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EARLY MATERIAL RESEARCH FOR SPACE SUITS Many textiles used in space suits were invented prior to the space program. The Du Pont Company developed neoprene synthetic rubber in 1932, almost thirty years before the first manned spaceflight. Nylon and Teflon were invented in 1938. Following World War II, Du Pont introduced Mylar, in 1959, Lycra spandex fiber, and in 1963, Nomex. All of these materials were used in the Apollo space suit. Following the tragic Apollo 1 fire, researchers sought materials more resistant to very high temperatures. In 1962, the Dow-Corning Company produced Beta silica fiber, a material like fiberglass, except that it would not irritate the skin of the wearer. For the outer covering of the Apollo space suit, Beta silica fiber was coated with Teflon to create Beta Cloth The attached list identifies the materials used in the many layers of an A7L suit, starting with a suit's exterior.   Apollo
11 Scientific Experiments
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©National Air and Space Museum http://www.nasm.si.edu Created: 7/99 |
