Nate Grumby

**snip** I seriously doubt this to be true. Why you may ask me?? For the record, I personally know an individual who works in direct contact with all the astronauts. My husband I had just recently picked up a travel bug from a cache (it was a geocoin from the space coast geocaching assoc.) who's mission was to be taken into space on the shuttle some day. I thought, dang, I know how to make this happen. NOT!!! Long explanation short....everything that is put on the shuttle including the personal belongings the astronauts bring has to be accounted for and most importantly weighed. Yes..."weighed" Right down to the slightest ounce. Anything that is unusual most likely will not be permitted due to the high volume of requests that would follow if word of it got out and NASA doesn't want it's shuttles to be "loaded" down with items that aren't directly involved with it's mission. Only once in a great while might an astronaut be granted permission for such an item, but it takes almost an act of congress and a ton of red tape to get it approved. She said the chances of getting something such as a travel bug and/or geocoin would fair better if you asked Russia to it, but that would cost you more money than most people would ever see in a lifetime. Next time I see my friend, I'll have to ask her about the above mentioned geocoin carried by Dr Stan Love. I KNOW Chris Rake as a serious person and a smart business man. I'll take HIS word for it until proven wrong by you because your husband knows some guys..... I'll wait.... I seriously doubt he would risk his reputation as a quality coin maker on a stretch of the truth, nor would he go to the trouble of designing a special edition of the coin that went into space to celebrate for no good reason. He just isn't the type.... Perhaps my wording was a bit to harsh. Let me say kudos to Chris Rake for accomplishing the task of getting a geocoin up there on the shuttle. I thinks it's great that he did!!! Please re-read my OP, I stated that "I personally know an individual", not my husband, and that I"ll have to ask "her", not "some guys my husband knows". I was just stating the facts that were told to me by my friend, who is one of the last persons to check the astronauts and approve of their personal belongings before boarding the shuttle. She in fact was so intrigued by my request that she went to her higher ups and asked if this could be granted and she was told hands down NO WAY!!! NASA is well aware if geocaching and if word of it were to get out that this happened, they would be flooded with other requests regarding the same of which is a bridge they would rather not cross. I just happened to ask her about it right around the Feb '08 launch, which is why she went to her higher ups. Guess I should have posted the long explanation to start with... Please Snoogans...no hard feelings here. We each know an individual of which we hold a high regard for as speaking the "truth" and not wanting to "risk their reputations". Please keep us posted about weather or not you friend gets a copy of the personal items list for that mission. It will be cool to see the other kinds of things they take along with them. Sorry to weigh in, but it was my coin that Stan carried into orbit. He got to stuff 20 'slots' of items into a personal locker about 2 inches wide by 5 inches by 8 inches. He carried an orthodox icon of St. Herman of Alaska, a Scotty Gomez Rookie card, and the astrolable geocoin in that locker. I even have the certificates. As for personally carrying things onto the station, I think he was also allowed 2 t-shirts, 2 baseball caps (for the press conferances) plus whatever he could place into his 'personal notes' bag, etc. It is actually pretty amazing how much stuff goes up and down. As for who I am, you can always ask Dr. Stan Love about his wedding pictures...I'm the bearded tall guy with the broken leg and a cane standing next to him... I am not sure what 'higher ups' know or don't know about the astronauts personal lockers aside from item size and mass, but somewhere the coin is indeed identified and weighed. They even sealed it in pick shrinkwrap for some odd reason... Crake made these commemorative coins on his own initiative. They commemorate this coin's flight, and it is the real deal. I really like the coins and am getting them to the STS-122 crew members through Stan. Anyhow, just thought I'd clear that up.... Nate Grumby

I was so dadgum frustrated. Oh well, water under the bridge and all. But next time, if there is a next time, I might engineer a web site to tie in to a coin or something. I don't know. I thought I had several excellent suggestions and various Web sites to see the ISS and the shuttle as it flew, and I was more than willing to do the extra work myself, but its their rules. Having worked within a giant organization with various degrees of management, I was simply tired of seeing the big fish/small pond syndrome again. Our brains are for more than keeping our ears apart, after all...

