Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo

by Nicholas de Monchaux

How the twenty-one-layer Apollo spacesuit, made by Playtex, was a triumph of intimacy over engineering.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Space, Science, Technology, Design, American History

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Kenneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nicholas de Monchaux’s book is mostly historical background, not Apollo spacesuit development. The spacesuit part is self-serving historical fiction created by industrialists to cover up embarrassing history while promoting themselves and their organization. From my interactions with de Monchaux, I find him a poor excuse for a person and an academic.

While I am opposed to industrialists rewriting history, I am sympathetic to their employees. A business survives through a combination of salesmanship and good performance. The talent and dedication of their workers keep them in business. However, the real history is not about Playtex bra workers. The Playtex Division did not make spacesuits or even parts of it. The story is of people from many organizations, all of which had specialties, contributing their unique talents to accomplish perhaps the greatest technical feat in human history.

To walk on the Moon before the end decade was a monumental systems engineering and program management challenge. That was NASA’s job except that it was spread too thin so NASA needed an Apollo Space Suit Assembly (SSA) prime contractor to act as NASA. The Apollo SSA originally was to consist of a Pressure Garment Assembly (PGA) and a Portable Life Support System (PLSS). In a preliminary PGA study in advance of the SSA competition, the President of ILC (then International Latex Corporation) convinced the NASA PGA study manager that ILC was by far the best organization to be the PGA supplier. The PGA study manager then became NASA’s SSA (oversight/technical) Manager. In the Apollo SSA competition that followed, NASA selected the Hamilton Standard Division (HSD) of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to be the prime contractor.

In March 1962. Hamilton Standard Division (HSD) of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) with submitted a proposal where it would be the prime and PLSS provider with David Clark Company (DCC) as the PGA supplier. ILC submitted a competing proposal where it would be the prime and PGA designer/manufacturer. HSD won the Apollo SSA contract with the condition it use ILC for the PGA. HSD accepted NASA’s conditions. DCC created a Gemini prototype at its own expense, at the last minute entered a final Gemini PGA completion and won that parallel contract.

In October 1962, ILC had committed to HSD for a five pressure suit development schedule. Two prototypes were to complete mobility development by April 1963. One prototype with thermal/micrometeoroid cover garments was delivered by June to support initial thermal and suit-system testing. By July 1963, two more refined prototypes with cover garments were provided. These last two prototypes, mated to portable life support systems, would support complete suit-system evaluations by August 1963.

From the beginning of the Apollo SSA program, ILC battled with HSD over everything. ILC elected to ignore contract requirements, which included width restrictions and completing mobility development in two iterations. In the first three PGA designs (A1H, A2H, and A3H), the deliveries were late and over budget with HSD finding each PGA design to not meet requirements and ordering redesigns. On all three, ILC disagreed and essentially disregarded the HSD findings. With A1H, NASA was unsure about the HSD/ILC disagreement. On the A2H design, NASA was still unsure on suit width but agreed with HSD on inadequate mobility, consequently siting HSD with failure to meet contract requirements. This required corrective actions. ILC did not agree with HSD and NASA on the finding and declined helping on corrective actions. To pacify NASA, HSD formed an internal PGA development group to help ILC with PGA development and assumed the development of an upcoming new helmet, which pleased NASA and displeased ILC.

With the ILC A3H PGA design, NASA’s Crew Systems Division, the Command and Lunar Module programs, and the Astronaut evaluators all agreed with HSD on ILC PGAs being unacceptable and found that the DCC Gemini PGAs were the only evaluated suits acceptable for the first Apollo missions. NASA ordered HSD to oversee ILC modifying the A3H design make an A4H design that would be more durable and reliable. Before that was accomplished, HSD started funding B. F. Goodrich (BFG) for additional PGA development. BFG produced a Command Module acceptable PGA in four months with two design iterations. NASA reorganized the Apollo SSA program into three “Block” changing the spacesuit to Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and the PGA name to Pressure Suit Assembly (PSA) to show the significance of the change. Block I (the first Apollo missions) was awarded to DCC without competition. Block II (the first few lunar explorations) was (at that point to be a) continuation of the HSD/ILC program. Block III was advanced EMUs to support subsequent Apollo missions utilizing contractors other than HSD and ILC. These details and much, much more are missing from de Monchaux’s account. There are books that provide accurate Apollo spacesuit history. This is not one of them.

Kenneth S. Thomas

[Milele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book and in the last few days I have been unable to help telling everybody about it. It's a beautiful exploration of culture and industry around the Apollo missions and the challenges involved in building a spacesuit that would allow an astronaut to walk on the moon. It weaves in science, art, feminism, business management and media studies to the topic. I was particularly excited by the information about how expert seamstresses and clothing designers integrated, with plenty of challenges, into the NASA managed engineering culture.

[Kkopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A special book with a special perspective. An architect (and professor of architecture) looks at the fascinating story of how the people who made Playtex bras and girdles ended up beating out military-industrial giants to fabricate the clothing that humans wore in space and on the moon. Taking the suits' multi-layered structure as his reference point de Monchaux explores, in 21 short, extremely readable chapters, the encounter between the fragile and unique individual human (astronaut) body and the mammoth systems engineering behemoth that was being created to fulfill Kennedy's order to put a man on the moon in less than a decade.

De Monchaux weaves his story out of both astute and often entertaining appraisals of the various design strategies used and the very human stories behind the master seamstresses, test pilots, businessmen, and bureaucrats that managed to find a way to work together in the service of a truly monumental goal. Along the way he exposes many fascinating offshoots and extensions of the project, including the attempt to take a systems approach to urban redevelopment as the space program wound down in the face of the need to tackle pressing terrestrial problems.

The physical book itself is a pleasure to behold, with its soft "hard" cover and excellent photos and layout, although a bit heavy to easily read in bed....

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were super interesting--I loved the beginning, how de Monchaux connects the early balloon flights and learning that the human body does not do well in the upper atmosphere, and the "New Look" of Dior and changes in the fashion world to why and how the space suit was eventually constructed. The parts about Mission Control and NORAD were kind of interesting as well. However, towards the end, he goes on this city planning tangent that barely feels connected to the space suit at all and is...well, kind of boring.

In addition, I was listening to the audio version with Bronson Pinchot narrating and his pronunciations really bugged me. And I'm not sure if there are pictures in the book version (I'm assuming there are), but it would have been really helpful to see some, especially when de Monchaux is describing the differences in various versions of the space suit. Oh, the perils of audiobooks!

Anyway, worth a read if you're super interested in the subject, but I feel like it could have been structured a little better.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A record of the victory by redundancy and adaptation over systems engineering to produce the A7L spacesuit, De Monchaux's book adopts the structure of said spacesuit, resulting in 21 overlapping but essential chapters; each deals with a different aspect of the A7L story, from its competition with "harder" alternatives to its production by Playtex. Notable among these are a chapter on JFK's image consciousness, and an extensive history of early flight suits from Wiley Post to the U2.



This is an ambitious attempt at rethinking the way we write histories of technology, raising a number of intriguing questions about the future of both design and applied science. It's definitely a worthwhile read, and I'd recommend it for designers, engineers and history buffs alike.

[Unit of Raine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the space/NASA history, the connections to fashion, victorian ballooning (and mechanical ducks), the lovely photos and gorgeous texture (I do like good paper and softcovers). I quite enjoyed the discussion of the development of systems engineering & the ongoing successes & failures. Unfortunately, that part is a little close to home.

It was interesting to focus on the soft spacesuits and the various systems implications. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of his drawn out conclusion, but I strongly agree that organic systems have a complexity, flexibility and robustness that synthetic systems will never achieve (mainly because it isn't logical...).

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cultural history of the development of the Apollo space suits is a fantastic book. It's written as a collection of essays, ranging from the early history of ballooning and high-altitude travel, to early 20th century daredevil pilot Wiley Post, to Christian Dior's "New Look," all the way through the birth of cybernetics, the roles of women in the US space program, and late 20th century urban planning.

I can't recommend it highly enough. Easily ranks up with (and would definitely appeal to readers of) both Lipstick Traces and The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

[Stephen Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, wide-ranging look at the technology, institutions, and cultural expectations surrounding the Apollo Project's A7L spacesuit. Written from a cultural studies perspective, which expands its scope to include not just spacesuits, NASA, the International Latex Company, and systems design, but also Dior's New Look and the public imagination about space flight.

[Darshan Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book for nerds and geeks, Spacesuit:Fashioning Apollo provides an overview of the history and science of the spacesuit. Clever in organization and broad in scope, this book was a blast to read.

[Sarah Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of the history of flight suits, systems engineering, fashion, design, robustness, and the military-industrial complex, all circling around the story of the Apollo space suits. I learned a lot and it left me with a lot to think about.

[Brian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Not does it give the reader a great look into the space suits used for apollo missions, it also talks of U.S. politics, and the influence of advertising and the fashion industry. It's broad and interdisciplinary, but very much recommended.

[Stuart]

This is a book about the road that led to the Playtex bra company making the iconic spacesuit used in the moon landings. I listened to this book and if I ever revisited it, I would read it on the Kindle to take notes.

The story is complicated and disjointed but a big takeaway for me was how the little old ladies who did the sewing ran up against the systems engineering processes of NASA. The process for measuring and sewing the suits was so antithetical to the missile engineering culture that formed the base of NASA that it made me realise what a revolution systems-thinking created from WWII onwards in US business culture.

Also, I had little idea about Kennedy's illness and the role that the image he personally cultivated and played out had in culture. The space program and iconic images from the space program including the space suit were a complimentary part of that.

If you ever wonder why the spacesuits look like sci-fi props then part of it was that the designs were modelled on sci-fi suits of the past. No one really had clue what they should look like.

A book which was quite different to what I expected.

[NettlesandBurrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the history behind the space suit used for the Apollo missions and how an unconventional (for space exploration) company that manufactured girdles and bras went toe-to-toe with the top engineering and technology firms of the era for the contract to make the Apollo spacesuit - and won.

