NASA Special Collection Database

Category Testing Equipment

Description 6" X 6" piece of metal with impact impression in the middle. 8.5" X 5.5" card included. Card: NASA'a Light Gas Gun Experiments, Research focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles. Plate is in rough condition. Card is in very good condition.

Barcode 31315006311216

Provenance Shipped from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Not flown. Part of order #SP-01.

Purpose NASA’s Light Gas Gun Experiments: Research focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles.
The Light Gas Gun Experiments
In 1958, NASA was preparing to launch satellites and other spacecraft without knowing much about space travel. Some of the research at NASA Langley Research Center focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles. The tests used equipment called light gas guns.
By 1996, researches built their own smaller gun with the capability of accelerating small projectiles to high velocities. Two stations in the gun would determine the projectile speed and size. The target was instrumented to provide time of impact and perforation. The gun allowed the testing of projectiles in the size range of greatest concern in designing flight experiments and in reducing spacecraft meteoroid damage.
The tests were not validated until 1990 with the return of the Long Duration Exposer Facility (LDEF).
The plate you are viewing is from one of these tests. To learn more about this research, including a video by the researcher, see:
http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/1275
This text provided by the NASA card included with the artifact.

Category Testing Equipment

Description 4" X 4" piece of metal with impact impression in the middle. 8.5" X 5.5" card included. Card: NASA'a Light Gas Gun Experiments, Research focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles. Plate is in rough condition. Card is in very good condition.

Barcode 31315006311224

Provenance Shipped from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Not flown. Part of order #SP-01.

Purpose NASA’s Light Gas Gun Experiments: Research focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles.
The Light Gas Gun Experiments
In 1958, NASA was preparing to launch satellites and other spacecraft without knowing much about space travel. Some of the research at NASA Langley Research Center focused on meteoroid impacts on vehicles. The tests used equipment called light gas guns.
By 1996, researches built their own smaller gun with the capability of accelerating small projectiles to high velocities. Two stations in the gun would determine the projectile speed and size. The target was instrumented to provide time of impact and perforation. The gun allowed the testing of projectiles in the size range of greatest concern in designing flight experiments and in reducing spacecraft meteoroid damage.
The tests were not validated until 1990 with the return of the Long Duration Exposer Facility (LDEF).
The plate you are viewing is from one of these tests. To learn more about this research, including a video by the researcher, see:

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/1275
This text provided by the NASA card included with the artifact.

Category Exploration Equipment

Description Two black plastic pieces are included; one the shape of a sole and the other attaches to the toe. The sole is 10 X 3 1/2 inches with orange lettering on it PYRO and the attachment is 6 1/4 X 3 inches. The sole has 7 threaded brass screw holes and 2 plastic holes. Includes one pink bag. Item is in very good condition.

Barcode 31315005265629

Provenance Item was shipped from LBJ Space CenteR. Item was part of the Space Shuttle program but claims to not be flown. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Part of order #4.

Purpose Away from the gravity of the Earth or Moon, astronauts must use special restraints to keep from floating away from surfaces and equipment. Whether spacewalking or exercising, it is important to be able to keep one's feet in place safely and securely.

Category Clothing

Description 10.25" X 7" pockets (2) blue gabardine with four outside pouches on each with Velcro closures. Three strips of Velcro are sewn to the back of each. Ziplock bag included. Items are in good condition.

Barcode 31315005265587

Provenance Shipped from LBJ Space Center. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Not flown but heavily used. Part of order #5.

Purpose Space crews are provided with removable pockets for their shorts and pants to store tools in. Living in a zero gravity environment means that objects will float away if not tethered down or stored away.

Category Exploration Equipment

Description 240 foot long deflated pole. Beige canvas/gabardine fabric with plastic on inside. Glued and pieced together. 2 1/2 inch tab protrude from each end. Writing on end, PIN 801-20001-03, SIN 1003, crossed out and replaced with 1006. Large pink plastic bag included. Item is a prototype. Item in in good condition.

Barcode 31315005265686

Provenance Shipped from LBJ Space Center. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Not flown. Unit barcode and archival box is shared with Backup Flight Controller. Part of order #5.

Purpose Inflatable poles are used as rescue devices for astronauts. If an astronaut ever becomes untethered outside of the space shuttle, an inflatable pole can be extended and used to grab back onto spacecraft and pull back in. The pole seen here is a prototype.

Category Book/Print/Published Item

Description 36" X 24" poster printed on glossy poster paper in color. Background black. Picture of Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. on the moon taken by Neil Armstrong. Text is in white. Poster describes mission, and has a quote. Item is in very good condition.

Barcode 31315005271627

Provenance Kelly A. Cuci purchased at Adler Planetarium. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Display piece only.

Purpose Item used for display purposes only.

Category Book/Print/Published Item

Description 36" X 23" glossy poster in color. Poster of all the Apollo missions. Main picture is the pre-launch of the Apollo 17 space craft. Background is black, letters are in white print. On the left hand side there is a brief description about each Apollo mission. On the right hand side, it shows the emblems for each mission. And on the bottom there are several pictures from the different Apollo missions. Item has two horizontal creases located at the top and middle of poster. Item is in very good condition.

Barcode 31315005271635

Provenance Kelly A. Cuci purchased at Adler Planetarium. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Display piece only.

Purpose Item used for display purposes only.

Category Book/Print/Published Item

Description 39" X 28" Single-sided poster Fifth Anniversary of the Lunar Landing mounted on poster board. July 20th,1969 - July 20th, 1974. Item is in good condition.

Barcode 31315006360122

Provenance Shipped from LBJ Space Center. Currently held in the Orland Park Public Library NASA Special Collection. Display piece only, not flown. Part of order 15-3

Purpose Magazine cover preserved by NASA in celebration of the first landing on the moon. No other parts of the magazine exist in this collection. Item used for display purposes only. A representation of the item is located in the second floor display cases.

For more information:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html#.VN509vnF_F0