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[i]In order to understand the effects of reentry on the materials used for the shell of the Mercury capsule, NASA transferred this panel to Dr. John F. Radavich of Purdue University... In August 1962, he published a paper entitled "Microstructural Changes Produced in Orbited Rene' 41 Heat Shingles," in which he noted that the panel surfaces displayed no obvious meteorite impacts; that the outer oxide layer undergoes an enrichment of chromium oxide relative to preflight material; and that the amount of M6C carbide phase in flown material decreases relative to the TiC phase, among other observations. On October 3, 1962, the Lafayette Journal and Courier reported on Dr. Radavich’s studies: "A heat shingle from the space capsule which took astronaut Scott Carpenter on his orbital flight last May is being sent by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to Purdue University for intensive study by Dr. John F. Radavich, associate professor of aeronautical and engineering sciences." On December 9, 1962, the Terre Haute Tribune featured an image of Dr. Radavich posing with this shingle, captioned: "Sigma 7 Shingle Studied by Scientist — One of two high-temperature alloy shingles from U.S. astronaut Walter Schirra's Sigma 7 space capsule being studied to determine structural changes during orbit and re-entry is displayed by by Dr. John F. Radavich, Purdue University materials researcher, in LaFayette, Ind."[/i]
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