Huge fragment of flown heat shield from the Russian Salyut 7-Cosmos 1686 (Kosmos 1686) spacecraft assembly, which went out of control and fell to Earth as a fireball in 1991—effectively becoming a man-made meteorite, and one of the largest human-made objects to ever re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Weighing 80 lbs, the piece measures approximately 57″ x 28″ and is 2″ thick in the mid-section, comprised of multiple layers with a clear hex pattern in the white underbelly. It was acquired from famed meteorite hunter Michael Farmer, who noted: 'Shield fell in a man’s garden. He woke up the morning after the fall and found it in his garden. He kept it on the patio for decades. Pieces were cut off both as samples and souvenirs. Fell in Capitan Bermudez, Argentina.'
From the British & Irish Meteorite Society: 'Controllers put the spacecraft into a spin and tried to control the impact into the Atlantic Ocean as 70Kg of fuel still remained onboard. This attempt failed and after a bright fireball that was witnessed by many local people, some fragments fell near the town of Capitan Bermudez, 400 Km from Buenos Aires, Argentina at 01:00 local time on 7th February 1991.'
This piece will be crated and shipped from California; the buyer is responsible for all associated costs.
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