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2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes of Spaceflight Relic #HSFR-SSA7 -- Space Shuttle Atlantis, containing a swatch the card identifies as space-flown Orbiter payload bay thermal blanket. Not serial numbered.
Set details: 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes, "Heroes of Spaceflight Relics" insert, card #HSFR-SSA7. Sport: Non-Sport (Space). Team: NASA. Manufacturer: Topps. Original licensed product, printed in United States.
Card back / certificate: The ring around the swatch window reads "AUTHENTIC SPACE-FLOWN / SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER PAYLOAD BAY THERMAL BLANKET." The back reads: "Congratulations! You have received an authentic space-flown relic from the Topps American Heritage Collection. On the front of this card is an authentic piece of Space Shuttle Orbiter Payload Bay Thermal Blanket from Space Shuttle Atlantis. The relic on this card is certified as to having been flown in space on an official NASA mission. Topps pledges to bring you closer to American history and its greatest heroes." Tracking code #00003765. Note the certificate does not name a specific mission or flight date -- it certifies flown status only, and I am quoting it rather than adding detail it does not claim.
Appearance detail: Raw, not in a holder. Corners look sharp with slight softness at the top left, and there is minor light edge showing along the bottom-left black border. Surface is clean with no scratches or creases. The swatch is a single round window of off-white cream fibrous material resembling felt or batting, with a few loose fibers protruding at the upper left and a visible gap between the swatch and the window edge on the left side.
Worth knowing: Unnumbered, confirmed after checking all four edges of both sides. SSA7 is the thermal blanket variant -- one of seven Atlantis variants in the 38-card set, and the blanket variants are scarcer than the payload bay liner ones. Collectors treat this set as legitimate NASA-flown material. The listing states flown status exactly as the Topps certificate words it and does not assert a specific mission.
Space Shuttle Atlantis: Atlantis first launched in October 1985 and flew 33 missions, logging 4,848 orbits and roughly 126 million miles. It carried out the fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in May 2009 and flew STS-135 in July 2011, the last flight of the entire Space Shuttle Program. It has been on public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex since 2013. The payload bay thermal blanket was a lightweight multi-layer insulation quilt lining the cargo bay -- passive thermal control that held the orbiter and its payload within temperature limits through the extremes of sunlight and orbital shadow.
Condition described honestly and as accurately as possible from close examination of the actual card. I am not a professional grader and make no claim about what this would receive on a professional grading scale. The scans accompanying this listing are of the actual card, front and back -- what you see is what you will receive.
Ships promptly in a penny sleeve and rigid toploader, packed between paperboard in a bubble mailer for protection. Tracking provided on every order. Please review all photos carefully and feel free to message with any questions before buying.
