Apollo 15 Flown Pressure Equalization Valve Decal

…scorched from the heat of reentry, and salvaged from the Primary Access Hatch of the Command Module post flight. It is made of the iconic reflective gold caption film, but on the Command Module the silver side faced outward, and the gold side adhered to the spacecraft shell. See in-flight photos, below.

The Pressure Equalization Valve vented cabin pressure inside the Command Module, for example, venting during the launch from just over 1 ATM at ground level to the low pressure 100% oxygen air for the mission. Ordinarily locked in the down position, to vent the cabin pressure the crew would release the lock, pull the handle up, and wind it in a clockwise direction. The ground crew could also operate the Pressure Equalization Valve from the outside of the Command Module using a modified Allen wrench in their toolkits.

Apollo 15 also featured the first deep space EVA (aka a space walk) on their return to Earth, to recover film from the external SIM Bay. Since the CM does not have an airlock, it was depressurized via this valve before the EVA.

This is the newest Apollo 15 artifact added to the FV space collection. OTD in 1971, Apollo 15 landed on the moon, and brought the first EV to the moon.