Apropos magnets and how the fuck they work, there has been some research, I think, on magnetic fields to protect spaceships, but I don’t recall how vapour-warey it is right now. Or what awful power requirements it has.
1 Like
a lot. cant really remember either, but I would assume way, waaay too much for anything near current technology.
e/ I remember the idea for it from this show (was not bad, pretty good, actually);
1 Like
Those aliens really need to open source their shit instead of drip feeding tech to DARPA and the Lizard People and spending their weekends bothering cattle. They are such dicks
5 Likes
Same concern here. Looking at something like the ISS, there are modules that have been in service for a couple decades and require a lot of maintenance to keep them operational. For this inflatable type i’m curious what they expect its longevity and reliability will be like, but still i think the tech has a lot of promise and glad to see their test did better than expected.
3 Likes
from the top of my head; multiple aluminium-foils as layers, compressed together trough pressure its not foil anymore, but metal. 2-component glue between layers, after pressurization, it builds a solid structure…and so on.
a lot of possibilities.
2 Likes
That was my first thought as well. Obviously, as you say, they have thought about this. I’m curious how it’s going to work.
2 Likes
I wonder which crack in my drywall I can attribute to that boom?
The testing range on Redstone Arsenal where a lot of explode-y things happen is about 5-6 miles (as the sound waves travel) from my house.
2 Likes
Re suits… based on L.D. Kozloski’s definitive U.S. Space Gear, ILC Dover made the suits. Playtex is not mentioned in Kozloski’s book. Aerospace-focused ILC Dover (like Playtex) was a division (non-bra in the case of ILC Dover) of International Latex Corp (ILC), and ILC had experience supporting the US military in WWII with latex-based products. The National Air & Space Museum also names ILC Dover as the Apollo suit manufacturer. As far as Playtex’s involvement, I’d bet the farm that Playtex’s best and most experienced seamstresses were moved to ILC Dover, hence, for years, I – as with seemingly every one else – believing that Playtex (commercial products) made the moon suits. Thank you, Lillian D.
1 Like
Thanks for the info
1 Like
Probably just Alpha and Beta.
3 Likes
Maybe you’re both right? This article says it was ILC but also says that it was a division of the company that manufactured playtex bras.
I don’t know how well-researched articles in Smithsonian Magazine usually are but I would hope they’re fairly reputable.
How much support could you really need in 1/6 gravity?
That’s an accurate statement. I think we’re talking about who was responsible in every practical way for the existence of the Apollo program suits.
Can one say that Rockwell International (RI) made the F-1 first stage engines for the Saturn rocket, when it was actually one of its divisions – Rocketdyne — that designed and built the F-1 engines?
For the Smithsonian to title up the history for greater interest in the way they did, well, it’s just not accurate.
I worked on a missile program many years ago. We ran a test that used one of our “golden” guidance units. Two years of planning and prep and $60MM spent, and the whole thing ended up smashed to atoms over the Pacific. Overall, bittersweet.
3 Likes
To me that’s a really weird and kinda pointless distinction to get hung up on. You could say that the Apollo program was an American program to put men on the moon, or a Federal Government Program, or NASA Program. All would be accurate.
As for Rockwell specifically, everyone knows them best for their Retro Encabulator:
4 Likes
Playtex and ILC Dover made the suits, because both were under International Latex Corp?
Playtex → Bras
ILC Dover → Spacesuits
Of the two divisions, I’d think that the second one should be cited for creation of the suits. 
Not for those, like me, who worked at Rocketdyne (me as an engineer for 30 years there). The name clearly informs one of the endeavors you support, while saying you work for Rockwell International (back then) requires narrowing down whether you build drill motors or work in the field of electronics or rocket engines or so on, and so on, and so on. Now. I believe we are done. Have a pleasant evening.
Ok, fine, but I’m also an engineer that works for one division of a larger company, and I really don’t take any offense or mind one bit if people say things like “this amazing ride was built by the company that animates cartoon mice” even though it’s a completely separate division.
But it’s good to know you’re proud of your work. Did Rocketdyne ever make use of that Turbo Encabulator, by the way? Which specific division of Rockwell International built it?
2 Likes
I hope you realize that the video was merely a sarcastic spoof of tech video instructionals. Right?
