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  Apollo 13 heat shield fragment in dome

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Author Topic:   Apollo 13 heat shield fragment in dome
Ianhetho
Member

Posts: 219
From: Bogangar NSW Australia
Registered: May 2018

posted 08-03-2021 03:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ianhetho   Click Here to Email Ianhetho     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have recently acquired an Apollo 13 heat shield fragment in a display dome.

I purchased it from a fellow collector who was unable to give any information on the item as it was purchased decades ago. It's part of an impressive collection and I believe it to be legit, however I have been unable to find any information on this item online except a photo of a similar display with an Apollo 11 plaque.

The fragment seems to be lightweight and brittle.

The mount for the fragment has a lucite base. The dome is glass and the base is wood. The display itself is quite small and I have added a US banknote in one of the photos for scale.

Please if anybody has any information on my item please feel free to share.

Joel Katzowitz
Member

Posts: 840
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 08-18-2021 04:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a similar looking piece of Apollo 13 heat shield that I got from Ken Havekotte. However, it didn't come in a display like yours. It was given to me in a small (maybe 1" cube) plastic box with an Apollo 13 sticker on it.

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4386
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-18-2021 05:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I acquired an identical piece about 35 years ago. From memory I bought it from Paul Hartunian some time in the mid to late 80s. I sold it circa 1999. Unless somebody can come up with something to the contrary I think this is one and the same piece. Even the white residue showing through the square lucite block looks familiar.

TRS
Member

Posts: 730
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 08-18-2021 08:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRS   Click Here to Email TRS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think you sold it to me.

My records form the time are sketchy but I know it came from a UK cS member.

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3295
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 08-18-2021 09:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It will have to be personally examined if I was handing it. It looks similar to segments of an Apollo Command Module aft heat shield, so a better examination is needed, just to make sure it isn't a piece of coal/charcoal or something else.

Ianhetho
Member

Posts: 219
From: Bogangar NSW Australia
Registered: May 2018

posted 08-18-2021 11:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ianhetho   Click Here to Email Ianhetho     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow thanks guys. Looks like I've got a good line of ownership at least.

Ken would you need to examine the piece in person to verify the material? Or would some close up shots suffice?

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4386
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-19-2021 02:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I could have sworn I bought it from Paul Hartunian but then again I did have dealings with Ken at the time also. It was nearly 40 years ago...

prpro
Member

Posts: 93
From: Hope, NJ USA
Registered: Mar 2013

posted 08-19-2021 07:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for prpro   Click Here to Email prpro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This appears to be one of a small number of displays I made almost 40 years ago. I purchased the heat shield material from Ken then I sold the remaining material back to Ken in recent years.

Ianhetho
Member

Posts: 219
From: Bogangar NSW Australia
Registered: May 2018

posted 09-09-2021 02:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ianhetho   Click Here to Email Ianhetho     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Update: I tested the piece by placing it by a low voltage proximity censor with a short range of about 10-15mm used for moving machinery. The prox did not read the heat shield fragment. Should the heat shield fragment be metallic?

Are my findings a bad sign?

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 3295
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 09-09-2021 03:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If this exact heat shield fragment can be traced back to my firm, since I never did offer a heat shield dome display for any of those that I had, it had been acquired a few decades ago from Apollo CM-109 early in my career.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 46980
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 09-09-2021 04:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ianhetho:
Should the heat shield fragment be metallic?
Apollo heat shield was AVCOAT, an epoxy resin, held in a fiberglas honeycomb. The AVCOAT was an ablator, designed to burn off as the capsule was exposed to increasing heat.

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