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Author
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Topic: Frankenstein's moon suit
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-22-2007 09:55 AM
   
From the Manchester Evening News: quote:
It may seem out of this world - but researchers have found that Frankenstein scientists in Manchester played a key role in the moon landings and a classic science fiction film.Documents uncovered by curators at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry reveal a textile firm in Newton Heath called P Frankenstein and Sons helped design the spacesuits worn by Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts when Apollo 11 touched down on July 20, 1969. The company was also responsible for manufacturing the suits worn in the cult 1968 Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Continue reading How Frankenstein helped put a man on the moon |
Prospero
Member Posts: 94
From: Manchester, UK
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 01-29-2007 01:54 PM
It just so happens I live in Newton Heath! I reckon Frankenstein and Sons must have gone out of business long since though, because I've never heard of them - and I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I'd seen a building with a name like that on it!
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dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 01-29-2007 04:14 PM
A google search has uncovered this old advertisement...The company obviously 'merged' at some stage and the new parent group must have decided to drop the distinctive 'mad scientist' name!
http://www.blueangel.org.uk/BA/I/8000/BA8080.JPG |
Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 01-29-2007 05:23 PM
I'm pretty sure I'm right recalling that an American member of the cS board is the son of a man who left the UK to work on the Apollo suits, and invented the zipper closures.If you're reading - was your dad by any chance from Manchester or working for Frankenstein? Cheers,
Matt ------------------
www.spaceracemuseum.com |
Prospero
Member Posts: 94
From: Manchester, UK
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 01-30-2007 03:35 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dom:
The company obviously 'merged' at some stage and the new parent group must have decided to drop the distinctive 'mad scientist' name!
Typical boring corporate suits. Imagine if the company was still around and making pressure suits - in a few years time you could be flying on a tourist space flight and wearing protective gear supplied by Frankenstein ;-) Incidentally, I passed the story on to my Dad who was a beat cop in these parts in the early 60s. He remembered the old Frankenstein factory, having been involved in the case of one of the employees who died. It turns out the works was just around the corner from where I live, literally just five minutes walk or less. There was a garage there for a long time but that's now been demolished and there's a block of posh flats being built there now - from now on I'll always think of them as "Frankenstein Flats"!
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