Apollo 7-era "Orange Drink" Space Food Packet
This is an original Apollo-era Orange Drink space food packet bearing all original labels and the remnants of a red velcro square, intended for the Mission Commander.
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DESCRIPTION
This original, Apollo 7-era space food packet contains orange syrup that when hydrated would have been consumed by the Apollo astronauts had it flown aboard one of the missions to the moon. The original label bears the name of the drink contents, as well as the WSD (Whirlpool Space Division) stamp with a stamped ID number reading "6256".
On the reverse is a label that reads "Serial No: FM 072" and a red velcro square. Velcro was used on all food packets, tools and even checklists within the spacecraft so that they could be stuck down as to not float away while the astronaut wasn't looking.
Throughout the Apollo Program, there were three colours of velcro used on space food and drink; red, white and blue, the colours of the American flag. Red was intended for the Mission Commander, white for the Command Module Pilot, and blue for the Lunar Module Pilot. Therefore this packet would have been intended for the Mission Commander.
Authentication Information: This space food packet is guaranteed to be Apollo 7-era. It was originally in a collection of Apollo-era food packets and also bears a red velcro square, an Apollo food packet characteristic. Additionally, the label makes reference to water temperature, a feature not developed until the Apollo Program. Lastly, there is an external germicide tablet, this method of storage was used throughout Gemini and Apollo 7, but from Apollo 8 onwards an internal germicide tablet was used, making this too late for Gemini and too early for Apollo 8 onwards, therefore must be Apollo 7-era.
The food packet also came with original Melpar Inc. documentation, and while this documentation mentions the toasted bread cube food packet by name, it does not reference any identifying traits that can be used to guarantee that the paperwork was intended for this particular food packet. On that note, to our knowledge, no Melpar Inc. paperwork we have seen references any serial number in general.
Description
This original, Apollo 7-era space food packet contains orange syrup that when hydrated would have been consumed by the Apollo astronauts had it flown aboard one of the missions to the moon. The original label bears the name of the drink contents, as well as the WSD (Whirlpool Space Division) stamp with a stamped ID number reading "6256".
On the reverse is a label that reads "Serial No: FM 072" and a red velcro square. Velcro was used on all food packets, tools and even checklists within the spacecraft so that they could be stuck down as to not float away while the astronaut wasn't looking.
Throughout the Apollo Program, there were three colours of velcro used on space food and drink; red, white and blue, the colours of the American flag. Red was intended for the Mission Commander, white for the Command Module Pilot, and blue for the Lunar Module Pilot. Therefore this packet would have been intended for the Mission Commander.
Authentication Information: This space food packet is guaranteed to be Apollo 7-era. It was originally in a collection of Apollo-era food packets and also bears a red velcro square, an Apollo food packet characteristic. Additionally, the label makes reference to water temperature, a feature not developed until the Apollo Program. Lastly, there is an external germicide tablet, this method of storage was used throughout Gemini and Apollo 7, but from Apollo 8 onwards an internal germicide tablet was used, making this too late for Gemini and too early for Apollo 8 onwards, therefore must be Apollo 7-era.
The food packet also came with original Melpar Inc. documentation, and while this documentation mentions the toasted bread cube food packet by name, it does not reference any identifying traits that can be used to guarantee that the paperwork was intended for this particular food packet. On that note, to our knowledge, no Melpar Inc. paperwork we have seen references any serial number in general.