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Author
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Topic: Liquid Coolant Garment (LCG) fasteners
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hbw60
Member Posts: 155
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 04-17-2021 07:25 PM
   
Last week, someone on eBay was selling a large amount of Apollo-era spacesuit materials — mostly Beta Cloth pouches. Most of the items were out of my budget, but I was able to win a few metal connectors.According to the notation on the bag, these were "removed from LCG #081" on 8-28-1970, and then "DR 11030893" was added. The seller mentioned that LCG stands for "Liquid Cooling Garment." Does anyone know if there's a way to use those numbers to get any more information about these particular items? Personally, I just thought it'd be really interesting to own a piece of spacesuit material. But I would love to know when/how they were used if possible. Thank you!  
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oly
Member Posts: 1202
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 04-18-2021 03:58 AM
While I don't know that these clamps were used on the LCG, if they were used anywhere, it would be on the large hose connector manifold where the larger flexible hose connects to the smaller tubing.These images don't show such clamps in use. This style clamp was heavily used in aircraft production in the 1960's, with many light aircraft manufacturers using them. Their lightweight construction made them popular, but they were prone to breaking. However, they do have sharp edges that may not suit the design of the LCG. |
hbw60
Member Posts: 155
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 04-18-2021 01:30 PM
Thanks so much for such a detailed reply! That's all great information to have, and it was very kind of you to look up the links for everything.The seller definitely had a lot of genuine Apollo-era hardware for sale, so I don't think this was intentionally mis-attributed to the LCG. But I agree, it seems unlikely that sharp metal clamps would be applied to such delicate fabric. I wonder if the original archivist meant something other than "Liquid Cooling Garments" for "LCG". Or maybe these just aren't NASA items at all. Again, thank you! |
DG27
Member Posts: 196
From: USA
Registered: Nov 2010
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posted 04-19-2021 01:28 AM
Here is a photo of an LCG with a different hose connection arrangement.The seller of the clamps also had two white silicone hoses with A6L part numbers that were similar to what is in the photo. The clamps you have would be under the white tape at each end of the hoses. The reason for removing the clamps would be described in the Discrepancy Report mentioned on the bag containing the clamps. |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3160
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 04-19-2021 03:24 AM
This sounds like a very reasonable guess, with the four clamps helping to secure the ends of each hose to the fitting, then being wrapped in tape.Given the date I would assume they were removed from an LCG either being used in training or being prepared for possible use on a future mission. |
hbw60
Member Posts: 155
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 04-19-2021 08:18 PM
I agree, that makes perfect sense, and I think you're absolutely correct. In my photo, you can see that the bag also contained a rolled piece of identical white tape. I think that must be it. Thanks so much! |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3160
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 04-20-2021 08:23 AM
I should probably mention that I bought the hoses.  Like you, probably, I bid on plenty of stuff but was outbid on everything else. The pen notation on the bag of the clips adds some nice provenance to them, whilst the tubes have none. It's interesting to think that they might have been removed from the same LCG, although this would only be guesswork. I'm not even sure the tubes are an exact match for those used on LCGs from that timeframe, although the two different lengths do seems like an approximate match. |
hbw60
Member Posts: 155
From:
Registered: Aug 2018
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posted 04-21-2021 05:45 PM
Yes, you're absolutely correct - I bid on many items, but I was outbid on everything but that one item. I was really hoping to get a Beta Cloth pouch, but they went for very high prices.I wouldn't be surprised at all if our two purchased once went together. They look like a good match to me. And even the numbers match up - two hoses and four clamps. Although that seller is still listing items, so it's possible we'll see some similar items in the future. Thanks again! |
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