James F. Buchli Signed NASA Official Portrait — Cold War Warrior, Four-Mission View Watchlist >
Seller Accepts Credit Cards
Payment and pickup instructions will be available on your invoice (under "My Account") at the conclusion of this auction.
Pickup
$0.00
($0.00 as additional item)
Signature Confirmed Shipping
$12.90
($12.90 as additional item)
Lot # Nasa53C
System ID # 29530269
Start Date
End Date
0 Watching
James F. Buchli Signed NASA Official Portrait — Cold War Warrior, Four-Mission Shuttle Veteran
The 1978 astronaut class that NASA called Group 8 — the first to include women and minorities — also included a quiet, intensely competent Marine colonel from New Rockford, North Dakota who would go on to fly the Shuttle four times. James F. Buchli wasn't the loudest name in the corps. He was the one they kept sending back up. STS-51-C in January 1985 was the first dedicated Department of Defense Shuttle mission — classified payload, closed press conference, the whole Cold War package. Then Spacelab D-1 on STS-61-A. Then STS-29. Then STS-48, hauling the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite into orbit in 1991. Four missions. 490+ hours. A career built on being exactly the person the mission needed.
This is his official NASA Johnson Space Center portrait — the real article, printed in-house and issued as a crew presentation handout. Buchli wears the powder-blue NASA flight jacket with the NASA meatball patch and U.S. flag shoulder insignia, posed beside a full Space Shuttle stack model and the American flag. He signed it in bold black felt-tip across the upper left field: "Best Wishes / Jim Buchli." The reverse carries the NASA JSC release statement and control number JSCIL-310, stamped at lower right — the paper trail that places this squarely in the original JSC distribution pipeline. Mesilla Valley Estate Sales will issue a Certificate of Authenticity with this lot.
History
Buchli was selected in NASA's landmark 1978 astronaut class — the first cohort recruited in a decade, chosen to fly the new Space Transportation System. He flew his first mission on STS-51-C (January 1985), the inaugural classified DoD Shuttle mission aboard Discovery, at the height of Reagan-era Cold War tension. His subsequent flights — STS-61-A (the German Spacelab D-1 mission, 1985), STS-29 (1989), and STS-48 (1991) — spanned the arc from the Cold War to the post-Soviet era of cooperative science. He retired as a Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, and later served in senior roles at NASA Headquarters. He is one of a relatively small fraternity of four-flight Shuttle veterans.
Authenticity
The signature is bold, clear, and consistent with Buchli's known hand on comparable signed examples. The photograph itself is a genuine NASA JSC-issued presentation lithograph, confirmed by the reverse NASA release statement and JSCIL-310 control number. Mesilla Valley Estate Sales will issue a Certificate of Authenticity with this lot. No additional third-party authentication has been obtained; the COA reflects the house's own assessment.
CONDITION
Very Good. Bright, full-color image with a clean, bold signature in dark ink. Light handling consistent with age; reverse shows a minor pencil notation. No major creases, tears, or surface loss.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- 10" × 8"
- Format: NASA official color lithograph, JSC-issued
- Control No.: JSCIL-310
- Inscription: "Best Wishes / Jim Buchli" (black felt-tip, upper left field)
- Reverse: NASA JSC copyright release statement
- COA: Mesilla Valley Estate Sales Certificate of Authenticity included
