Wednesday, December 17, 2008

NASA Distinguished Service Medal in Box


This is the NASA Distinguished Service medal that is awarded to astronauts and the highest level of NASA or contractor management. This is the 2nd highest award given, behind the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which is awarded by the POTUS to astronauts for extraordinary skill or courage during a spaceflight.


This NASA DSM was presented to a gentleman who's name is engraved on the back, when it was presented to him.

NASA ISS Emerson Specwar Knife VERY RARE


Here is an extremely rare Emerson Specwar Knife made under contract for NASA for use on the ISS. There were 30 of these knives ordered by NASA and they were delivered in 1999. The link to the knife is http://www.emersonknives.com/EK_Govnt_Contracts.html


Now for the cool part. When I emailed Emerson knives, I was told that all of the 30 NASA contract knives had the NASA logo laser engraved on the back of the blade. This knife didn't have any engraving, other than the Emerson logo on it, so I thought that it could have been a counterfeit piece.


Lucky for me that I did more research through Emerson and it turns out that this knife is 1 of 4 prototypes built by Emerson, then sent to New Mexico for evaluation. I don't know if this knife flew on a mission, I tend to doubt it because of the perfect condition of the knife, but it's such a rare piece that is never available to the public.


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Apollo 11 Vintage Resin w/3 Flown Pieces


This is an unusual vintage resin piece from Apollo 11 that has 3 flown pieces embedded in it. The 3 pieces in this resin are Kapton foil, 1/2 of a cut ablator electric plug and a bolt that were all flown on the Apollo 11 command module. This resin has the most detail I've ever seen from an early 1970 made piece, it's beautifully done and it's in spectacular condition.


The real unusual thing about this resin are the details on the surface of it and that it has 3 flown pieces in it. Lastly, the nose cone was poured after the rest of the piece was finished, whereas most other similar resin pieces were left flat for a viewing window or tapered in a 1 piece pour into the mold. There were 5 separate pours necessary to make this resin and whoever made it, did a brilliant job creating it.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Mercury Friendship 7 Launch Crew Gold Pin 1 of 20


This is a Mercury Friendship 7 10k gold pin made by LGB, just for the launch crew of John Glenn's 1st US orbital mission. The pin measures 1" along the orbit path, it comes in the original box and it's in perfect condition.


The gentleman who I purchased this from, helped design and build the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Lunar Module and Space Shuttle life support and cryo systems. I have photos of him in front of Alan Shepards Freedom 7 spacecraft after it was ready for shipping to the Cape, along with other photos of him helping during tests and on launch days during the Mercury program.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

39 Vintage Resin Displays of Flown Apollo 7-17


Here's an incredible collection of vintage resin displays made up with a piece of flown kapton foil and ablator heatshield material from every manned Apollo spacecraft mission. These are from the collection of a North American Aviation engineer who inspected the inner pressure hull of every Apollo and space shuttle. These resin pieces were made by a friend of his at NAA in 1974 and according to this gentleman, there were only 3 of the complete sets on the wood and white plastic boards.


These displays were made with RTV for the molds and different sized light bulbs for the dome shape. Photographs of the mission logos were embedded in the resin after the foil & heatshield material was added, then the last clear layer was poured. A final white layer was added for the background and it took a lot of work to make these. The small white plastic display board resin pieces are 1" in diameter and the large Apollo 11 & 17 resin pieces are 5.5" in diameter. This is the 2nd largest collection of vintage resin pieces that I've been able to find.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Corporal Rocket Engine WOW !!!!!!!


Here's the latest addition to the collection, it's a very cool Corporal rocket engine, thanks to LtCDR Scott Schneewis, http://www.spaceaholic.com/, for ID'ing the engine. The Corporal rocket was designed as a surface to surface tactical nuclear weapon delivery system. JPL was the prime contractor that developed this rocket with Firestone. It was deployed to Germany as a front line nuclear defense weapon, to defend against a Russian attack, against western europe.


As a side note, this engine is a direct decendant of the WW2 German V-2. This is a liquid fueled engine, that burns fuming red nitric acid and hydrazine, which we all know is REALLY bad stuff. The big problem was that the Corporal had a 46% success rate, it took a long time to prepare for launch and with the fuel toxicity issue, made it difficult to use in real world scenarios.


