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 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 high quality 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 high quality Aurora 7 Flown Heatshield Artifact