OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Reuters) - Artifacts from a historic joint U.S.-Soviet space mission have been stolen from an Oklahoma City air and space museum. The Omniplex museum values the items from the Cold War rivals' 1975 "Handshake in Space'' mission at $93,000, but spokeswoman Nancy Coggins said on Thursday they were worthless without their certificates of authenticity which the thieves left behind after the weekend robbery. "They were insured, but you really can't put a price on history,'' Coggins said. "Without the certificates, they can't easily be sold on the collector's market. They are essentially worthless to anyone but us.'' The FBI has placed the missing items on a national register of stolen artifacts so that auction houses will be able to notify authorities if any of the items show up, Coggins said. Local police are reviewing museum security videos in the hope of identifying possible suspects, she said. The July 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union. A three-man U.S. Apollo crew and a two-man Soviet Soyuz crew shook hands after linking up their spacecraft by means of a U.S.-built docking module. The spacecraft remained linked for two days while they conducted joint experiments. Some of the items missing from the Oklahoma museum went into space with the astronauts and cosmonauts but others were commemorative articles that did not make the trip. They include spacecraft parts, a Soviet-made electric razor, plaques and medallions. Some of the items were donated to the museum by Gen. Tom Stafford, an Oklahoma native who commanded the Apollo craft.
http://www.space.com/spacehistory/museum_theft_000114_wg.html