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Apollo 9 Signed & Flown Patch

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Apollo 9 Signed & Flown Patch
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Apollo 9 flown American flag patch from astronaut Rusty Schweickart's PLSS (Portable Life Support System). Schweickart signs on the verso, ''Flown on Apollo 9 -- Cut from my PLSS -- / Rusty Schweickart''. This patch would actually have been located on the oxygen purge system mounted on top of the PLSS, just behind the helmet. The portable life support system is the backpack of the spacesuit, providing essentially the same functions as the spacecraft life support system outside the spacecraft. The 6 March 1969 Apollo 9 mission was the first flight of the Command/Service Module with the Lunar Module, testing several aspects before the first moon landing, including the lunar module engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems and docking maneuvers. As Lunar Module Pilot, Schweickart tested the PLSS for the first time when he left the Lunar Module Spider untethered for a space walk. This was the first (and only) time the PLSS was tested in space before an actual lunar landing. The 7'' x 4.5'' U.S. flag patch is sewn onto a slightly larger, irregularly cut swatch. Both are Beta cloth, a fabric fireproof up to 650 degrees Celsius used in Apollo spacesuits after the fatal 1967 Apollo 1 fire. Minor fading, else near fine.