Between the years of 1968 and 1972, the United States launched 11 missions as part of the Apollo Program. Two of these flights orbited the Earth, three orbited the Moon, and six landed men on the lunar surface.

Common to all 11 missions was the Apollo Command Module, a three seat capsule evolved from the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, and the only Apollo component to return to Earth with the astronauts.

To facilitate a safe return, the Apollo Command Module was covered with a very thin layer of pressure-sensitive Kapton polyimide tape. This tape was coated with aluminum and oxidized silicon monoxide to protect the spacecraft from the extreme temperatures of outer space.

Most of this Kapton tape burned away during reentry, but what survived was often peeled off and kept by members of NASA's recovery crews as a souvenir of the historic Apollo mission they helped rescue.

Embedded in this acrylic presentation are Kapton tape segments from all 11 flown Apollo spacecraft. Kapton samples were acquired from Dick Williamson of the Apollo Recovery Crew and from Ken Havekotte of SpaceCoast Cover Service, as well as from the collection of a former Rockwell employee.

This acrylic presentation was produced by Historic Space.