This artifact presentation contains a genuine piece of Mercury Aurora 7 space-flown heatshield. The photograph shows Astronaut Scott Carpenter climbing into his Aurora 7 spacecraft, before the launch of the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) Mission on May 24th, 1962.
Built of honeycombed aluminum with many layers of glass-fiber material, the heatshield would boil away as the Mercury capsule descended through the atmosphere. As the silica material (fiberglass) melted, it deposited a white residue on its surface, resembling icing.
Product Information:
Segment of genuine Aurora 7 capsule heatshield
Attached to an 10" x 8" Aurora 7 mission photograph of Scott Carpenter climbing into selling the capsule
Printed on original glossy Fuji Crystal Archive Supreme® paper (226µ, 238 gr/m²)
Includes certificate of authenticity with holographic logo and company stamp
Comes sealed in a clear protective 8" x 10" toploader
Authentication Information:
The space flown material came from the collection of NASA Production Control Engineer W.R. Whipkey. The heatshield was gifted to Whipkey in 1962 after being removed from the capsule post-flight.
Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity:
All of our artifacts are thoroughly and extensively researched before being listed for sale, so much so that we're proud to offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity for this and other artifacts listed throughout our website. We also hold a record of every piece we sell which can be identified and searched in our online database using the serial number listed on your certificate of authenticity.
Product code: Mercury selling Aurora 7 Flown Heatshield Artifact