History, Care, and Handling of America's Spacesuits: Problems in Modern Materials

Autor: Mary T. Baker, Ed Mcmanus
Rok vydání: 1992
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. 31:77-85
ISSN: 1945-2330
0197-1360
DOI: 10.1179/019713692806156349
Popis: Manned spaceflight was a pivotal achievement in U.S. history, and the spacesuits used are testimony to the interdisciplinary talents and technological achievements involved in reaching this goal. Unfortunately, the materials in these suits are deteriorating rapidly, endangering our only records of some stages of the space race technology. Some materials are degrading due to poor manufacturing techniques made necessary by the push to “win the space race.” Others are deteriorating due to conditions to which they were exposed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) testing and use. Present methods of display and storage of these artifacts are not sufficient to delay the degradation process and, in many cases, are accelerating it. Treatment and storage decisions for these objects are not simple, as the suits contain a variety of materials, including metals, syntheticand natural textiles, synthetic and natural plastics, rubber and adhesives, as well as paints and varnishes; clearly,...
Databáze: OpenAIRE