Just as America’s space program is winding down, the value of space-related collectibles is taking off. Earlier we reported on a Bonhams’auction commemorating the 50th anniversary of America’s first manned mission in space. Not to be outdone, on April 12th Sotheby’s is having a space related auction of its own, featuring a 1961 Soviet space capsule estimated at $2-$10 million.
Sotheby’s New York sale coincides with the 50th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight. The Vostok 3KA-2, still scorched from its re-entry, was used to carry a dummy and a dog into space, where it orbited the earth. It was Russia’s last test flight flight before Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted off, becoming the first human in space. The following month, astronaut Alan Shepherd repeated the feat, the first American to do so.
Read more at Reuters.
