Object Details
- Manufacturer
- General Electric Co.
- Summary
- This is a duplicate of the phenolic resin heat shield that covered the Datasphere, the first instrumented package to be recovered from space by the United States. Launched by a U.S. Air Force Thor ballistic missile on 13 June 1958 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, it recorded information such as temperatures, pressures, and stresses critical to progress in the nation's spaceflight programs. The Datasphere reached an altitude of over 200 miles. Protected by the heat shield, it reentered the atmosphere at more than 10,000 miles an hour and was recovered intact in the South Atlantic. General Electric made this artifact and the Air Force donated it to NASM in 1959.
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the United States Air Force
- Inventory Number
- A19590102000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Instruments & Payloads
- Materials
- Phenolic Resin
- Non-Magnetic Metals
- Ink
- Foam
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8 1/2 in. × 1 ft. 6 in. (21.6 × 45.7cm)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19590102000
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9f3aa3151-eec3-4c8d-8263-e4cf0ceb5d1a
