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Author
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Topic: Beta cloth during Gemini?
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Novaspace
Member Posts: 434
From: Tucson, AZ USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 02-25-2007 12:15 PM
  
Does anyone know if beta cloth was used for PPKs or storage bags on Gemini, or was it just nylon? |
dsenechal
Member Posts: 539
From:
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 02-25-2007 12:33 PM
I'm pretty sure that NASA didn't use beta cloth until after the Apollo 1 fire. From the Smithsonian: "Following the tragic Apollo 1 fire, researchers sought materials more resistant to very high temperatures."It's certain that beta wasn't used for suits, netting, etc., so I'd guess that it wasn't used for PPKs either. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-25-2007 12:34 PM
Quoting Gene Dorr's Space Patches website, which in turn is quoting U.S. Space Gear: Outfitting the Astronaut by Lillian Kozloski: "The Apollo 204 review board... recommended that non-flammable materials replace combustible ones wherever possible... Nylon cloth in the spacecraft and in the suits was replaced by Beta cloth, a substance developed by Frederick S. Dawn's research team in conjunction with the Dow-Corning Company. Thus, Beta cloth wasn't in use by NASA until after the Apollo 1 fire. |
Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 02-25-2007 05:24 PM
The preferred fireproof textile before the Apollo 1 fire was Nomex, used extensively on the Gemini suits and developmental stages of the Apollo suits.The two materials are quite similar, however Nomex items tend to have a slightly yellower tone than beta cloth; Nomex is also a slightly rougher texture. If you have a sample of each in your hand they're easy to tell apart but it can be tricky to tell from photos. |
Novaspace
Member Posts: 434
From: Tucson, AZ USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 02-25-2007 08:22 PM
Thanks everyone. It feels like Beta Cloth, but is a little yellowed. It's not a PPK, but a smaller bag used by McDivitt for hauling medallions (he thinks) On Gemini 4. |
dsenechal
Member Posts: 539
From:
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 02-25-2007 08:56 PM
Here's a quick way to find out: Take a few fibers from the sample you're interested, and hold a match to them. If they burn or melt quickly, you'll know they're nylon. If they don't, you'll know they're not. |
divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
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posted 02-25-2007 09:49 PM
I have a Gemini PPK. It almost feels like a rubberized nylon. I would assume that it feels the same as the outer covering of pressure suits of the same era. Not having a piece of NOMEX handy doesn't let me compare the two, but Beta Cloth has a totally different feel to it.
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Rizz
Member Posts: 1208
From: Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 02-25-2007 11:33 PM
I've got two Apollo era Beta cloth emblems, or what I believed to be Beta cloth. One signed in-person, the other flown and signed.Loose strands when held above a small flame, such as a lighter, burned up pretty quickly. I attempted this little experiment because strands of the material were loose and could easily be removed. I just figured that the material was so old that it no longer held is fire resistant qualities. |
Spacepsycho
Member Posts: 818
From: Huntington Beach, Calif.
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted 02-26-2007 02:57 AM
Actually the Beta cloth didn't really burn, so much as it melted. The reason it melted when you put a flame to it, was due to the fact that just a few fibers of material were exposed to an ignition source. The beta cloth is a teflon coated, glass spun, tightly woven fabric that's able to resist flame & impact, as long as it's intact. Once the fabric has been torn or the edges exposed, the material is much easier to melt, leaving a ragged & uneven hole. The teflon coating helped prevent or delay any glass fibers from becoming airborne, causing lung, eye or skin irration. Also there is no ripstop material woven into the beta cloth fabric, like there is the NASA used nylon material used for Mercury & Gemini, so once the beta cloth edges are exposed, it's impossible to stop it's unraveling. What's funny is that in NASA's haste to drastically reduce flammable material in the post AP-1 CM cabins, the crews were outfitted in a teflon coated ripstop nylon flight suit, that wasn't anywhere close to being as fire safe as beta cloth. The reason beta cloth wasn't used for the inflight crew garments, was due to the fact that beta cloth clothing was too stiff and uncomfortable. Also when the beta cloth fibers were broken, scuffed or abraided from normal use, the woven glass material would become airborne or embed itself in skin causing irritation. Like others have said, the Gemini spacecraft used rubberized ripstop nylon for many applications in the crew cabin. I read somewhere that the rubberized nylon was used for GT PPKs because the pilots had used similar material in their aviation careers and they knew it was waterproof protecting their items inside. |
Novaspace
Member Posts: 434
From: Tucson, AZ USA
Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 03-01-2007 06:06 PM
Actually, upon further examination, it IS beta cloth. Jim says it is from Apollo 9. He says he also has the rubberized nylon bag used on Gemini 4. |
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