Space Age
(1957 to nowadays)
What happened?
With the ending of WWII, the Allies and the Soviet Bloc found themselves locked in a state of enmity. As they poured over the remains of the Nazi war machine, they discovered incredible advances in rocketry and aerospace engineering. They began to scrambling to procure all they could.
For the following decades, this state would continue as both sides struggled to make advancements in the field of space exploration ahead of the other. This was known as the "Space Age", an era that was born of the event of nuclear power, advances in rocketry and the desire to be the first to put men into space and on the Moon. It would be defined by rapid advances in technology and a number of historic firsts being accomplished before winding down and giving way to an era of cooperation.
But before that cooperation, the period includes activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology and the influence on industrial design from the 1960s and later, especially during the Cold War. Officially considered it all begun in 1957 with the Sputnik, and still continues today (2021).
Space travel claims many sections of our society. It influenced movies, music and fashion. Especially in America, architecture was influenced not least, buildings resembling a flying saucer. Cultural events were also influenced.
The launch of the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of the Soviet Union, and orbiting Earth. This launch ushered political, scientific and technological achievements. It culminated with the Apollo Program, which captured the imagination of many humans. The landing of the Apollo 11 on the Moon was watched by 500 million people around the world. It was one of the defining moments of the 20th century. Since then, the public opinion is strongly influenced by the dangers of space and costs of space exploration, certainly after the Challenger disaster in 1986. The funding for space related programs were sharply increased in the 1990’s. This happened after the Soviet Union fell apart.
Space programs expanded to other countries and more commercial interests have come into play. Since the 1990’s the Space Age has more been referred to as the Information Age. Computer use had left an increasing mark on society. Several countries are engaged in space travel, ranging from related technology activities to full fledged space programs with launchers. Thousands of scientific and commercial satellites are orbiting around the Earth in 2021. The International Space Station is permanently manned.
Command Module Foil 1 mm. Found: Kennedy Space Center, Merrit Island, Florida, US (JN0309)
Command Module Metal Shavings. Found: Kennedy Space Center, Merrit Island, Florida, US (JN0753)
Apollo 11
± 1969
The magnifier, of this containment box, is attached to the cube with special tape. Kapton foil is very light and can easily escape. This Kapton foil flew during the mission and provided thermal protection to the astronauts on board of Apollo 11 command module.
This fragment comes from the personal collection of retired NASA Production Control Engineer William R. Whipkey. He was responsible for making most of the commemorative displays for astronauts, VIPs and others working on the Apollo program.
At the return of Apollo 11, parts of the Kapton foil were removed and applied to acrylic squares for presentation purposes. Several squares were donated to Whipkey in 1969 and remained in his possession until 2017.
The Apollo program was conceived during the reign of President Eisenhower and later dedicated for the purpose of President J.F. Kennedy’s goal: ‘Land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth within a decade. Kennedy presented this bold agenda during his 1961 speech before the United States Congress.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin completed the mission as the first two men on the Moon. This was the 11th flight of the Apollo program and its success was broadcast live.
Astronaut Michael Collins orbited the moon while his colleagues Armstrong and Aldrin explored the surface of the Moon. The space craft returned the three astronauts safely to Earth and crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1969.
The technological and scientific breakthroughs related to the Apollo programs were huge and lengthy, but it is human achievement that has captured the imaginations for so long. “This is a small step for a human, a giant leap for humanity,” said Armstrong on his first step on the Moon.
Command Module Foil. Found: Cape Canaveral, Merrit Island, Florida, US (JN0741)
Apollo 13
± 1970
This Kapton Mylar foil comes from the Apollo 13 Command Module, "Odyssey". Kapton foil provided thermal protection for the command module and was easily removed from the spacecraft upon return to Earth.
Often used for presentation purposes, the foil was given to William “Bill” Whipkey, a NASA employee, in 1970. Bill prepared countless presentations/displays and these Kapton pieces remained unused. It was in his possession until his death in 2015.
Apollo 13 would be the third mission to land humans on the moon and return them safely to Earth. The spacecraft was launched on April 11, 1970. After nearly 56 hours of flying, the No. 2 oxygen tank exploded due to a malfunction in the service module's electrical system. Oxygen tank No. 1 was also damaged. As the pressure dropped, the discovery mission became a struggle for survival 330,000 km from Earth. In addition to breathing oxygen, the tanks also supplied the fuel cells with power. This meant that the Command Module Odyssey could only run on battery power. With only 15 minutes of power left to return, astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were forced to use the Lunar Module Aquarius as a lifeboat for the long journey home.
