Item: Apollo 11 flown Kapton polymide foil
Size: 0.9 x 1.4 / 1.3 x 0.9 / 1 x 0.3 cm.
Manufacturer: Rockwell International / Presentation: The Right Stuff Inc.

Description: The affixed piece of Kapton is an authentic piece of the Apollo 11 Command Module #107 and protected Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on teir 953,000-mile, 8-day journey to the Moon and back. It was removed from Columbia after splashdown.

The silver side of the foil is outward facing and exposed to deep space to protect the spacecraft. The backing is gold colored and affixed with an adhesive to the Command Module.

The photo that illustrates the Certificate of Authenticity shows the Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" being hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The Kapton Foil is clearly visible on the upper portion of the spacecraft. On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin exited the Lunar Module, Eagle, and were the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface. Michael Collins remained in Lunar orbit in the CM, Columbia.

Photo S69-21294. The Apollo 11 spacecraft Command Module being lowered to the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet.  Credit: NASA / Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal.

Certified by Sandy Clarkson, from The Right Stuff Inc.

Item: Apollo 16 Kapton tape from the Lunar Module Orion.
Size: 21 x 29.2 cm (presentation). 1.5 x 1.9 cm & 1.5 x 2.3 cm. (fragments).

Description: attached to this certificate are two pieces of light weight pressure sensitive Kaptopn polymide thermal insulation trimmed from the Apollo 16 Lunar Module "Orion" during construction by a Grumman worker. They were part of the thermal protection system of "Orion" and intended to protect it from the extreme heat and cold of outer space. Apollo 16 was the tenth manned Apollo mission and the fifth to land on the Moon. It was crewed by John Young, Charlie Duke and Ken Mattingly. Launched on April 16 1972, the mission lasted 11 days, 1 hour and 51 minutes and concluded on April 27, 1972.

Size: 4.8 x 5.8 cm.

Manufacturer: Grumman.

Program: Apollo.

Status: Unflown.

Description: In the final stage of Grumman manufacturing/flight preparation, some sections of this Gold Mylar Shield/blanket were trimmed off. This piece was likely installed as part of a larger blanket to a LM that flew to the Lunar surface. This item comes from well known collector Jerome Prater in Florida.

After the LM is removed from the spacecraft Lunar Module adapter (SLA), it is exposed to micrometeoroids and solar radiation. To protect the LM astronauts and equipment from temperature extremes, active and passive thermal control is used. Active thermal control is provided by the ECS. Passive thermal control isolates the vehicle interior structure and equipment from its external environment to sustain acceptable temperature limits throughout the lunar mission. The entire ascent stage structure is enclosed within a thermal blanket and a micrometeoroid shield. Glass fiber standoffs, of low thermal conductivity, hold the blanket away from the structural skin. Aluminum frames around the propellant tanks prevent contact between tanks and blanket. The thermal blanket consists of multiple-layered (at least 25 layers) of aluminized sheet (mylar or H-film). Each layer is only 0.00015 inch thick and is coated on one side with a microinch thickness of aluminum. To make an even more effective insulation, the polymide sheets are hand crinkled before blanket fabrication.

This crinkling provides a path for venting, and minimizes contact conductance between the layers. Structures with a high thermal conductivity, such as antenna supports and landing gear members, that pass through the thermal blanket also have thermal protection. Individual blanket layers are overlapped and sealed with a continuous strip of H-film tape. To join the multilayered sections, the blanket edges are secured with grommet type fasteners, then the seam is folded and sealed with a continuous strip of tape. Mylar sheets are used predominantly in those areas where temperatures do not exceed 300° F. In areas where higher temperatures are sustained, additional layers of H-film are added to the mylar sheets.

H-film can withstand temperatures up to 1000° F, but, because it is a heavier material, it is used only where absolutely necessary. Certain areas of the ascent stage are subjected to temperatures as high as 1800° F due to CSM and LM RCS plume impingement. These areas are thermally controlled by a sandwich material of thin nickel foil (0.0005 inch) interleaved with lnconel wire mesh and lnconel sheet. Finally, the highly reflective surfaces of the shades provided for the front and docking windows reduce heat absorption.

More information:

• Apollo News Reference - Lunar Module - Quick Reference Data

Item: Kapton cable.

Size: 12.2 cm.

Manufacturer: Grumman.

Description: Not otherwise specified.

Item: Apollo-Soyuz - Flown kapton foil on cover
Size: 9.5x16.5 cm.

Description: ASTP double postmarked cover for launch Moscow and Cape Canaveral with attached flown Kapton foil from the US Command Module. It includes copy from certificate signed by Kenneth L. Havekotte.

Item: Apollo 11 Command Module Flown Kapton Foil.

Size: 2 mm.

Display: 5 cm x 5mm.

Status: Flown.

Description: Kapton is a polyimide film produced by DuPont in the late 1960s that is stable over a wide temperature range, from −269 to +400 °C (−452 to 752 °F; 4 to 673 K). The chemical name of Kapton K and HN is poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylene-pyromelliimide). It is produced from the condensation of pyromellitic dianhydride and 4,4′-oxydiphenylamine.

The Command Module used Kapton Foil as part of a thermal protection system for a re-entry speed of 24,677 miles per hour or 36,194 feet per second. That translated into heat during re-entry of more than 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kapton Foil, colored silver on the front with a gold backing, was added to the exterior of the command module to protect the spacecraft from the extreme environment of deep space. Most of the Kapton Foil burned away during re-entry, but what was left was often peeled off and kept by members of NASA's recovery teams as a memento of the Apollo missions they worked on.

Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia after its recovery from the Ocean.

Credit: NASA.

More information: Apollo11Space - Apollo 11 Kapton Foil