What is the oldest American object ever launched into space?

# What is the oldest American object ever launched into space? Source: [https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/whats-the-oldest-americana-flown-in-space/](https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/whats-the-oldest-americana-flown-in-space/) Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 while he was serving as vice president \(and therefore the head of the Senate\), the manual influenced both houses of Congress as to how to approach order and decorum\. Glenn also took with him a 13\-star flag that was used to identify General George Washington on the battlefield\. Believed to be inspired by the details on the general’s uniform in 1777,[Washington’s Headquarters Flag](https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/astronaut-john-glenn-s-revolutionary-war-flag)\(also known as the Commander\-in\-Chief standard\) flew with Glenn in the lead\-up to the bicentennial commemorations of Washington’s death in 1799\. [](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/news-070326c-lg.jpg) John Glenn flew a replica of General George Washington’s 1777 Headquarters Flag aboard the space shuttle*Discovery*in 1998, in the then\-lead\-up to the bicentennial commemorations of Washington’s death in 1799\. Credit: Museum of the American Revolution John Glenn flew a replica of General George Washington’s 1777 Headquarters Flag aboard the space shuttle*Discovery*in 1998, in the then\-lead\-up to the bicentennial commemorations of Washington’s death in 1799\.Credit: Museum of the American Revolution Both the flag and the manual, though, were reproductions\. The originals are in museums and deemed too fragile and irreplaceable to risk being launched into space\. The copy that Glenn flew was a 1993 reprint, and the flag was made for Glenn to fly in 1998\. Another replica flag steeped in American history was aboard the International Space Station from November 2014 through June 2015\. NASA astronaut Terry Virts was provided the 15\-star flag by Fort McHenry in Maryland, after it was flown over the historic site for Flag Day during the bicentennial year of the Battle of Baltimore\. The[original of that flag](https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-082020a-first-american-flag-flown-space.html)was seen by Francis Scott Key to “yet wave,” leading him to write a poem that became the US anthem,*The Star\-Spangled Banner*, in 1814\. ## Nailing down the \(possible\) oldest In May 1869, a 17\.6\-karat gold spike was used to ceremonially complete the First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit in the then\-Utah Territory\. Today, the site is a National Historical Park located near where Northrop Grumman builds and tests solid rocket motors for space launch vehicles\. Ninety\-six years later, a[replica of the Golden Spike](https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-052612a-spacex-dragon-spacecraft-golden-spike.html)was launched on*Atlantis*with the STS\-38 crew\. It was another spike, however, that is believed to be the oldest Americana artifact to have flown into space\. [](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/news-070326e-lg.jpg) Is this the oldest piece of Americana to fly into space? This copper spike was an original component of the hull of the USS*Constitution*, dating back to 1787\. It was flown aboard*Atlantis*on the first space shuttle mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir in 1995\. Credit: USS Constitution Museum Is this the oldest piece of Americana to fly into space? This copper spike was an original component of the hull of the USS*Constitution*, dating back to 1787\. It was flown aboard*Atlantis*on the first space shuttle mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir in 1995\.Credit: USS Constitution Museum “In honor of the 200th anniversary of the commissioning of the USS*Constitution*, ‘Old Ironsides,’ this copper spike, an original component of the hull of the USS*Constitution*, \[was\] flown on the United States space shuttle,” a plaque presenting the nail reads\. The spike, which was removed from the ship in 1992 and dates back to 1797, was aboard*Atlantis*for the entirety of the STS\-71 mission, from June 27 through July 7, 1995\. The mission marked the first rendezvous and docking between a NASA shuttle and the former Russian space station, Mir\. Another*Constitution*piece, a fragment of wood of similar age, was launched into orbit with the Hubble Space Telescope on STS\-31\. The piece was on loan at the US Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland\.