I purchased this rocket engine from the grandson of a gentleman who worked at JPL on the design of this rocket. This engine is dated 1960, it was the last upgraded motor before the project was cancelled in 1963 and I can't begin to tell you how cool this is. I want to strap it to my bike and ride around the neighborhood with CO2 shooting out of the back.


The engine is 5ft tall, the engine bell is 28" in diameter, it weighs approx 150lbs and it's the coolest piece of hardware I've found in a long time. Unfortunately my wife's reaction, wasn't the same as my sons or mine. She could be heard throughout the house, when seeing it for the first time, "what the hell is this and how long is it going to be in my kitchen" ?!?!?!?!?!? I guess it doesn't go with the decor and our styles of decorating differ slightly. She likes modern chic and I like early space program.


One of my friends suggested that I put a lamp shade on it, so she wouldn't notice what it was. After I stopped laughing, I started looking for a place to get it out of the house. Another good friend wrote, "you are sooooooo getting a divorce" !!!!!


The specs of this rocket are:


JPL/Firestone SSM-A-17/M2/MGM-5 Corporal

Data for M2/M2A1 (MGM-5A/B)


Length: 13.8 m (45 ft 4 in)
Finspan: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Diameter: .76 m (30 in)
Weight: 5000 kg (11000 lb)
Speed: 3500 kmh (2200 mph)
Ceiling: 40 km (25 miles)
Range Min: 48 km (30 miles); Max: 130 km (80 miles)
Propulsion: JPL liquid-fueled rocket motor 20000 lbs up to 64 sec
Warhead: W-7 nuclear fission (20 kT)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Space Shuttle Flight Cabin Pressure Vessel Model







Here is a very rare scale model of the flight crew cabin pressure vessel for the space shuttle Columbia. This model shows where all of the welds are on the spacecraft, along with the dates (1974), when the model was built. This belonged to a gentleman who built all 5 of the space shuttles at the old NAA facility in Downey, Ca.
I've never seen anything like this model before and it was only used for a 3D reference when building the pressure vessel that comprised the crew cabin.






STS-1 Flown Flag


Here's a display that has an STS-1 flown flag glued to it and it's in mint condition.

The gentleman's name on the display worked at NAA in Downey, where he helped build the space shuttle pressure vessel flight cabin. He left NAA after the space shuttles were built and started his own aerospace company.

1963 Concept Model Lunar Module & Command Module Bell Labs




Here is an extremely rare model of the 1st concept for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and the Apollo Service & Command module. These are large scale models that measure 24" for the CSM and 17" for the LM.


These models were made for Bell Labs in 1963 and they are among the rarest contractor models known. There were 2 other identical models with this one found in the garage of a NASA manager. According to the gentleman I bought this from, the paint was peeling, so he threw the other 2 in the garbage. Yeah........my thoughts exactly.


These models are made with a wood interior, an overlayer of hard plastic shell, then hand painted. The most interesting things about these is that there's no hatch for the LM for the crew to get out and the CM shows each astronaut sitting in different directions.
After talking with several well known collectors of contractor models, none had ever seen anything like these and one expert said he had heard about them, but never saw one before. This box for this model has 6 different colored dots, similar to the dot system that is commonly seen on NASA surplus and there's a tag on it that says "Apollo Model #3". I'm assuming that this model is #3 and that the other 2 which were thrown out, were models #1 & 2.

Apollo 11 Coin Minted with Flown Dies




This is an Apollo 11 coin, minted with the dies that flew on the Apollo 11 spacecraft, then used to make this coin. It's a rare piece that was primarily given to the astronauts, but other than that, I don't know the history behind it.



This particular coin was presented to a North American Aviation worker by Mike Collins after the Apollo 11 mission and it's in mint condition.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Gemini Spacecraft Boilerplate

This is a very rare Gemini boilerplate that is a 1:1 scale model of the actual spacecraft. These boilerplates were made to train the astronauts, recovery crews, engineers and others, in all aspects of the Gemini spacecraft. The Gemini missions are often overlooked by many, but it was this program that taught NASA how do orbital mechanics, rendezvous between 2 spacecraft, long term spaceflight, walking in space, working in space and the other skills required to go to the moon and back.

A great website to see what happened to the US spacecraft and boilerplates is http://www.americanspacecraft.com/ .