Hello! Perhaps I can add a bit of information. Last week, I received the orbited coin, and it came with a certificate, signed by Dr. Stan Love that reads as follows: Certificate of Authenticity STS-122 This Astrolabe geocoin was flown for Nate Grumby aboard the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis during a mission to the International Space Station in February, 2008. STS-122 installed the European-built Columbus laboratory module onto the International Space Station. Launch:2:45 pm EST, February 7, 2008 Pad39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida Altitude:213 miles Speed:17660 Maximum Miles Per HOur Landing:09:07 am EST, February 20, 2008 Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Florida Distance:5,296,892 miles Flight Duration:12 days, 18 hours, 22 minutes Signed: Dr Stan Love, Mission Specialist 4 It was labeled and archived as item #10 in his personal locker for STS-122. Somewhere in the bowels of NASA, where they keep a record of EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, it is listed as part of the manifest for STS-122. I would love to get a copy of that document, just to see what else has been flown in past missions, but that is probably worth an entire book. I can probably get the document scanned and posted. As for pictures, there were evidentally 4 amatuer/semi-pro photogaphers amongst the mission specialists, and they shot lots and lots of pictures and high-def video. One of Stan's tasks is to go through the stuff and help get presentations ready for lectures and other events. He's a bit busy. I will check to see if he has gotten to the shots of him and the coin (on the ground, unfortunately) and will upload them as soon as I receive them. The coin itself, once the mission was done, was unlocked. I think Groundspeak really REALLY blew it, as there are only a few missions left for the shuttle, but I guess that is their option. Stan has been offered a 6 month mission on the ISS, but his wife, who hasn't really seen him for a year, shot that one down. He has been recommended for some of the last missions, and he is an EVA specialist, but there are a lot of rookies who haven't flown, and only 9 or 10 missions left. If he goes again, there may be a last opportunity, but don't hold your breaths. I am going to get the coin that flew mounted in a display box as soon as the photos catch up, and then take the coin to events. Once I'm done, I'll post a note and anyone who finds themselves in the Matanuska Valley up in Alaska can drop by and log it. I am personally going to purchase several of these FGIO coins and get them into the hands of the STS-122 crew. This is a perfect end to what has been years of worry for me, him , our families, etc. I cannot thank CRAKE productions enough. Nate Grumby (BTW, the certificate doesn't actually say 'Nate Grumby' but my own name...forgot to mention that)

Here is their safe landing, Atlantis, 7 astronauts, and one geocoin after 303 orbits and over 5 million miles.

Here's a shot of EVA-3. Let's hope they didn't drop their wrench, it's a long way down.

Here's a shot from Atlantis, Stan is on the right.

Here's one of Stan on his first EVA....you'll have to trust me on this one.

Well, let's see if I can link to the photo...here's the launch of Atlantis and STS-122 Orbiting Geocoin. Not to mention 7 crew and several billion dollars of European Space Module (Columbus.)

Some photos forthcoming on the STS-122 Orbiting Geocoin page...some 9000 photos and several hours of high def video were taken in those 13 days, so these photos will trickle in. No photos of the coin yet, but there are some launch and space station ones featuring Dr. Stan Love who took it up there for me...

