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This is a flown segment of a wire harness used for a strain gauge sensor positioned along the starboard wing Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) Panel 13 of Shuttle Columbia.Flown on STS-3, the third flight of the Shuttle Program from March 22-30, 1982. STS-3 mission accomplishments included thermal stress testing, activation and testing of the Canadarm Remote Manipulator System, and deploying the first Office of Space Science payload of 9 experiments. STS-3 was also the only mission to land at White Sands.
The item is encased in display quality Lucite and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by STS-3 Commander Jack Lousma. The base of the display includes the mission insignia. Please look carefully at all photos. As is often the case with lucite-embedded objects, there may be artifacts of the embedding process, such as air bubbles.
The strain gauge was bonded to the back of RCC Panel 13, starboard wing. As the wing and gauge experienced loads during flight, the wire harness would flex, producing a low-voltage electrical signal sent to a data recorder used for post-flight analysis of Columbia\'s performance.
I acquired this item directly from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) when it first became available for sale/sale in 2011. This flown item was part of a series of \"Space Artifacts\" made available by ASF in 2011.
Item ships insured with signature at delivery.