This Gemini boilerplate is serial number MSC 312, it was used by the 79th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron and it trained the Gemini recovery divers in the N. Calif ocean. It weighs 3500 lbs, it's 8.5' long, the heatshield area is 8' in diameter and I found it in a N. Calif. cemetery. It was common for the Mercury, Gemini & Apollo boilerplate models to be sold for scrap or given to schools or playgrounds, after the program was completed.

I wanted to keep it because it's such a rare artifact, but when I offered it to museums for a loan, nobody was interested, so I ended up selling it. My wife told me that if I bought it home, there better be enough room for a bed, because I would be moving into it. As a result, it's headed to a good home back east.


Friday, August 15, 2008

Neil Armstrong Vintage Autograph 1962


Neil Armstrong Vintage Autograph 1962


This is a pristine NASA glossy autographed photo of Neil Armstrong when he was first selected to be an astronaut in 1962. This photo was inscribed to the wife of Grant Lathe, who was a NASA graphic artist and a friend to the astronauts. A funny thing about this photo, it was one of the earliest photos he autographed after his selection as astronaut.
Neil signed this photo on the black suit, which doesn't show up well, unless you look at it from an angle. I've been told bya few long time collectors, that this was one of the first autographs Neil did on this photo, because he didn't realize that it wouldn't show up well. After this photo was autographed, Neil always signed over his head or under the NASA logo. Regardless, the autograph is a gorgeous example of his vintage signature.

Armstrong Autograph 1962-63


Neil Armstrong Vintage Autograph 1962-63

This is a pristine 1962 NASA glossy photograph of the 2nd group (The New Nine) of astronauts right after their selection in 1962 and it's signed by Neil Armstrong on the front and Tom Stafford on the back.

I bought the collection of Grant Lathe from his family at the 2006 San Antonio UACC show. Grant was a NASA graphic artist and a friend to all of the Mercury, Gemini & Apollo astronauts. There were hundreds of vintage signed photos in Grant's collection, as well as dozens of examples of early NASA concept drawings, many hundreds of NASA photos and publications.

The beautiful Santa Claus poster shown here was done by Grant before John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Apollo 17 Flown Cereal Cube


Apollo 17 Flown Cereal Cube


Apollo 17 Flown Cereal Cube


I bought this from a guy on Ebay, who purchased the estate of a woman, that went into an assisted living home. The seller knew nothing about it, other than what was on the tag, which meant there was no historical provenance that it flew in space, let alone around the moon. When I contacted the seller about the history of this resin, he told me how to contact her family. They gave me this woman's number in the home and after calling a few times, I was able to talk with her.

When I spoke to this woman about the cereal cube, she told me the history about it and she was a sweetheart to talk to. We chatted for almost an hour, she was disappointed that her family sold it, considering how important it was to their father.
It turns out that her husband was an RCA engineer that helped teach the astronauts how to operate the electronics on the Apollo spacecraft. She told me stories about having many of the astronauts over for dinner when they were in town and how happy they were to have a home cooked meal. This delightful woman wrote me the nicest letter describing the provenance to this piece.
She told me that this cereal cube was her husbands pride & joy and that he had it displayed on his desk since receiving it in the 70's. This cereal cube was given to her husband by Ron Evans after the Apollo 17 mission and this RCA engineer created this resin display. The greatest aspect about this piece, besides being flown on Apollo 17, is that there are 6 layers of resin, which is a strong telltale sign that it's a vintage piece. Modern lucite and resin displays don't have visible layers in the piece, whereas the older resin pieces needed to dry, before adding another layer when embeding an item.
Another fun aspect about this piece is the mold that was used. The shape shows the gentleman used a Gerber baby food jar as a mold and it must have taken him 4-6 days to make this one piece. If you look carefully, you can see the seams on the sides of the resin from the Gerber glass jar.
I love home made resin pieces, because they show how the smallest artifact was held in such high esteem by the people who worked so hard to make the space program a success. I assume that this cereal cube only flew in lunar orbit with Ron Evans and that it didn't make it to the lunar surface.

Lunar Module Kapton Foil Cover

This is an 8" x 3.5" piece of Kapton foil that was made, but obviously not used, for a lunar module. This patch was made to cover over electric ports and other areas that the engineers needed access to, during the building of the lunar modules. When the LM was finished, these patches would cover over the access points to protect them from exposure to the suns heat in space and on the moon. There are 18 layers of Kapton foil on this patch, it's marked with the LDW 280 Grumman stock number and it's dated 1968.