I would like to offer my apologies to the geocaching community for encouraging the logging of one of my geocoins in ways that were neither traditional or within the norms of geocaching.com. My coin, TB16CKV (STS-122 Orbiting Geocoin) was carried on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis on it's mission to install the Columbus space module at the International Space Station. It was carried in a personal locker of Dr. Stan Love, an EVA astronaut who also happens to be my best friend. During the 13 day flight, the coin orbited the Earth over 200 times for a distance of about 5,300,000 miles. The space shuttle Atlantis, its crew, and the coin have landed safely today. I was struck by this unique opportunity, but when I originally contacted Groundspeak, they informed me that the rules did not permit any exceptions to logging this coin. In frustration, I posted a log (in 4 topic areas) describing how I would have handled this situation, including posting pictures or eye-witness accounts of the launch, landing, or overflights, using GoogleEarth to project groundtracks over personal caches, etc. I also posted the coin code, knowing full well that it would entail many extra days of deleting 'illicit' logs from those who get their jollies on that sort of thing. The people of Groundspeak were not pleased by my actions, banned me from the forums for 14 days, deleted my forum posts, and locked the coin. I was cited the following rule. "If you log a bogus virtual log on a TB, or offer your own TB up for virtual logging you will risk having that TB page locked forever. This means, if you never saw a bug, but got the bug number and you log it, that bug is in risk of being taken out of the game. Don't do this to TB owners who inadvertently might post a photo, or someone else posts a photo, of their TB number. Don't log it virtually. It's considered abuse of the system. And it's not fair play." So I apologize for not playing fair. It was not my intention to 'cheat' or gain some sort of 'advantage' or 'abuse the system' for this particular coin. In truth, I simply wanted to share this unique event somehow with the geocaching community. Given the few space shuttle flights left, I do not know how many other geocoins will ever make orbit. I will also cease any efforts to get Travel Bug code microdotted on orbiting satellites or interplanetary probes, or TB tags or other coins onto the International Space Station. The people of Groundspeak did have a point. A cacher by the name of <removed> 'grabbed' the coin and placed it in a cache somewhere near Antarctica with the lovely little note "This is why you should never post tracking numbers online..." I was hoping for better manners and a bit of a honor system, but it didn't take long for this idea to be abused. Anyhow, that problem has been fixed and Groundspeak unlocked my coin so I can display it once it returns from the Cape. Unfortunately, visiting me is the only way the geocache community will be able to log the coin that made it 210 miles up. So after this summer, once I get the coin mounted in a display case, cachers are welcome to come by and log it. Just drop me some e-mail next time you're in the Matanuska Valley in Alaska. Thanks for your time. Nate Grumby

Hello! I've been out of the loop, but here are some answers to some of the questions... 1) Thanks, this is indeed 'Cool.' 2) No, they won't drop it from orbit. NASA is touchy about stuff flying around at 17000 mph at that altitude. 3) I will post pictures of the coin, the astronaut, the launch, and anything else I can get. 4) Can't make the ISS into a cache...it will fill up with Happy Meal Toys. 5) I will get the coin back, from Dr. Love (yes, that is his name) when he visits after his mission. He gets to go on PR trips, and he hopes to get up here... 6) This didn't cost anything, just knowing him since junior high school and being his best man at his wedding. Sort of like a lottery... 7) The GPS sattelites are in a much higher orbit...and I have no idea what a GPS would do if you were' above' them. I'll ask...the NASA types might be using them for some weird navigation calcs. 8) I've asked Groundspeak to see if this coin could be logged through some sort of cache or event or something...will let you know what they say. 9) The coin that is flying is a CRAKE astrolabe geocoin. I'll see if there is a photo of one on-line and post it. 10) Most personal items that an astronaut takes up have to fit in a box 5" by 8" by 2" thick, and the total items in the box have to weigh less than about 1.5 pounds. That sort of nixes the idea of smuggling myself on board. Our family is also sending a rookie card of Scottie Gomez (NHL wingman) and a small icon of St. Herman of Alaska. I'll keep you all posted on how to log the coin, Groundspeaks response, and all photos I manage to get. Nate Grumby

Hello! Due to a happy circumstance, our family has a geocoin going up on the space shuttle STS-122. I think it will travel about 5 million miles. Yay. Pity I can't virtually log every cache it flies over, but I suppose that would be cheating.

