Space Shuttle Columbia Flown Metal - OV102, 1981+, NASA

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Space Shuttle OV-102 (Columbia) Flown Artifact - First Flight STS-1 thru STS-5 (1981-82) Includes Five Pages of NASA Documents Supporting History plus Photos. (These documents required a year of research to locate). Other shuttle items you see on eBay may only have a single tag and no documents. T will only ever be about one hundred of these fragments available from this part. So it is very limited. NASA employees do not even have one of these, unless they got it from me. It took a year to track down all the documents on the original Heat Shield Closeout Ring that these fragments were taken from. Document copies will be included with each fragment. Supersize the photos below to see the documents. The original large shuttle Closeout Ring section, that this fragment was taken from, is available for inspection. Contact me if you would like an appointment. I originally believed the parts were shuttle engine parts but Marshal Space Flight Center first identified them as orbiter parts: "The Shuttle Projects office performed a thorough search for documents relating to these parts. They identified the parts as Orbiter parts..." -- NASA, Marshal Space Flight Center, FOIA Office (08 July 03, see letter photo below) (copy included with fragment). (January 2004) After studying 26 year old microfilm, Kennedy Space Center has provided documentary proof (an OV-102 "As Built" form) that shows the original part was installed on Columbia in May 1978 before its first flight in 1981. (see two sided form below) (copy included with fragment) By contrast, the Enterprise shuttle glider had already been completed in 1975 then rolled out in 1976, and Challenger would only begin construction as an orbiter in 1979 then be rolled out in 1982. (nasa.gov) Based on documents from Johnson Space Center, the absolute limit of use of the original part was 07 Feb 1994 when new parts were authorized to replace them in OV-102 on an attrition basis. (see form below) (copy included with fragment) Columbia was also the first shuttle to undergo a scheduled retrofit in August 1991. That limits the service life of the part to 11 flights up to STS-40. Apparently the original part flew on at least the first five flights of the OV-102 (Columbia) orbiter. It was attached to the orbiters aft bulkhead in conjunction with the engine heat shield of SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) Number 2, Serial Number 2006, which was removed after STS-5. The part was tfore exposed to space for 398 Earth orbits and 588 hours total time. (nasa.gov) The original ring segments also show repair work, with reuse and flight wear afterwards. Tfore the part itself is additional documentation. (see photo below) (copy of photo included with fragment) Flight Data STS-1 (April 1981) - Young, Crippen STS-2 (November 1981) - Engle, Truly STS-3 (March 1982) - Lousma, Fullerton STS-4 (June 82) - Mattingly, Hartsfield STS-5 (November 82) - Brand, Overmyer, Allen, Lenoir Fragment size is approximately .5 x .5 x .04 inches (1.27cm x 1.27cm x 1mm). It is displayed in a 2.1 x 2.9 inch clear plastic slab, and is easily accessible if desired. "Eng # 2 R/H Top" was handwritten on the part when it was removed from the orbiter (see photo below), apparently to aid in reinstallation. The fragment is composed of Inconel, a nickel/chrome superalloy. It is very hard and retains 95% ambient temperature yield strength at 1800 degrees. Producing these fragments required special cutting technology. Part No: V070-351928-003; Serial No: 2676159; Manufacture Date: 27 April 1978. Installed on Columbia OV-102: 09 May 1978. "V070" indicates a part that was mounted on the orbiter itself. The original full ring is in four segments and has a diameter of about 90 inches. It sealed and protected the seam between an engine mount and the engine heat shield dome on the orbiter aft bulkhead. This fragment contains thousands of times more metal than the microscopic amount melted into a coin or medallion. You can actually see and touch th... read more

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