May 2014 Auction Ends Thursday, May 29th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/29/2014
Exceptionally rare collection of Jack Swigert's Apollo 13 flown spacesuit beta cloth patches. The crew endured incredible circumstances after launching 11 April 1970, when two days later, they were forced into an emergency turn-around before ever reaching the moon. Fortunately the astronauts expertly improvised a repair to the spacecraft and narrowly escaped disaster, ultimately returning safely to Earth. Beta cloth patches were designed from a material made of fireproof material woven from Teflon fibers. NASA spacesuits each featured four beta cloth patches, including a name tag, the NASA logo, mission insignia, and an American flag. All four of Swigert's patches are intact and housed in sheaths of plastic for protection in the following order: the first depicts his last name, measuring 5'' x 2'', the second depicts the traditional NASA logo, measuring 5'' x 4.25'', the third, the Apollo 13 mission insignia including the name of the mission, three of Apollo's chariot horses flying toward the Moon, and the slogan ''Ex Luna, Scientia'' (''from the moon, knowledge''), measuring 4'' x 4'', and the fourth, an American flag measuring 7.25'' x 5.25''. Patches have some toning, particularly to edges, and a fold running vertically through American flag, though each could be removed from plastic and nicely framed. With an LOA from Swigert's sister.
Very Scarce Collection of Four Jack Swigert Flown Apollo 13 Space Suit Patches
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