Apollo 14 - 50 Star, Mitchell CM, PPK - Disintegration Flag.
This 4x6, rayon, 50 Star, United States Flag was one of several carried in Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell's PPK on the Apollo XIV mission. It was presented to the Zaricor Flag Collection with the stipulation that research continue on why the flag is disintegrating.

The flag was examined in 2009 by McCrone Associates of Westmont, IL, one of the nations leading microscopy labs. After examination they concluded that this rayon flag has been exposed to alum salt that is causing it to disintegrate. It is printed on rayon, which is a fiber manufactured from cellulose. Rayon is produced from naturally occurring polymers and therefore it is not a purely synthetic fiber, nor is it purely a natural fiber, but is rather a semi-artificial fiber. In the textile industry, it is commonly known by the name of 'art silk' whereas a more general term to refer to it is 'viscose rayon'.

Rayon's history id interesting. In 1855, George Audemars developed the first 'artificial silk' after discovering that nitrocellulose was soluble in various organic solvents (ether and acetone for example). However his method was highly impractical for commercial use. Hilaire de Charbonnet, Comte de Chardonnay, patented "Chardonnay silk" in 1884. The commercial production started 1891, but, again, turned out not to be economically viable.

In 1905, Camille and Henri Dreyfus developed a commercial process to manufacture cellulose acetate. The Dreyfus brothers initially focused on cellulose acetate film, which was then widely used in celluloid plastics and motion picture film. By 1913, Camille and Henri's studies and experiments had produced excellent laboratory samples of continuous filament acetate yarn. In 1924, the first commercial acetate filament was spun in the United States and trademarked as Celanese. It was almost immediately adapted by the flag industry as a substitute for silk in both sewn and printed flags.

Rayon is a very versatile fiber and has the same properties as natural fibers. It can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen. The fibers are easily dyed in a wide range of colors. Rayon fabrics are soft, smooth, and make an excellent "faux silk that was for years favored by the flag industry.

Because it is a cellulose fiber, organic solvents, and weak acids damaged it. The vast majority of acids are weak acids and an alum salt solution would fall into this category. It was the conclusion of McCrone Associates that the flag was not disintegrating because of "Outer Space Rays" but rather was exposed to a high concentration of textile fireproofing.

This is highly likely as after the disastrous Apollo fire, everything carried aboard the Apollo missions has fireproofed.

ZFC Significant Flag

Sources:


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

Rayon, Wikipedia, 7 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection