Heat Shield, Mercury, MA-9, Faith 7 (Half) | National Air and Space Museum Skip to main content Search Search # Heat Shield, Mercury, MA-9, Faith 7 (Half) 3 Images Project Mercury was the first American human spaceflight program, putting one astronaut into space on six occasions between 1961 and 1963. The circular ablative heatshield on the Mercury spacecraft protected it during reentry in the earth atmosphere two ways: 1) the very shallow curved surface created a shock wave that kept much of the ionized gases created by reentry at a distance; 2) the remaining heat flux was carried away by the ablation (erosive evaporation) of the glass fiber-phenolic resin composite. This heatshield flew on the Mercury-Atlas 9 Faith 7 spacecraft of L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., May 15-16, 1963, and was later removed. It was transferred from the NASA Johnson Space Center to the Smithsonian in 1976 in two pieces. ###### Display Status This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage. #### Object Details ##### Country of Origin United States of America ##### Type SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Parts & Structural Components ##### Manufacturer McDonnell

Heat Shield, Fragment, Ablated, Apollo | National Air and Space Museum Skip to main content Entry to Museum in DC changed for Aug. 21-23. Plan ahead . Search Search Heat Shield, Fragment, Ablated, Apollo Gallery slides Slide 1 of 1 Download Image To protect the Apollo Command Module from the extreme heat of reentry, NASA chose an ablative heat shield composed of a brazed steel honeycomb substructure, a fiberglass honeycomb shell filled with phenolic epoxy resin. The shell material was designed to vaporize (ablate) as a result of atmospheric friction a process that would prevent heat from penetrating the crew compartment. The earliest test flights of Apollo command modules were designed in large part to test the performance of the heat shield. This heat shield section is from the aft (blunt end) shield from Apollo Command Module 011, which was flown on the unmanned AS 202 test mission, the second unmanned, suborbital test flight of a production Block I Apollo Command/Service Module. As 202 was launched with the Saturn IB launch vehicle on August 25, 1966. The command module and heat shield were recovered and the latter subsequently subject to careful examination and testing. Following completion of the tests (which were destructive in many cases), the heat shield was offered to the Smithsonian. In 1972, prior to shipping, it was cut up into small displayable pieces at the Smithsonian's request. Display Status This object is on display in Destination Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC . Object Details Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Parts & Structural Components Manufacturer Avco Corportation Dimensions 3-D: 29.8 × 24.1 × 9.5cm, 3.6kg (11 3/4 × 9 1/2 × 3 3/4 in., 8lb.) Materials brazed steel, fiberglass, phenolic resin Inventory Number A19731423008 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions