Command Module, Apollo, #011A, AS-202

This Apollo Block I Command Module flew on the suborbital AS-202 mission on August 25, 1966. This was the third flight of the Saturn IB and the second Command Module heat shield test. The objectives of the mission were to verify structural integrity, launch loads, stage separation, Saturn IB subsystems, the Apollo spacecraft separations, emergency detection system, the Command Module heatshield for high velocity re-entry from low earth orbit, and mission support facilities. The heatshield tested was thinner and lighter weight than those tested earlier. The mission lasted 1 hour 33 minutes and ended successfully with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The command module was later drop-tested to test the durability of instruments without the presence of the protective heatshield. A major crack can be seen as a result of that dry-land drop test.