Apollo Soyuz Kapton Foil

Flown Command Module Kapton Foil

Artifact Classification: Space-flown spacecraft material

Mission: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

Spacecraft: Apollo Command Module

Artifact Type: Kapton thermal-control foil

Apollo Crew: Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton

Soyuz Crew: Alexei A. Leonov and Valery N. Kubasov

Apollo Mission Dates: July 15–24, 1975

Docking Date: July 17, 1975

Seller: The Space Collective

Product Series: Space Series Starter Pack No. 1

Set Archive ID: SS-SCSP-1 

Flown Command Module Heat-Shield Fragment 

On July 15, 1975, an American Apollo spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald “Deke” Slayton. Earlier that day, cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov had launched aboard Soyuz 19 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. After two days of orbital maneuvering, the two spacecraft docked on July 17—the first time crewed spacecraft from different nations had joined together in space.

For nearly two days, the American and Soviet crews moved between the spacecraft, conducted joint experiments, shared meals, exchanged commemorative items and participated in the historic handshake between Stafford and Leonov. The mission demonstrated that two nations using independently designed spacecraft could rendezvous, dock and potentially assist one another during an emergency. It also marked the final flight of an Apollo spacecraft and helped establish a foundation for later international cooperation in human spaceflight.

This artifact is a fragment of Kapton foil represented by The Space Collective as having flown aboard the Apollo Command Module during the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. The seller identifies it specifically as “ASTP Command Module Kapton Foil.”

Kapton is a thin, heat-resistant polyimide film used on spacecraft as part of their thermal-control systems. Apollo spacecraft used external Kapton film or tape with carefully selected reflective properties. The material helped regulate spacecraft temperatures by reflecting a portion of the Sun’s thermal energy and radiating heat away from the vehicle while it was in space. Its metallic appearance can resemble very thin aluminum foil, although the underlying material is a specialized polymer film.

During the Apollo–Soyuz mission, the Command and Service Module remained in low Earth orbit from July 15 until July 24, 1975. The spacecraft had been modified from earlier Apollo configurations to carry additional equipment and support the specially constructed Docking Module that served as an airlock and transfer corridor between Apollo and Soyuz. After completing the international docking and further independent orbital operations, the Apollo Command Module returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

The present specimen was issued as part of The Space Collective’s Space Series Starter Pack No. 1, which contained four separate flown-material fragments: Mercury Sigma 7 heat-shield material, Gemini 2 heat-shield material, Apollo–Soyuz Command Module Kapton foil and STS-77 Endeavour thermal-blanket material. Each fragment was placed in its own approximately 4-centimeter acrylic display disc bearing mission and authentication information and accompanied by a collectible authenticity information card.

The public product listing certifies the material as genuine and identifies the set under archive number:

SS-SCSP-1

This number applies to the complete starter-pack product rather than necessarily serving as a unique serial number for the individual Kapton specimen. Any additional identification printed on the reverse of the acrylic disc or accompanying card should be recorded below and retained with the artifact.

The publicly available listing does not identify the original recipient of the Kapton material, the date on which it left NASA custody or each transfer that occurred before its acquisition by The Space Collective. Its documented attribution therefore rests primarily upon the labeled acrylic presentation, the accompanying authenticity card, the seller’s guarantee and the starter-pack archive record. These materials should remain together to preserve the specimen’s documented history.

Though physically tiny, this foil represents the last mission of the Apollo era and the first crewed international docking in space. It once formed part of the thermal-control material associated with an Apollo spacecraft that brought American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts together in orbit—turning two former competitors in the Space Race into partners above Earth.