Oldest Americana Artifact Flown in Space Revealed
▼ Summary
– A 15-inch copper Statue of Liberty replica was flown on the space shuttle Discovery in 1985; one was displayed, and the other was melted into seals sold by the Statue of Liberty Centennial Commission.
– The copper for the mini-statues came from the original 1875–1884 construction of the full-size Statue of Liberty, a gift from France commemorating the U.S. centennial.
– John Glenn, at age 77 the oldest person to fly in space, carried a 1993 reprint of Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 “Manual of Parliamentary Practice” on the 1998 Discovery mission.
– The article defines “Americana” as memorabilia dating to the Revolutionary War and 1776 Declaration of Independence, noting older objects like a 1611 Jamestown tag have flown but are outside this scope.
– The story raises the question of the oldest piece of Americana launched into space, highlighting that objects from early U.S. history have been carried on spaceflights over four decades.
Did you know that a piece of the Statue of Liberty has actually traveled to space? It’s true. When the space shuttle Discovery launched on its fourth mission in April 1985, it carried not one, but two miniature versions of the iconic statue. Each stood just 15 inches tall (38.1 centimeters) and was crafted from copper removed from the full-size monument during its ongoing restoration at the time.
After the weeklong STS-51D mission concluded, one of these space-flown statues went on public display. The other was melted down to produce copper seals, which the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Centennial Commission sold to the public. The copper itself dated back to the statue’s original construction between 1875 and 1884. A gift from France, the Statue of Liberty was intended to mark America’s centennial in 1876.
Now, as the United States embarks on its next 250 years, we’ve seen four more decades of spaceflight carrying objects tied to American history. That raises an intriguing question: What is the oldest known piece of Americana ever launched off the planet?
For the purposes of this discussion, Americana refers to memorabilia dating back to the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Certainly, older objects have reached space. For example, a 1611 Jamestown “luggage tag” from the first permanent English settlement flew aboard Atlantis in 2007. But that falls outside the scope of this article.
John Glenn, one of the original Mercury astronauts and later a U. S. senator, became the oldest person to fly in space when he launched on a 1998 Discovery mission at age 77. Among the items he chose to bring were two tied directly to early American history.
After consulting with staff in the Office of Senate Curator, the Senate Historical Office, and the Senate Library, Senator Glenn selected a 1993 reprint of Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 book, the “Manual of Parliamentary Practice,” for the STS-95 Official Flight Kit. According to the Senate Curator’s Office in a 2023 article, the manual was a practical choice due to its small size and weight, but it also carries deep significance as a meaningful text in Senate history.
(Source: Ars Technica)