Posts: 82 From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA Registered: May 2005
posted 12-25-2008 09:59 PM
I was at the National Air and Space Museum recently and while there, came across David Scott's Apollo 15 helmet. Can anyone explain why and when the "Apollo 15" script was placed on the visor?
Spacepsycho Member
Posts: 818 From: Huntington Beach, Calif. Registered: Aug 2004
posted 12-29-2008 10:22 AM
I heard back from Mandy Young who's the National Air and Space Museum curator for spacesuits and other misc hardware. She says:
Dave Scott's Apollo 15 EV helmet has "Apollo 15" on it -- it is the only helmet that does -- but I am not certain who put the letters on, or when. It was definitely done for publicity reasons, and was probably put on either by NASA or the Air Force. It would have been done in the very early 1970s but that is as close as I can get. I cannot remove the letters though, because the exterior of the helmet would have changed color slightly due to age, and if I removed the black letter, the fading patterns would remain -- so I have left it.