U.S 50 Star Flag - Apollo 14 LM.

Apollo 14 - 50 Star U.S. Flag Autographed "Kittyhawk", Capt. Edgar Mitchell Personal Collection.
This 4" x 6" rayon, 50 star, United States flag was one of only 25 carried by astronaut Edgar Mitchell in his Personal Preference Kit (PPK) on the Apollo 14 mission that landed on the moon on the 5th of February 1971. Weight and storage constraints limited the size and number of artifacts that could be carried on any of the Apollo missions, and flags from the Apollo Mission PPKs are extremely rare. An autographed photograph of Edgar Mitchell accompanies it.

Apollo 14 was the 3rd mission to land on the Moon. The astronauts were Alan Shepard (Commander), Stuart Roosa (Command Module Pilot) and Edgar Mitchell (Lunar Module Pilot). After landing in the Fra Mauro, Shepard and Mitchell took two moon walks, called Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs), during which they deployed the experiment package, used a Mobile Equipment Transporter (MET) nicknamed the "lunar rickshaw" cart to carry their equipment and collect samples. They also conducted the "First Lunar Olympics" when Shepard hit a golf ball with a gold club head he had brought in his PPK, while Mitchell threw the handle of a lunar sample collector as an impromptu javelin.

American flags remain popular among collectors of space-flown artifacts and autographed PPK Lunar flags are very desirable. Flags accompanied by an autographed copy of an EVA photograph are quite rare. Edgar Mitchell made this this flag and the autographed photograph available as an item for a charity fundraiser and gala.

This flag is a companion piece to ZFC3551.

Exhibition History:
IONS 2010: Cosmos and Consciousness
A Fundraising Gala & Auction
The Chabot Space and Science Center
Oakland, California, February 20, 2010

Private Showing
8 June 2010
Tiger 21 Meeting,
Omni Hotel, San Francisco, CA

Museum of Art & History
Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz Collects
11 August - 25 November 2012


Provenance: Acquired in 2010 at a charity auction at IONS 2010: Cosmos and Consciousness, The Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland, California, February 20, 2010

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

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IONS Overview, The Institute of Noetic Sciences, 7 November 2011, from:
http://noetic.org/about/overview/

IONS 2010 - Cosmos and Consciousness, February 9, 2010, wolfnowl's posterous, 7 November 2011, from:
http://wolfnowl.posterous.com/ions-2010-cosmos-and-consciousness

Stars, stripes and space: NASA and the 50 star American flag, collectSPACE.com, 7 November 2011, from:
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-070410a.html

Frohman , David, An Overview of Flown Apollo Flags, Space Relics, 7 November 2011, from:
http://www.spacerelics.com/inventory/essay/flags.html

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and David Frohman, President of Peachstate Historical Consulting, Inc., meet in Washington, D.C. to help pioneer new flight-certification standards for space artifacts, Space Relics, 7 November 2011, from:
http://www.spacerelics.com/press32.html

FLOWN IN SPACE, Astronaut Central, 7 November 2011, from:
http://www.astronautcentral.com/SINGLES/Flown.html

Leger , Donna L. , 7/20/2011 Interest in space memorabilia soars as shuttle era ends, USA Today, 7 November 2011, from:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2011-07-20-space-shuttle-collectibles_n.htm

Platoff, Anne M., Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon, NASA Contractor Report 188251, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 7 November 2011, from:
http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-usflag.html

Platoff, Anne M. , Flags in Space: Symbols of NASA and Use of Flags in the Manned Space Program." Presented to the North American Vexillological Association, NAVA 36 (Denver, CO, October 2002), Publication pending in The Flag Bulletin; 7 November, 2011, from:
http://aplatoff.home.mindspring.com/~aplatoff/space/

Apollo 14, Wikipedia, 7 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_14

Apollo program, Wikipedia, 7 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program

Space Race, Wikipedia, 7 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Race

Edgar Dean Mitchell, D.Sc., Wikipedia, 7 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Mitchell

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	3.875
Length of Fly	6

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	2.125
Length of Union/Canton	3

Stars
Comments on Star Measurements	6-5-6-5-6-5-6-5-6 horizontal rows
Size of Stars	0.25

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	0.375
Width of 3rd Stripe	0.375
Width of 8th Stripe	0.375
Width of Last Stripe	0.125
Size of Hoist	0

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	15
Frame Length	18.375

Stars
Number of Stars	50
How are the stars embeded?	Printed
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes
Star Pattern	6-5-6-5-6-5-6-5-6 horizontal rows

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no
Comments on Stripes	irregular

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Rayon

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Weave
Type of Weave	Plain

Attachment
Method of Attachment	None

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Excellent
Damage	inscribed
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1971

Exhibits
Exhibition Copy	Exhibition History IONS 2010: Cosmos and Consciousness A Fundraising Gala & Auction The Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland, California, February 20, 2010 Private Showing 8 June 2010 Tiger 21 Meeting, Omni Hotel, San Francisco, CA