Unique custom-made artwork display entitled "Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Program," consisting of large central Mission Control emblem hand-painted by Joan F. Kranz, the daughter of storied NASA flight director Gene Kranz, adhered to a white 21.75 x 28.75 cotton bull denim fabric surface with embroidered patches for Apollo missions 7, 11, and 17 affixed above, and bold embroidered black lettering affixed below reading: "'Eagle, you are go for landing.'" The lower portion of the display is signed in black felt tip, "Eugene F. Kranz, 'Flight.'" The artist has also signed around the emblem in red ink, "JFK—50th A—2125." In fine condition. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the artist, Joan Kranz, which reads, in part: "This artwork was created to celebrate the approaching 50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing on July 20, 2019, as well as celebrating the beginning, middle, and the end of the Apollo Program. The idea of this panel came from a simple drawing on paper by Flight Director Gene Kranz. The panel represents a culmination of teamwork, trust, and leadership required by each flight controller when manning a console during the Apollo Program."
Joan Kranz is not only the daughter of Gene, but worked for NASA as well: she began in 1984 as a computer operator supporting the mainframes on the first floor of the Mission Control Center (MCC) in support of the Space Shuttle Program. For the next ten years, she was responsible for building, testing, and delivering various software packages used by the Shuttle flight control teams for real-time mission operations. She continued working in the space industry as a Space Shuttle instructor to the astronauts and flight controllers, supported the Space Station budget team, and finally moved on to become a scheduler to the astronauts and the flight controllers in support of the Space Shuttle Program. She was also responsible for monitoring hundreds of discrepancy reports across both the Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs.
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