In 48 hours: first European Space Sale takes place in Brussels

On 7 May 2014 Lempertz auctions first space capsule in Europe

The Russian space capsule of the type Vozvrashchayemyi Apparat (VA) is the only spacecraft that entered space twice in its history. On 7 May at 6 p.m. the VA Space Capsule will be auctioned at Lempertz in Brussels at an estimated value of $1-2 million.

Only two days left: the space capsule Vozvraschaemyi Apparat (VA) will be auctioned at an estimated value of $1-2 million at the newly opened Lempertz branch in Brussels. Until the auction on 7 May the VA can be viewed daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the historic building on Rue du Grand Cerf.

A the end of march the VA Space Capsule came to Europe and attracted a lot of enthusiastic visitors at the previews in Berlin, Dusseldorf and Brussels. The fascination is plausible: the VA Space capsule is the only spacecraft that entered space twice in its history. In 1977 and 1978 the VA served on two Cosmos space missions under the Almaz programme and it formed part of the historic Soviet space programme.

„We are greatly looking forward to finding out who will place the winning bid on May 7th. Space enthusiasts, private museums and Russian entrepreneurs are possible buyers for this piece“, so Kilian Jay von Seldeneck, branch manager at Lempertz Berlin.

Together with the VA Space Capsule two historic Sokol KV2 spacesuits (estimated value $80,000) will be auctioned.

Facts about the items:

  • The VA Space Capsule (Vozvrashchayemyi Apparat) bears the serial number 1-11 Φ71B-0320-0 No. 060 and weighs 1.9 metric tonnes. It is 2.2 m high and it has a diameter of 2.8 m at the widest point of its floor.
  • The Sokol-KV2 spacesuit was worn by the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri on his flight to the MIR space station in the Soyuz TM24 spacecraft on 17 August 1996.
  • The second historic Sokol spacesuit was worn by the British-American astronaut Michael Foale in the Soyuz TMA3 (ISS Expedition 8) in 2003.

 

Lempertz Space Sale Blog:

Please find further information, films and pictures on www.lempertz-spacesale.com.

Facts about Space Sales:

So far the most spectacular space sale was held in 2011, when the Soviet space capsule Vostok 3KA-2 was sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $2.9 million.

Facts about the Almaz programme:

The Almaz programme was a military space programme of the Soviet Union. It was the first time that space capsules were launched into space and subsequently reused. Apart from the Space Shuttle, the Vozvrashchayemyi Apparat (VA) capsules of the Almaz programme have been the only space vehicles that were used more than once.

The Almaz programme consisted of three subsystems:

(1) The VA Spacecraft (11F74) with the VA Space Capsule as its main component, i.e. the capsule that is being auctioned,

(2) The Orbital Piloted Station (OPS) (11F71), the core module of the space station as a manned orbital station,

(3) The Functional Cargo Block (FGB) (11F77) as a transport vehicle to take supplies to
the station.

Facts about Lempertz:

Kunsthaus Lempertz is one of Europe’s leading art auction houses and the oldest family-owned auction house in the world. The history of this enterprise goes back to 1798. Its first international office was opened in New York in 1965 and was followed by further branches in Zürich and São Paulo. The office in Brussels was reopened in 1985. In Germany Lempertz has branches in Berlin and Munich, where auctions are held on a regular basis. Operating from its head office in Cologne, Lempertz expanded its operational business activities to the two most important cities in Europe – Berlin and Brussels.

Preview in Brussels: until 7 May 2014, daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Grote Hertstraat 6, Rue du Grand Cerf

1000 Brussels - Belgium

Auction in Brussels: 7 May 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Grote Hertstraat 6, Rue du Grand Cerf

1000 Brussels - Belgium

Contact in Brussels:

brussel@lempertz.com

+32 2 514 05 86