posted 04-22-2009 08:56 PM               

The part that am wondering about is the statement "Recovered from First Lunar Module Flight". This seems to indicated that that the metal slug in the lucite was recoved after the flight was complete, or at least that is the impression of my wife and I when reading it. It is the use of the word "Recovered".

On the other hand, anything I have read on the LM-1 flight states that LM-1 burned up in the atmosphere several hundred kilometers southwest of Guam on February 12, so it seems unlikely that anything was "Recovered" from the flight, or at least I have not read anything about this. Then again it also seems unlikely that this was removed prior to flight, since one of the major tests of LM-1 in orbit was the firing of the Descent Engine.

So I am curious about what this really is, and when it was obtained (Assuming it is not just a simple fake).

Any information or informed opinions from the experts here on collectSPACE would be appreciated. Thanks!

posted 04-22-2009 10:26 PM               

In February 1968 a metal fragment (1 x 3 m, mass 57.5 kg) and in June 1970 a metal sphere (diameter 0.9 m) were found in Colombia. Identified as parts of lunar module descent stage used in Apollo V test mission, launched 22 January 1968.

The Cradle of Aviation Museum has part of this tank in their collection (I've got some pictures of it on my website). Another part of the tank is in NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain facility.