The Aquarius was designed for 2 people with a lifespan of 45 hours. To return with three people, they had to triple that limit. They collaborated with the Mission Operations team to make changes to a craft that was never designed for open spaceflight and come up with solutions to numerous interrelated problems. They used the sun as a sextant to align the guidance platform they extracted from the command module. When carbon dioxide reached dangerous levels, they improvised fittings with plastic bags, tape, and cardboard to adapt the Odyssey's lithium hydroxide canisters to the Aquarius' environmental system and prevent suffocation.
For days, the astronauts endured intense physical hardship, indoor temperatures of 3°C and tightly rationed food and water. Despite the enormous challenges, the crew persevered and crashed safely into the South Pacific on April 17, 1970.
This Kapton foil was identified by Bill as part of the Apollo 13 Command Module prior to his death. In addition, the foil was stored in a yellow North American Rockwell Corporation Space Division "Temporary Parts Removal Tag" marked "Crew Compartment Heat Shield Mylar, C/M 109.” This gold piece of 6 mm foil covered the command module on the longest side. The piece of Kapton flew around the moon and back to Earth, being exposed to the environment of space all the way.
Moon Tree Specimen. Found: Tucson, Arizona, US (JN0770)
Apollo 14
± 1971
Apollo 14 carried three astronauts to the moon on January 31, 1971, along with hundreds of tree seeds. That mission was the third crewed Apollo flight to land on the lunar surface. The landing happened on February 5. The mission involved traveling the surface and collecting geological samples. Commander Alan Shepard playfully hit a golf swing with a makeshift club during a moonwalk. Shepard formed the crew along with fellow astronauts Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell. While the other two astronauts explored the surface, Roosa was busy too. He had brought a packet of 500 seeds of pines, sycamores, sweetgums, fir, redwood, and sequoias. That idea was inspired by his days working for the U.S. Forest Service. Roosa tried to see the effects of lunar gravity on seedling development.
Both the surface and orbit missions yielded interesting results. 43 kg of moon rocks were brought to Earth, including a huge rock called "Big Bertha". On return, the U.S. Forest Service successfully germinated a number of seeds and propagated the saplings during the bicentenary of 1975 and 1976. What makes these trees so scientifically interesting is that they developed without any problems. They are indistinguishable from their planet side counterparts. In the field of astrobotany, this experiment showed that prolonged movement through spaces with little or no gravity did not hinder the growth of these plants. The results offer exciting prospects for the use of planets in terraforming. This could even help produce oxygen at extraplanetary bases.
Today (2022) many of these trees can be found in parks, universities, and government sites. They are a reminder of the amazing journey they made as little seeds. Our specimen comes from a surviving moon tree. It is a sycamore that lives on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The tree was damaged during a storm in 2014. A fallen branch was saved and sold.
Skylab Flown Duct Tape. Found: Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US (JN0855)
Duct Tape
± 1973
The English surgeon Horace Day had invented an adhesive surgical tape in 1845. Years later, in 1882, the German pharmacy Beiersdorf patented the first adhesive plaster. The concept of duck tape emerged in 1899, described as a cotton decorative band on a garment. The English word 'duck' is derived from the Dutch 'doek', which means a piece of cloth. We encounter the name again during the construction of the Manhattan Bridge in New York, 1902, when cotton strips soaked in linseed oil were used to protect steel cables against rust. These strips were called duck tape and the protection was as durable 'as the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy'.
In 1923, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company, better known as 3M, marketed the first adhesive tape for home and office use under the name Scotch.
During WWII, Vera Stoudt worked for a company that packaged grenades for the army. It was important that the explosives remained dry. The boxes were therefore sealed with impregnated strips of paper so that the strip could be quickly removed with a smooth movement. But the soldiers had difficulty opening the boxes quickly, because the paper could not be removed in one go. Under enemy fire this could cost lives. Vera herself had two sons in the army. She produced the idea of replacing the paper with a much sturdier water-repellent textile-based tape. The trial version worked great. But no one picked up her idea until she wrote a letter directly to President Roosevelt in 1943. The company Johnson and Johnson was commissioned to further develop Vera's idea. The new product was called duck tape because of the woven fabric used as a base and was of course army green. The soldiers who used the tape discovered that it was also suitable for all kinds of (emergency) repairs. Jeeps, guns, even airplanes were patched up with it.
After WWII, duck tape also found users outside the military. First for sealing air tubes. These are called 'ducts' in English, which is why the name duck tape was replaced by the word duct tape. The color became the well-known silver gray, just like the tubes. The role of duct tape in Apollo 13, in 1970, is legendary. On the way to the moon there was an explosion on board. To keep indoor carbon dioxide levels at safe levels, air filters had to be connected to lunar lander purifiers. Through creative use, the crew managed to make the connection, using duct tape.
