Mercury Sigma 7 Flown Heatshield Artifact - NASA

Description

This artifact presentation contains a genuine piece of Mercury Sigma 7 space flown heatshield and is attached to a mission photograph of the Mercury-Atlas 8 launch.
Built of honeycombed aluminum with many layers of glass-fiber material, the heatshield would boil away as the Mercury capsule descended through the atmosphere as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. As the silica material (fiberglass) melted, it deposited a white residue on its surface, resembling icing.
Product Information:
Segment of genuine Sigma 7 capsule heatshield
Attached to an 8" x 8" Sigma 7 mission photograph of the rocket lifting off from the launchpad
Printed on original glossy Fuji Crystal Archive Supreme® paper (226µ, 238 gr/m²)
Includes
certificate of authenticity
with holographic logo and company stamp
Comes sealed in a clear protective 8" x 10" toploader
Authentication Information:
The space flown material came from the collection of NASA Production Control Engineer W.R. Whipkey. The heatshield was gifted to Whipkey in 1962 after being removed from the capsule post-flight.
Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity:
All of our artifacts are thoroughly and extensively researched before being listed for sale, so much so that we're proud to offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity for this and other artifacts listed throughout our website. We also hold a record of every piece we sell which can be identified and searched in our online database using the serial number listed on your certificate of authenticity.