I don't know which LM this was made for, but if you have anyway to find out by the LDW number, please let me know.

Lunar Module Kapton Foil Cover


Neodymium Glass Rod Flown on STS-51F Spacelab 2 ESA Experiment

This is a 6" x 1.5" piece of neodymium laser glass that flew as part of an STS-51F Spacelab 2 ESA experiment. I purchased this piece of glass rod, a crew signed photo and 4 other artifacts flown on this mission from a UK scientist who helped design and build these experiments.

Neodymium glass rods are the purest optical glass ever manufactured. Most of these are made by the Lawerence Livermore Labs and a 4 foot rod of this size sells for $100,000. This glass is designed to shoot lasers through for taking measurements and this piece was cut up upon returning to Europe and pieces given to scientists that worked on the experiments.

Enterprise Prototype Space Shuttle Tile Flown Backside


Saturday, August 2, 2008

Enterprise Prototype Space Shuttle Tile Flown

This is one of the original prototype HRSI tiles that was attached to the space shuttle Enterprise for the approach & landing tests. This tile came from one of the engineers who helped design the thermal protection system for the space shuttle orbiters. He removed it from the Enterprise after the ALT program was completed.

I've spoken with a few people about this tile and have been told that there were 10 of these prototype tiles installed on the Enterprise. They were all marked VT-70 engineering test and from the brown felt material attached to the white backside, it was attached to the vehicle, but I don't know where it was placed.

Apollo 11 Unengraved Robbins Medal


Apollo 11 Unengraved Robbins Medal

Here is one of the 9 or 10 of the unengraved Apollo 11 Robbins medals and it's # 163.

There's been a lot of stories floating around about it being stolen before it was flown, after it was flown or that it was simply an oversite by a Robbins worker during the engraving process. It's known that 9-10 consecutive numbered, unengraved, Apollo 11 Robbins medals exist and according to the Robbins medal expert Howard Weinberger, these may be the rarest pieces of the entire Robbins medals.

Ken Havecotte COA

Apollo 14 Flown Franklin Mint Coin # 70 of 200


Friday, August 1, 2008

Apollo 14 Flown Franklin Mint Coin # 70 of 200

Here is a very rare coin that was flown on the Apollo 14 mission in the Apollo command module.

The story goes that a dealer approached Alan Shepard about carrying 200 of these large Franklin Mint silver coins to the moon on Apollo 14 and in return, the crew would split 125 of the coins, with 25 going to the dealer and 50 going back to Franklin Mint. So Franklin Mint produced these 200 large silver coins, gave them to the dealer who gave them to Alan Shepard, who packed them away in the Apollo command module.

Upon returning from the moon, only 24 of these coins were returned to Franklin Mint, from which they melted and combined other silver to make the small Franklin Mint Apollo 14 Eyewitness coins on the blue cards, frequently seen selling for $10-30.

The dealer who set up the deal with Alan Shepard got his 25 coins, 1 coin went to a Texas museum and the rest of the 150 coins were split between the crew. This coin was given by Dr. Ed Mitchell to a friend of his and I'm having Dr. Mitchell write me a COA on it.


Neil Armstrong Paul Calle Poster

Here is my favorite modern Armstrong signed piece and I've been wanting this poster for years. I finally found one, it's in beautiful condition and now it's going to be taking a trip to the framers. Paul Calle printed 1000 of these posters of Neil Armstrong, while getting suited up for the Apollo 11 mission and from what I've heard, it was the last major signing by Neil. I just love the artistry, simplicity and focus on the image and to me, it's one of the best images from the Apollo program.

Luna 24 Russian Spacecraft that landed on the moon

I'm not usually a big fan of artifact cards like Spaceflori displays, unless it's the kapton pieces by Terry Slezak and others who removed the foil from the spacecraft first hand. For some reason I love this card that was made up by Paul Hartunian, mainly because it's a lunar surface flown piece, regardless if it was an unmanned Russian vehicle. I have 5-6 of these cards and where can you find an authentic lunar surface artifact for $40-100 ? When I do presentations at schools, the kids love holding something that's been on the surface of the moon and I don't have to worry that they'll break something that's a rare artifact.

