Beschreibung:

FLOWN INSIDE LUNAR MODULE SNOOPY. FLOWN United States flag, silk, 8 by 11 inches. Displayed above a Typed Signed Letter by THOMAS P. STAFFORD and autographed mission photograph. Matted and framed, 18 by 18 inches. Accompanied by THOMAS P. STAFFORD'S signed provenance letter which reads: "The large United States flag displayed above was flown to the Moon on the Apollo 10 space mission during May 18 to 26, 1969. Apollo 10 was the first flight of the Lunar Module to orbit the Moon. I served as commander of this mission and carried this flag inside our Lunar Module which was code-named Snoopy. Gene Cernan and I tested all of Snoopy's flight systems including radar and guidance, descent and ascent engines as well as electrical and life support. The photograph to the right, which I have autographed, shows Snoopy returning from the 50,000 foot close approach of the lunar surface. This flag went along with us during that most important flight objective. Apollo 10 accomplished critical flight maneuvers that enabled Apollo 11 to make the first lunar landing just two months later on July 20, 1969. Just prior to the beginning of the Apollo 10 reentry into the earth's atmosphere, John Young Gene and I, along with this large United States flag, established the all-time record for the highest speed ever attained by man — 24,790 miles per hour. Therefore, this flag is one of the fastest flown space artifacts carried on our mission. This speed record will not be broken until an astronaut crew returns from Mars sometime during the 21st century."