Gemini 7 Flown Heat Shield Plug in McDonnell Display. A rare full plug, 0.75" diameter x 1.75" long, in a Lucite cyl...
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Description
Gemini 7 Flown Heat Shield Plug in McDonnell Display. A rare full plug, 0.75" diameter x 1.75" long, in a Lucite cylinder bearing a plaque that reads, in full: "Souvenir Cut From The Gemini Vii Heat Shield/ Which Was Recovered From The Atlantic/ On 18 December 1965 After The First Space/ Rendezvous And The Longest Space Flight/ Of 14 Days. This Heat Shield Protected/ Astronauts Borman And Lovell From/ Re-entry Temperatures Of 3100°f." Only the third of these full plugs that Heritage has offered. Very fine.Gemini 7, launched on December 4, 1965, carried astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell Jr. on a record-setting 14-day mission that demonstrated the feasibility of long-duration human spaceflight. At reentry, the spacecraft's ablative heat shield was critical: as Gemini encountered the extreme thermal loads generated by atmospheric compression, temperatures reaching several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, the shield's outer layers charred and eroded in a controlled manner, dissipating heat and preventing it from penetrating the pressure vessel. This engineered ablation ensured that the cabin environment remained structurally secure and thermally stable, allowing Borman and Lovell to survive the most hazardous phase of the mission and return safely to Earth.
Auction Info
2026 March 21 Space Exploration Showcase Auction #33172 (go to Auction Home page)
Bidding Begins Approx.
February
24th
Tuesday
Auction Dates
March
21st
Saturday
Proxy Bidding Begins Approx.
0 Days
15h 23m
Internet/Mail Bids: N/A
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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Auction Type
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Signature®: Proxy bidding ends ten minutes prior to the session start time. Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live now starts within 2 hours of when the auction opens for proxy bidding and continues through the live session. Check the Time Remaining on individual lots for details. After Internet bidding closes, live bidding will take place through www.HA.com/Live. Your secret maximum placed prior to the live event will compete against the live bids. To maximize your chances of winning, enter realistic secret maximum bids on our site. You can also place last minute bids directly with us by e-mailing Bid@HA.com or calling 1-866-835-3243. (Important note: Due to software and Internet latency, live bids may not register in time, so enter realistic proxy bids.)
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