Author
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Topic: Apollo CM: Kapton foil removal after recovery
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ozspace Member Posts: 231 From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Registered: May 2009
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posted 07-23-2013 12:57 AM
Looking at the post splashdown pictures on Columbia this week and I see the vehicle is mostly still covered in the Kapton foil, although looking worse for wear and tear of the mission. It may have been covered elsewhere here, although I can't see specific information. Can someone describe the reasoning behind its removal and processes that were undertaken to remove and save/dispose of the material? |
moorouge Member Posts: 2454 From: U.K. Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 07-23-2013 01:03 AM
A cynic might say so that little pieces of it could be sealed in plastic and sold for inflated prices to collectors. |
spaced out Member Posts: 3110 From: Paris, France Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 07-23-2013 01:09 AM
I may be wrong but I believe that large quantities were pulled off the spacecraft after recovery by just about anyone who could get close enough to the capsule to grab themselves a souvenir. |
space1 Member Posts: 853 From: Danville, Ohio Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 07-23-2013 06:51 AM
Removal of the thermal control film after the flight was a required procedure. There may have been some souvenir hunters pitching in, but overall it was part of the post flight processing.We have heard this film called Kapton, Mylar, foil, etc. It was actually a specially made material called GT-131 Thermal Control Coating Laminate. It was made by G. T. Schjeldahl Co. of Northfield, Minnesota. (Reference North American Aviation procedure MA0608-013, "Application of Command Module Thermal Control Coating.") |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-23-2013 07:16 AM
I've posted this before, but clearly the removal of the kapton by recovery team members as souvenirs was not planned for or authorized, as evident by an October 1969 memo written by Jim McDivitt in his capacity as the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager: There have been several occasions in which unauthorized removal of equipment or parts of spacecraft has been experienced. These removals have included stripping of small pieces of the kapton thermal coating and removal of the command module nameplates. These removals have occurred during the recovery and return to North American and during postflight testing.I would like to point out to all personnel concerned that this unauthorized removal of equipment, no matter how small it may seem, constitutes a violation of our responsibility. Also John, I have to wonder if it was part of the post-flight processing, why are there command modules in museums now with the Kapton laminate still partially attached? |
SpaceAholic Member Posts: 4437 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-23-2013 07:53 AM
It would have been required for access, disassembly to include dump and ablator plugs associated with panel removal, not necessarily the entire flight vehicle. Later post recovery procedures for the CM were very explicit however about protecting the heat shield (to include the ablator char surfaces) from further damage. |
kosmo Member Posts: 388 From: Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 07-23-2013 08:38 AM
Of all the Apollo CMs recovered, does anyone know which one, as far as kapton foil souvenirs is concerned, would be the hardest to acquire? |
space1 Member Posts: 853 From: Danville, Ohio Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 07-23-2013 11:41 AM
I have seen some ASHURs that specifically call for removal of all of the film. I am presuming this would be true for all of the spacecraft, but maybe not.By the way, keep in mind this isn't the registered "Kapton" brand of film. It's similar of course but technically not the same. Perhaps we should refer to it as thermal film. |
stsmithva Member Posts: 1933 From: Fairfax, VA, USA Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 07-24-2013 12:35 AM
A recent eBay sale certainly seems like a worst-case scenario of what's being discussed here: I toured the NASA exhibit of the Apollo 11 space capsule in 1974, and picked this piece of mylar off the capsule when I got up to it. I've kept it all these years, glued to a piece of poster board in a small plastic box. Assuming that this story is true, he's clearly stating that it was stolen. But is it true? Was Columbia one of the capsules from which Kapton foil wasn't removed right away? |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-24-2013 03:40 AM
Columbia was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1970 following a NASA-sponsored tour of American cities. It was on display in the Arts & Industries Building until 1975, when it was moved to the new National Air and Space Museum for its opening the following year.The photos of Columbia being moved suggest it was completely devoid of thermal film in 1975: 1 | 2 While it appears the command module didn't receive its plexi covering until after it arrived in its current home, the seller's account is either mistaken or poorly worded about where he saw Columbia in 1974. |