Lingerie in Space
U. S. space suits come from Delaware. So do I. I’ve actually driven by the factory a few times. It’s a small building on a back road surrounded by farmland.
Space suits are descended from ladies’ underwear. Who knew? An excerpt (emphasis added):
When astronauts return to the moon, and maybe beyond, they will stay for far longer than the two-and-a-half hours that Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent exploring the moon’s surface. Frederica-based ILC hopes to play a role in keeping the astronauts sheltered — the company is working to develop an inflatable habitat that could be used on the moon.
For NASA’s first trip to the moon, the high-tech suits worn by Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins had their roots in bras and girdles.
ILC Dover began as part of International Latex Corp. — later known as Playtex — when the company spun off a division in 1947 that made products such as life vests and rafts for the military.
The full story is here.
(Also posted, with slight changes, at my place. I don’t usually dual post, but this was just too good to pass up.)