What I want to know is, is this a "who you know" thing? How did you arrange this? I once worked on an event with Don Pettit while he was aboard the ISS. I tried to signal him with a large mirror. I was in Waterloo, IA and he was in orbit. For me it was one of those who you know things. -it It helped that I was his best man at his wedding, as he was my best man at mine. Years and years ago, when he started his education, we were RPG gamers (incredible nerds we were, etc.) and I thought I'd have him take up some dice. I didn't start geocaching until last summer. I like this idea better. Sorry to nix some ideas, but he can't leave anything on the space station, and I doubt he can toss anything out the lock. NASA is still a bit irritated at the Chinese for leaving a mess behind after they blew their satellite, and adding to the orbital mess is frowned upon. They didn't even like the idea of the golf ball stunt someone paid the Russians to do... I like the idea of plotting the path relative to earth and making it an 'event' cache of some sort. Perhaps I should e-mail the coin ID to anyone who logs a picture of them witnessing the shuttle or space station? Are a few hundred pictures of people pointing at the sky just a little odd?

Hello! If all goes well, I might be able to get a geocoin up on a Space Shuttle flight this coming November/December. It would be rather neat if this could somehow be turned into an event of some sort. NASA does provide lat/longs for the shuttle flight and the space station, and the launch of the shuttle is quite visable on the eastern seaboard. Even the re-entry can be seen. Any ideas? Some of our local members have floated a few ideas....no, he won't take up mini-jeeps for the racing contest, no, he won't take a picture from space of people assembled at event parties, and no, he won't take up visitors to 'log' the coin. I think he's rather focused on not dropping anything when doing his EVAs. The last guy who dropped a spatula in orbit returned to his office in Houston to an office filled with over 1000 spatulas hanging from the ceiling. Anyhow, I don't know if a geocoin or a geoanything has ever made orbit, and since the space shuttle flights are coming to an end here in a few years, I would like to share this opportunity somehow. Nate Grumby

I realize I am a bit late at this, but we are doing a trip around most of the western states, and if you wanted to get some more bugs dropped off in any state south and west on Montana, let us know. Poppa J for Team Jac'd Hello! Well, this batch has gotten out, but I am starting a mini-database of others who offered so I can spread the weath next time. I will add your name to the list, and contact you when we make some more. BTW, kids are having fun watching these things 'pop' up all around the world. Google Earth is a wonderful thing...

A great one that happens to have an address 30 feet from the cache would be "The W.U.G. Bug Hotel". The Hotel is actually locked, so there is slim to no chance for them to go missing right away. You can contact the owner, and they could place them easily. Either that, or I live quite close to it, and could help. Cheers That's the same cache I was thinking of, for the same reasons. I haven't heard from Nate yet... Hello again! It appears that the e-mail didn't make it through. Seems to happen from time to time. If either of you guys send me your mailing address, I'll send you the bugs. If both of you send me your address, I'll split the pile in half and send both of you bugs. Thanks for the help!

I thought that you're supposed to use the TB numbers to referance them, but not post the code on the TB tag...am I incorrect? I'm not exactly an expert in this.... Nate Grumby

Hello! For a geocaching project for several homeschoolers, I need help with getting a batch of 10 new, activated TB's into the Oregon area, preferably into a active, often visited TB hotel that hasn't been raided or muggled. One of these TBs is a new 2006 Alaska Geocoin, so if you're really into having a little Alaskan flag on your profile page, we're your guys. All I need is a mailing address and the cache they'll be heading to so I can show it to the kids on Google Earth. They've worked pretty hard on creating these TB's, and some look really interesting. Included will be the following: TB14PW8 Champion Bear Wrestler 2 TB11FPB Thunderbird TB15D26 Shuttle SSTB-1 TB1647K Alaska is a State! TB1539R The Empire's Revenge TB15AKM Snake Eyes TB152QD The Flying Fish TB156RY Lord Vader TB14YZ5 Pikachu TB155A9 The Air Bender Pictures are online, though I'm still working on getting them to flesh out their missions. So, any takers? Nate Grumby

