[Apollo 8]

Originally from the personal collection of Dr. George E. Mueller (1918-2015).

A PART OF THE SPACECRAFT FROM HUMANITY’S FIRST TRIP TO THE MOON

This plug protected one of the 59 screws attaching the aft heatshield to the Apollo 8 command module, a crucial component to the crew’s survival as they returned to Earth. Returning from humanity’s first trip to the Moon, the crew re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in the Command Module oriented aft-first. This meant that the bottom of the spacecraft faced the brunt of friction generated by the descent as it hurtled out of space and towards the sea.    

The Apollo Command Module provided a unique engineering challenge as the first spacecraft designed to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at lunar-return velocity. The elegant solution engineered by NASA and its contractors involved an ablative heatshield in a brazed steel honeycomb structure. The bolts attaching this structure to the bottom of the spacecraft were then covered by plugs protecting them from the friction of re-entry. Imprints left behind from the honeycomb structure are visible. 

NASA personnel removed the plugs upon the completion of each mission so that the heatshield could be separated from the spacecraft and inspected. These removed plugs were given to VIPs and NASA personnel as gifts. The present lot is originally from the collection of GEORGE MUELLER, who is credited with creating and leading the Office of Manned Spaceflight at NASA Headquarters, what is now the Human Operations and Exploration Mission Directorate. Mueller was originally sworn in as Deputy Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight on September 1, 1963, but his title quickly changed to Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight after an internal reorganization and he remained in that role until he left NASA in December 1969. He shepherded the agency through the completion of the Apollo program as well as the early development of Skylab and space shuttle projects.