Our duct tape example comes from the original collection of William “Bill” Pogue. It's a piece of flown duct tape material from the Skylab station. Skylab was the US's first space station and second only to the world's first space station, Soviet Salyut 1. Skylab's mission goals, from 1973 to 1979, were to learn about space and to let people live and work in space. They conducted experiments, observed the atmosphere and Earth's surface. There were 4 flights in total. The first was unmanned and the space station suffered damage. The next 3 were crewed missions. Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4 followed with astronauts Pete Conrad, Joe Kerwin, Paul Weitz, Alan Bean, Owen Garriott, Jack Lusma, Jerry Carr, Ed Gibson, and Bill Pogue. Pogue kept some duct tape for a personal collection.
In 2003, in preparation for a terrorist attack, the population of the U.S. called upon to stockpile emergency rations. Duct tape was also expressly mentioned, for masking off windows as protection against biological or chemical attack. Within a few days, duct tape was no longer available across the country. It would go down in history as the duct tape alert.
The fame built up over years that almost every setback could be defied with duct tape was extensively put to the test in the popular science television program MythBusters (2009). Two men were left on a desert island with only duct tape and their ingenuity. Using the tape, they made a hut, shoes, beds, tools, water containers, hunting equipment, and eventually even a canoe with which to escape the island. Conclusion: duct tape should not be missing in any survival kit.
In 2017, during the Bulgaria-Netherlands World Cup qualifier, a hole in the goal net was quickly patched with duct tape, much to everyone's amusement.
Space Shuttle Challenger
± 1983
The Space Shuttle mission STS-8 happened from August 30 to September 5, 1983. During the flight, this envelope fragment was on board. To celebrate NASA's 25th anniversary, envelopes were specially made for the mission. These collectibles orbited the Earth 98 times, landing just days later. Each envelope was stamped "Launched" before the mission and stamped "Return to Earth" after landing. We have a fragment of one of these envelops.
NASA's Space Shuttle program delivered 133 successful missions over three decades. It started with the Columbia mission in 1981 and ended with the last Atlantis mission in 2011. Missions include essential tasks. Maintaining the International Space Station- (ISS) was one of them. They repaired the Hubble telescope and deployed satellites. Scientific experiments played a significant role in the rotation around the planet. The reusable Spacelab, developed by the ESA, was a tool.
The Space Shuttle Challenger was the second space shuttle to enter Earth orbit. In April 1983, the Challenger embarked on its first voyage. During its ten missions, the shuttle collected scientific data, repaired satellites, and brought Guion Blufard, the first African American, to space. Despite the Challenger's many achievements, it is remembered in history for its tragic last flight in 1986. 73 seconds after take-off, during flight STS-51L, the Challenger fell apart.
The explosion was caused by the failure of the O-ring seals in the Shuttle's rocket booster. Pressurized gas could burn through to the booster's fuel tank. This accident ended with the death of the 7 crew members on board. It led to a brief suspension of shuttle flights and an overhaul of both NASA's program and organizational structure. Every year, NASA holds a Memorial Day to honor those who lost their lives while advancing space exploration.
HRSI Tile. Found: Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US (JN0751)
Space Shuttle Columbia
± 1986
On April 12, 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia first came into operation on the platform of Kennedy Space Center. Rocket boosters and Columbia's engine delivered over 6.600.000 pounds (= 2.993.709,642 kg) of thrust. The crew of two and 2.000.000 kg were lifted into orbit at a speed of more than 28.183 km/h. February, 2003 was the final flight of the Columbia. The vessel disintegrated upon reentry, killing the seven member crew.
This is a fragment of a high temperature surface insulation tile (HRSI) flown on a mission. Such a tile consists of low-density silica and is coated with black reaction-tempered glass, designed to withstand intense heat from reentry up to 1200°C. Each tile was unique, specially designed to meet the exact shape, weight and temperature resistance required for its location on the vessel.
Our fragment comes from a specific tile removed after Columbia's 7th mission, STS-61-C (=Space Transportation System-61), which flew on January 12, 1986. The Space Shuttle had to launch 3 communication satellites. These tiles were 90% air and weighed only 144,17 kg/m3. Depending on the amount of heat, the specific surface varies in thickness. Thicker tiles protected the front of the spacecraft and got thinner as they progressed towards the back of the orbiter (= shape of an airplane). The tiles were a feat of material engineering that could withstand thermal shock without cracking or breaking. On the back of the tile is a red coating. This is a silicone adhesive called RTV 560. This silicone is filled with iron oxide, hence the red color.