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Author
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Topic: Why is Apollo 11 Kapton so common?
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hbw60
Member Posts: 133
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 02-21-2021 12:23 AM
   
Over the years, I've noticed that it's incredibly easy to find Kapton foil fragments from Apollo 11, it's slightly less easy to find fragments from Apollo 13, and it's very rare to find fragments from any other mission. This is true on eBay, along with most space auctions. Every auction seems to have four to five Apollo 11 displays, maybe one to two for Apollo 13, and then generally nothing for the others.Is there a reason for this? My big fear is that the artifacts have been misrepresented, either by accident or by greed. And after decades of the artifacts changing hands, eventually almost all of them have become attributed to Apollo 11. But I hope I'm wrong about that. I hope there's a more honest reason for it. Does anyone have any information on this? |
Pete Sarmiento
Member Posts: 50
From: Fort Washington, MD, USA
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 02-21-2021 07:33 AM
This material is available in the market. anybody could fake it that it come from the Apollo 11 spacecraft or any other mission using this material. Beware! |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4779
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-21-2021 08:32 AM
Purchase a roll, crumple, shred into tiny fragments, sandwich between a couple of lucite plates with appropriate descriptor, presto! |
rgarner
Member Posts: 1286
From: Shepperton, United Kingdom
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 02-21-2021 08:34 AM
Like many things in this market, the source is everything. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 45648
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-21-2021 09:04 AM
There have certainly been cases of misidentification, some purposeful. Like any space-flown artifact, provenance is important when considering Kapton fragments.But to the larger question, the disparity between Apollo 11 Kapton on the market versus samples from other missions, I think it has do with several factors. Like many types of mementos, we have seen there was a greater tendency for people to retain Apollo 11 items over other missions. Likewise, the market for Apollo 11 mementos is stronger than any other mission, so there has been a financial driver to bring Apollo 11 samples to sale. Then there is NASA, which made an effort — albeit not entirely successful — to curtail Kapton collecting after the Apollo 11 mission. Before and up to the July 1969 mission, the space agency did little to nothing to stop recovery team members and those at North American from taking mementos. There are other reasons, but I believe the above three play a considerable part. |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2661
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 02-21-2021 09:26 AM
Doing some VERY rough calculations and assuming 1/3 of the surface Kapton was out there somewhere. You could get about 200,000 1/8 square inch pieces. And I say again, VERY rough calculations based on approximate surface area of the CM. |
hbw60
Member Posts: 133
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 02-21-2021 04:31 PM
Thanks so much for your replies, everyone! That's all very good information to have. Luckily, my two Kapton pieces came from reliable sources. And Robert, thanks for explaining why relics from other missions are so rare. | |
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