Ron Evans Apollo 17 Flown Space Suit Drinking Device

Here is the plastic drink bag that has crumbled into hundreds of pieces and I'll be using these flown pieces to embed in a custom lucite with an edition of 200.

Ron Evans Apollo 17 Flown Space Suit Drinking Device


Ron Evans Apollo 17 Flown Space Suit Drinking Device


Ron Evans Apollo 17 Flown Space Suit Drinking Device


Ron Evans Apollo 17 Flown Space Suit Drinking Device

This is a very cool piece that I just bought from Astro Auction and I loved the fact that it came from Ron Evans family. The artifact is the velcro & straw (surgical tubing) of Ron Evans space suit drink bag that he carried on the Apollo 17 mission. Ron passed away in 1990 from a heart attack at the age of 56 and because he died so young, I think a lot of people have forgotten his place in history.

Ron was considered one of the nicest, most down to earth of the Apollo astronauts and he was also one of the funniest. Another fact about Ron is that he was the ONLY Apollo astronaut to fly in combat (7 months from the USS Ticonderoga in 1965-66) and fly an Apollo mission. Ron was also the last Apollo astronaut to walk in space during his 51 minute EVA to retrieve film and experiments from the service module.

I bought this piece because with this drinking straw, is the 32oz plastic drink bag that had deteoraited, into what looks like are small broken potato chips at the bottom of the bag. I'm going to be making up a tribute lucite to Ron and embedding pieces of this drink bag in the piece, with a description of the mission and of Ron's history.

I will NOT be cutting up the straw or velcro that held the bag securely in his space suit. Those will be going in a frame.

COA Kim Poor for Janet Evans

STS-1 BF Goodrich Flown Tire Display


STS-1 BF Goodrich Flown Tire Display

Here is a very nice chunk of the BF Goodrich presentation that was 1 of 100 given to VIP's. It comes on a nicely engraved wood plaque that has this tire section in a glass bulb. This piece measures 3" x 2", there are at least 20 layers of material & rubber that make up the cross section and it's always been a favorite piece of mine.

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon & Mark II Watches


Here are my favorite 2 watches, an Omega Speedmaster Professional moon watch on the left, circa 2001 and an Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II with the 861 movement on the right, circa 1969. The Omega Speedmaster Professional was the only watch approved for spaceflight by NASA, after passing some incredibly brutal tests.

The first Omega Speedmaster worn in space was Wally Schirra's on his Mercury Sigma 7 mission. The only other watches worn in space that weren't Omega SMP's, were Scott Carpenters Breitling Navitimer, Gordon Coopers Bulova Accutron as a backup to his Omega SMP, Jack Swigert's Rolex GMT and Dave Scott's Waltham Chronograph that he wore on the moon for his 3rd EVA, when his Omega SMP crystal popped off.

Interestingly, Neil Armstrongs Omega SMP wasn't the first watch on the moon, that honor went to Buzz Aldrin. When a lunar module timer stopped working, Neil left his Omega SMP in the lunar module so the crew would have a timer on board, in case anything happened to Buzz's watch. Buzz sent his Omega to the Smithsonian, but it was stolen on it's way there and has never surfaced.

Bulova badly wanted to be an offical NASA flight watch, but after many brutal tests that the Omega passed, the Bulova wasn't even close to being as well made and accurate, as the Omega. Still Bulova sued, lobbied, complained, campaigned and bitched to everyone that would listen, that Bulova should be on the moon. The only problem was that the Bulova was so poorly made, that it couldn't take the stresses of spaceflight.

The Bulova watch pictured here is a 1st year 1963 Accutron Astronaut with the coffin link bracelet and it's in mint condition.

I'm currently looking for an Omega SMP X-33, so if you know of a clean used one for sale, please let me know.

LBJ Stetson


LBJ Stetson


LBJ Stetson


LBJ Stetson


LBJ Stetson Beaver 3X Hat Signed by Astronauts for Houston Legislator

This is an extraordinary hat that was a gift from Lyndon Johnson to Texas state senator Criss Cole around 1968. This is a 1960's vintage Stetson Beaver 3X with a perfect leather hatband that shows it was never worn. It's signed by Neil Armstrong, Pete Conrad, Gordo Cooper and Deke Slayton.

