| This
artifact is a tee coupling from the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft.
Liberty Bell 7 laid
undisturbed at the
bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for
nearly 38
years.
It was recovered by a team led by Curt Newport on July 20, 1999.
After recovery the Kansas Cosmosphere led the restoration and
preservation
effort of the historic space capsule.
In the process of restoration of Liberty Bell 7, some of the components
that
were decayed beyond repair were removed from the spacecraft. These components were later encased in Lucite
displays and sold as collectibles by the Cosmosphere. The Earth
To The
Moon Air and Space Museum purchased this artifact from the
Cosmosphere.
The front of the Lucite
Display
states, "Liberty
Bell 7 - This is an original component from the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury
spacecraft recover from the Atlantic Ocean on July 20, 1999 from a
depth of 16043 feet."
The back
of the Lucite Display
states, "This
LIberty Bell 7 component was removed during an extensive restoration
conducted on the spacecraft by the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center
in Hutchinson, Kansas. The item could not be reinstalled in the
spacecraft because of the corroded condition of the component to which
it was originally attached. Proceeds derived from making these
historic artifacts publicly available will help offset the costs of the
Cosmosphere's Liberty Bell 7 restoration and exhibition program." |
