Apollo 13 LM Flown Stowage Assembly Strap & Signed Photograph

Stowage assembly strap from the interior of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module "Aquarius" framed alongside a mission photograph signed by Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise.

Archive Id AP13-STR-19

DESCRIPTION

This flown stowage assembly strap with button clips flew aboard the Apollo 13 Lunar Module ''Aquarius'' during the famous flight in April 1970 and comes with a signed photo by the Lunar Module Pilot, Fred Haise. Amazingly, despite being in dire circumstances, Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise made time to remove the material from the Lunar Module just before it was jettisoned! The Lunar Module acted as a lifeboat when an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the Command/Service Module.

The material in question was later given to Grumman, builders of the Lunar Module, most of which was cut into pieces in order to make the Grumman Employee Awards, which themselves were then signed by the crew - this makes the larger, mostly intact pieces very rare.

Product Information:

  • Overall Frame measures 21.75" x 18.75"
  • Apollo 13 Flown LM Strap measures 12" long
  • Astronaut Fred Haise Signed Launch Photo
  • Double Matted using Archival Quality Materials
  • Framed behind UV Protective Glass
  • Framed with a 4'' Apollo 13 Patch
  • Comes with Certificate of Authenticity

The material in question was acquired from William ''Bill'' Looney, whom received it from Ted Mormon (his boss at the time). Bill worked at Grumman for 35 years, and was the Lunar Module spacecraft test manager at Kennedy Space Center for Apollo's 10, 13, and 15, and supported Apollo 5 (the first LM to fly) and Apollo 11.

Bill worked on numerous programs at Grumman—the OV-1 Mohawk, F-14 Tomcat, and the RHIC (relativistic heavy ion collider)—but he was most proud of his work on the Apollo Lunar Modules. He worked on the Grumman proposal team for the Lunar Excursion Module (later the LM), which won the contract from NASA, and helped develop the plans for testing all the Apollo spacecraft, program wide. Working on the space program exceeded all the dreams he had of flight as a child. He retired from Grumman in 1994.