Someone on Collectspace posted they had seen a cowboy hat in a Ft. Collins, Co. thriftstore and that it was signed by some astronauts. I emailed the guy who posted and asked him for the name of the thriftstore and he responded immediately. I called the store, spoke to the manager, who told me that the hat was donated but that he had no history or provenance about it. The store manager told me the hat had been on display in his store for months and that he kept lowering the price, but still nobody wanted it. After sending me photos of the autographs, I forwarded them to Scott Cornish and he confirmed that they were authentic vintage signatures.

I ended up buying the hat and upon receiving it, I sent some friends pictures of it and it was a very unique piece. About 3 months go by, I put the hat in a box to protect it and in the closet it went. Someone got ahold of the pictures I sent out of the hat and asked me if I had checked under the hat band. It never crossed my mind to look under the hat band and when I did, I almost fell over from shock.

On one side written in pen under the hat band is "LBJ Gift" and on the other side is "Criss Cole". Obviously anyone who's into the Mercury, Gemini & Apollo programs knows that LBJ was a huge supporter of the space program, starting when he was vice-president under JFK. For all of LBJ's faults, he was the biggest reason this country was able to get to the moon before JFK's deadline. LBJ was known to give out Stetson and another brand of cowboy hat who's name escapes me, to supporters, visiting dignitaries and VIP's, as a symbol of LBJ's pride in Texas.

After speaking with the curator of the LBJ museum & library, there were about 50 or so cowboy hats that were signed by astronauts and then given out to supporters of the space program. The astronauts attending various events to drum up PR for the program, signed some of these Stetson hats, that were then given away.

The incredible part to this story is that the Houston legislator was Criss Cole (1918-1985) was an amazing man in his own right and to read his bio, please go to http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fcobm.html. Mr. Cole joined the USMC in 1940 where he fought at the battles of Guadalcanal and was blinded by a Japanese grenade during the beach assault at Tarawa. If you're not familiar with USMC WW2 battle history, the battle of Tarawa was one of the most vicious and horrific battles of the entire pacific campaign against the Japanese.

Mr. Cole returned to Texas after recovering from his wounds where he finished high school, then attended night classes in law, eventually completing law school. Afterwhich Mr. Cole became an attorney specializing in juvenile law, then became a state rep, state senator, appointed as chief justice for the 315th circuit court dealing with kids and was a major civil rights leader in Texas.

I have tried to contact Mr. Cole's son, who's also an attorney in Houston, but he will not return my calls, so I haven't found out any other history about this hat.

I did send photos of this hat to the LBJ museum & library while trying to research the origins of it. Initally they were very interested in displaying it for 18 months during the 100th LBJ anniversary celebration. I was told by the curator of exhibits that this hat is authentic and very rare, but so far they haven't taken me up on my offer to loan it out to them for free.


Apollo 15 Flown Kapton Foil


Apollo 15 Flown Kapton Foil

Here are 2 large pieces of kapton foil that covered the outside of the Apollo 15 command module Endeavor, that carried Dave Scott, Jim Irwin and Al Worden to the moon.

There's a great story about this piece, as with most pieces in my collection. The gentleman who collected this, was in the middle of a bitter divorce, he had bought the tickets for a Hawaii vacation before the breakup and decided to take the trip without his soon to be ex-wife.

While drowning his sorrows in a Honolulu bar, he started talking with another guy at the bar, who it turns out was one of the Apollo 15 recovery divers aboard the USS Okinawa, that had just docked the day before in Hawaii. After making friends with the Apollo recovery diver, this gentleman was asked if he wanted to go see the Apollo 15 command module that was sitting on the hanger deck of the aircraft carrier and he jumped at the chance. The recovery diver took him aboard the USS Okinawa, they went to the hanger deck and in one corner sat this tiny Apollo spacecraft with 1 USMC private guarding it.

The diver told the gentleman to help himself to a piece or 2 of foil, he chipped off a small piece of the heatshield and spent about 10-15 minutes looking inside through the open hatch, while asking questions. The recovery diver then gave this gentleman a Zippo ciggarette lighter with the Apollo 15 insignia shield on it that was presented to him by a congressman, then they left the ship. The diver gave away the Zippo because he didn't smoke and had no use for it.

Notarized letter on file.

Apollo 15 Flown Stowage Locker Description Tag