covers the period from site survey in 1963 to eventual demolition in 1992 and describes what the tracking station looked like, how it worked, and what it did. It is a story about 'the nuts and bolts' of space tracking. 
RRP $59.95 

Email Philip to purchase (he might even autograph it for you if you ask nicely!)