STS-77: SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR

Flown Thermal-Protection Insulation Blanket Fragment 

Artifact Classification: Space-flown spacecraft material

Mission: STS-77

Orbiter: Space Shuttle Endeavour, OV-105

Artifact Type: Thermal-protection insulation blanket fragment

Launch Date: May 19, 1996

Landing Date: May 29, 1996

Mission Duration: 10 days, 0 hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds

Earth Revolutions: 161

Distance Traveled: Approximately 4.1 million miles

Launch Site: Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center

Landing Site: Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center

Crew: John Casper, Curtis Brown Jr., Daniel Bursch, Mario Runco Jr., Marc Garneau and Andrew Thomas

NASA Parts-Removal Identification: TCS-5-0879 / V070-366493-011 / ER 2628

Seller: The Space Collective

Seller Archive ID: STS77-1-20 

On May 19, 1996, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center carrying a six-person crew commanded by astronaut John Casper. Designated STS-77, the flight was the 77th mission of the Space Shuttle program and Endeavour’s 11th journey into space.

The mission carried the SPACEHAB-4 laboratory module, transforming a portion of Endeavour’s payload bay into a pressurized research facility. The crew conducted numerous experiments involving biotechnology, materials processing and microgravity science. STS-77 also carried several technology demonstrations intended to test equipment and concepts for future spacecraft.

Among the mission’s most visible experiments was the Spartan 207 satellite and its Inflatable Antenna Experiment. After being released from Endeavour, the satellite deployed a large, lightweight antenna structure designed to demonstrate how compact equipment could be inflated into a much larger shape once in orbit. The antenna was later separated, while the Spartan carrier was retrieved by astronaut Marc Garneau using the Shuttle’s robotic arm.

This artifact is a genuine fragment represented as originating from a thermal-insulation blanket flown aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-77.

The Space Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System consisted of several specialized materials rather than only the familiar black and white ceramic tiles. Flexible insulation blankets protected portions of the orbiter exposed to lower temperatures, including areas of the upper surfaces and payload-bay doors. These lightweight materials insulated the spacecraft from the repeated heating and cooling experienced during orbital flight and protected selected surfaces during atmospheric reentry.

The publicly available documentation does not identify the precise location on Endeavour from which this particular blanket was removed or specify its exact blanket classification. It should therefore be described conservatively as flown thermal-protection insulation blanket material, without assigning it to a specific surface or component unless additional removal records become available.

STS-77 remained in space for 10 days, 39 minutes and 18 seconds. During that time, Endeavour completed 161 revolutions of Earth and traveled approximately 4.1 million miles. The orbiter returned to Kennedy Space Center on May 29, landing on Runway 33 with no significant spacecraft problems reported during the mission.

According to The Space Collective, the parent blanket material was officially scrapped by NASA after its operational use. Its identity was verified through an official parts-removal tag bearing the following information:

TCS-5-0879
V070-366493-011
ER 2628

The present fragment was separated from that larger piece of flown insulation and mounted on a 10-by-8-inch photograph showing Endeavour in Earth orbit with its payload-bay doors open. It was issued inside a clear protective holder with a Certificate of Authenticity bearing The Space Collective’s holographic logo and company stamp.

The Space Collective records this artifact presentation under archive identification:

STS77-1-20

The seller states that individually issued pieces can also be traced through the serial number printed on the accompanying certificate. That certificate number should be entered in the collection record below and retained with the specimen.

The strongest publicly documented provenance presently traces the artifact through the NASA parts-removal identification, the official scrapping of the parent material, its acquisition and preparation by The Space Collective, and its subsequent transfer to the present collection. The publicly available listing does not reproduce the complete NASA removal record or document every transfer that occurred between NASA’s disposal of the blanket and its acquisition by the seller. Its attribution should therefore remain tied to the original mounted presentation, certificate and removal-tag information supplied by The Space Collective.

Though physically small, this fragment represents a spacecraft that carried six astronauts through more than four million miles of orbital flight. It formed part of the protective material surrounding Endeavour as the crew conducted scientific research, deployed experimental satellites and tested technologies intended to shape the future of spaceflight.