Hello! For a geocaching project for several homeschoolers, I need help with getting a batch of 10 new activated TB's into the Oregon area, preferably into a active, often visited TB hotel that hasn't been raided or muggled. One of these TBs is a new 2006 Alaska Geocoin, so if you're really into having a little Alaskan flag on your profile page, we're your guys. All I need is a mailing address and the cache they'll be heading to so I can show it to the kids on Google Earth. They've worked pretty hard on creating these TB's, and some look really interesting. Included will be the following: TB14PW8 Champion Bear Wrestler 2 TB11FPB Thunderbird TB15D26 Shuttle SSTB-1 TB1647K Alaska is a State! TB1539R The Empire's Revenge TB15AKM Snake Eyes TB152QD The Flying Fish TB156RY Lord Vader TB14YZ5 Pikachu TB155A9 The Air Bender Pictures are online, though I'm still working on getting them to flesh out their missions. So, any takers? Nate Grumby

!!REWARD!! Godzilla, much to his chagrin, is stuck. He's supposed to be traveling to Japan to stomp some geocaches in Tokyo, but has gotten sidetracked into a Level 5 difficulty geocache called Bionicle: Makuta (GCRHV1.) This cache has had only 2 visitors in a 6 month period! Help the old guy, he's 50, his knees aren't what they used to be. !!REWARD FOR ANYONE WHO MOVES HIM ON!! I will either place a TB of yours in any cache within 50 miles of Godzilla's Toybox (GCXB5B) or retrieve any TB from any accessible cache within the same area and mail it to you. Granted, some caches are already snowed in, but I'll give it my best shot, and I know which caches are still below the snowline. !!REWARD FOR ANYONE WHO MOVES HIM TO JAPAN!! If you both rescue Godzilla and get him to Japan, I'll send you a unactivated Astrolabe Geocoin for your troubles. Thanks in advance, and good hunting! Nate Grumby

Here is my current favorite TB. He's supposed to be stomping caches in Japan, but he's stuck in a Level 5 geocache in California. Maybe I'll ask for some help...

Hello! My adopted daughter is wondering if there is a Russian geocoin out there, and if there are any, if anyone would like to trade for it. We adopted her from Khaborovsk when she was 6. At first, she did not have kind thoughts for Russia in general, and her caretakers in specific. However, 6 years later, she's starting to express some grudging pride in her heritage. We geocache as a family, and she's seeing many of the state geocoins, and other coins commemorating other countries. Anything Russian? Thanks! Nate Grumby Alaska

Hello! My adopted daughter is wondering if there is a Russian geocoin out there, and if there are any, if anyone would like to trade for it. We adopted her from Khaborovsk when she was 6. At first, she did not have kind thoughts for Russia in general, and her caretakers in specific. However, 6 years later, she's starting to express some pride in her heritage. We geocache as a family, and she's seeing many of the state geocoins, and other coins commemorating other countries. Anything Russian? Thanks! Nate Grumby Alaska

Thanks you all, I'll see if I can't find enough Alaska geocoins for each. If not, I'll scrounge some local geocoins out of their hibernation and send them along as well. I'll be in touch via e-mail with each of you as soon as I can. We once hosted a family from England who visited our northern land. I remember the father just sort of gazing out at the mountains and muttering. Eventually, he started scowling. I asked him what was wrong. He said "I can't see the air. It isn't natural...." The irony of his statement has stuck with me to this day... Thanks again! Nate Grumby

Hello! I'd like to start one of my Alaskan geocoins in Europe or at least somewhere off North America. I am looking for a geocacher to whom I can send it. I am hoping they would then place it in a cache in their native land. I realize that this arrangement is sort of giving the coin a bit of a 'boost' but Travel Bugs and Geocoins tend to get 'trapped' up here in Alaska, especially during the winter months.... Thanks! Nate Grumby Butte, Alaska