posted 11-11-2015 09:42 AM               

Last year, two of the earliest spacesuits NASA ever made were put up for auction, spurring a bidding war that pushed the price of one of them up to $43,750. But before the sale, NASA wondered: Where the hell did these come from?

NASA launched a detailed investigation into the provenance and legal status of those two spacesuits, one from the Mercury missions that originally put Americans into orbit and one prototype suit from the Apollo missions, according to documents obtained by Motherboard using a Freedom of Information Act Request (embedded below).

posted 11-18-2015 09:05 AM               

During 1972, a story came to light concerning the '11' mission and, in particular, Buzz Aldrin. That which is related below is, to my best knowledge and belief, correct.

In mid-July the following advert appeared on two consecutive days in the personal column of the "Evening Standard." It is quoted here by permission of that paper –

Genuine Pre-Flight Simulation Suit,
Worn By Buzz Aldrin In Training For
Apollo 11 Mission. £5000, Or Nearest Offer.
Apply (and here followed the name and address of a gentleman living in Sussex)
No Time Wasters.

We checked into the space-suit advertisement you saw in the British press. All of Buzz Aldrin's Apollo space-suits are present and accounted for. He apparently does not have what he is advertising.

Faced with the reply from Houston, the advertiser confirmed that the suit had been examined. However, he still maintained that the suit was all that he claimed and that nothing had been said during the visit by the authorities to alter his opinion.

In an attempt to resolve this conflict, further contact with MSC at Houston brought this reply –

Regarding the space-suit... advertised for sale, it is a display suit and not the type of suit used by the astronauts... The display suit is a great deal different from the actual pressure suits worn by the astronauts... is reported to have advised the British authorities that he is using the suit as a sales promotion gimmick to promote his home insulation business. He claimed the suit is actually not for sale and has declined offers by saying he has a 'better offer'. He said the suit is not his to sell but was made available to him for the promotion by another party.

Perhaps this would be a suitable (apologies for pun) point to explain the difference between a display suit and the full Apollo hardware. (The following was supplied by the manufactures who were sent photos of the suit offered in the advert and confirmed its status.) The display models consist of two layers – an outer covering the same as that used in the actual suits and an inner rubberised layer. These mock-ups have the outward appearance of a real suit and are made for sale. They cost between £300 and £600. Examples are to be seen at Madame Tussaud's worn on the effigies of the '11' crew. The full suit has fifteen or more layers, together with a pressure garment worn underneath. These are individually tailored for the astronauts. Thus far, four suits assigned to the second man on the Moon have been located. These are at –

1. Smithsonian Institute in Washington, reported to be minus helmet and gloves.
   
2. Building 7 at MSC in Houston
   
3. International Latex Corporation Industries at Dover, Delaware
   
4. Crew Engineering Laboratory, Bendix Systems Division, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Nevertheless, the gentleman still claims that his suit is a genuine training suit, saying that "NASA would not admit the fact that one of their richest prizes had walked out of a top security place."