At the rollout of the refurbished orbiter Atlantis in Palmdale on Sept. 20, 1998, are OCSS members (from left) Jeff Howe, Cherie Rabideau, Larry Evans, and Mike Cutler, all holding the OCSS banner.
 

(Left) Splashdown! The Wright Flyer hits the mud in Kill Devil Hills on Dec. 17, 2003 during the Centennial of Flight celebration. (Right) Inside the payload bay of Columbia. Jeff Howe (left) and Larry Evans sit on the sill of the hatch that leads to the crew compartment. The "bunny suits" are worn by everyone who enters the orbiter to protect it against dirt and anything that might fall out of a worker's pocket.
 

(Left) The Lunar Module on the set of HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" at the blimp hangar in Tustin, California. OCSS members had a chance to tour the set on Nov. 1, 1997. (Right) OCSS member Bob Kline attaches the antenna to the main body of the Pluto Express model that OCSS donated to the Discovery Science Center.
 

(Left) After the tragic loss of Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, OCSS conducted a public forum at the Discovery Science Center to allow people to express their feelings and to ask questions of our panel of experts: (left to right) Jim Busby (Astronaut Legacy Foundation), Ivor Dawson (Traveling Space Museum), John Spencer (Space Tourism Society), Jeff Laube (Lockheed Martin), Dr. Harvey Wichman (Claremont McKenna College), Larry Evans (OCSS), and Richard Shope (JPL). (Right) OCSS with XCor after a test flight on Nov. 12, 2001: (left to right) Larry Evans, Bob Hillhouse, John Spencer, Hank Murdoch, two gentlemen from XCor, and pilot Dick Rutan.
 

(Left) On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito became the first person to pay for his personal ride to orbit. He returned to Los Angeles on May 9, where members of OCSS and the Space Tourism Society met him in a festive welcome party. Several OCSS members were interviewed for local news programs. (Right) OCSS member Pam Leestma (in blue) with her second-grade class during a video conference with their counterparts at Space Camp Turkey.
 

(Left) Larry Evans, who is certified to handle and transport lunar samples, shows off a sample to students in 1997. (Right) The exterior of Space Camp Turkey in Izmir, on the western coast of that country. Note the three-story Saturn V rocket replica. OCSS helped manage a global youth summit there in 2003 and 2004.
 

(Left) OCSS member Charlie Carr passed away in August 1999. With his love of space exploration, a fund was set up in his name to raise the money necessary to place his ashes aboard a Taurus rocket through Celestis, a Houston-based company offering these services. Enough money was donated by members and supporters that we easily made our target to cover the cost of sending Charlie to orbit. This photo was taken on Dec. 19, 1999, the day prior to launch, at the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast. (Right) Star Trek alum Nichelle Nichols and pop star Lance Bass at the annual Yuri's Night party at Los Angeles International Airport on April 12, 2004. The event celebrates the launch of Yuri Gagarin into space on April 12, 1961.
 

(Left) OCSS Members and friends at the final showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” anywhere in the world during the year 2001. (L-R) Richard Barnett, John Whiting, Mike and Denise Okuda, Cherie Rabideau, Dee Bower, Robert Kline, Dennis Gilliam, Don Scott and friends, Pam Leestma, and Larry Evans. (Right) OCSS President Larry Evans sits on one of the chairs from “Space Station 5” in “2001.” Another section of our display at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.
 

Fun times at the 2004 Astronaut Autograph Show in Burbank, California, held over Labor Day weekend. (Left) Pad Leader Guenter Wendt fascinates OCSS members Pam Leestma and Marty Waldman with his stories of life in the early space program. (Right) Soviet cosmonaut Alexie Leonov--the first man to walk in space--meets with "2001" actors Gary Lockwood (left) and Keir Dullea (right).