Early spacesuits were clunky and hard to move in, not very maneuverable. For extended missions of 10 hours or even a few days (such as the Moon missions), the suits were very uncomfortable to be in. Sweat with nowhere to evaporate would collect in the suit and upon subsequent extraction the astronaut would look like he'd been submerged underwater for an extended period. Diaphanous hands were a significant mission risk. The A7L that Playtex designed had 21 layers, with a significant focus on comfort of the wearer and of of redundancy. It was very adaptable and was built to be light, tactile, and maneuverable, unlike many of the competitor's futuristic looking metal spacesuits - and was a triumph of usability design over looks, of practicality over glamour.

The book starts with the early history of space travel, starting with the first balloon flights, and how people first dealt with high altitude flights which require pressurized suits to prevent death. The book then explores the history of spacesuits including the A7L Apollo suit, and several of the subsequent hard suits that were an improvement but were ultimately never used. The book also sheds some light on the political and social climate of the era of the moon missions - exploring how the cold war shaped the space program - most space rockets were simply repurposed ICBMs with the nuclear warhead replaced with a space capsule, after all.

Add poIt also explores how the very practical and results-oriented culture of Playtex - staffed with rank upon rank of seamstresses, and designers - integrated with the heavy bureaucratic and engineering-oriented culture at NASA. The book loosely touches upon several aspects of systems engineering, of fashion, design, redundancy, and the cold war and the military-industrial complex.

The book is very culture oriented, and is not technical at all. It comes with excellent illustrations and photographs, and is a long but light and fun read.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unless you’re a fully qualified trained and experienced engineer this is way over your head. I did like how they change the word "chapters" to "layers" to highlight the play on fabrics. And I was quite astonished and humored when the last Apollo mission commander stated there was no way in heck he was going to let a computer auto-land the LEM on the moon taking away his once in Lifetime opportunity to land his spacecraft on another Planetary body. Overall it was a little boring but there were some interesting history bits and pieces.

[Kent Archie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. Physically it was very heavy. I learned some about how space suits are made and how they changed over time. But there was much more about John Kennedys illnesses
and drug use, and the fashion industry. There was more discussion of the difference of the space suit as a garment and the suit as a container than there was about the materials used ( like Dacron) and what was special about them and how did they fit into the overall suit.
I'm glad I read it but it wasn't as technical as I hoped.

[Timmytoothless · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrillingly wide-eyed cultural history of the creation of Apollo spacesuit. The heart of the story is the success of ILC and their fabric-and-latex design over the hardshell designs of NASA and other military-industrial players. This ‘soft suit’, sewn and tailored by seamstress from ILC’s Playtex undergarment division, is offered as an example of the unsuitability of a system management philosophy to solving problems as multivariate and nuanced as the human body.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a rambling affair that address many issues outside of the development of the space suit that distracted from its focus. The section on the spacesuit were interesting but overall this was disjointed. It had a lot of really interesting pictures though.

[Chiara Rizzarda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting books of our time on the impact of the Apollo programme on our technology development, approached from the very interesting angle of the spacesuits. The chapter "Cities and Cybernetics", the reason I bought this book, is worthy of the purchase in itself.

[Chebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first, 'Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo' is about the early USA space program, and how seamstresses of the Playtex underwear company came to make the spacesuits worn by the Apollo astronauts. It's a very interesting read, and talks about the subject in circles covering different aspects of different events that would all have a bearing on how an inexperienced (underdog) firm got the job, using their more traditional skillsets and hacking around the many problems they encountered to provide the only viable option; a soft suit. It's a beautiful big book with wonderfully detailed images and photos.

[Juan Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

From page 20: "Against this background, Hawthorne Gray set out in November 1927 for the last of three high-altitude flights. His craft would soar above 44,000 feet, but an accurate estimate of his breathing supply's longevity would leave Gray dead long before the balloon's landing at 5:20 p.m. 'Undoubtedly,' a posthumous award of the Distinguished Flying Cross concluded, 'his courage was greater than his supply of oxygen.'"

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In its visual vocabulary of checks and crosses, the black-and-white cathode of the GE [simulated lunar approach and landing] system is remarkable for its reduction of the lunar goal to its essence--a mastery not so much of earthly space or outer space, but of information space" (de Monchaux, pg. 175).

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that the suits worn during the moon landing were made by the Playtex corporation, hand-sewn by seamstresses who usually worked on brassieres and girdles? This story is a fascinating combination of science and craft that reaches repeatedly for grand themes and cultural history. No book is right for everyone, but this is one that has something to offer for a wide variety of readers.

[Chuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange book. The author makes many tangential detours, some are interesting and some are not. The parts about the suit, it's history, development and construction are very good and the sections on systems engineering as it relates to urban planning (still don't see the connection to the main subject) were not, at least to me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Houston, I pick up a lot about NASA almost by osmosis. I found this book to have a really cool angle for examining the space program. I liked the layer format used in the book to look at a single object in so many different ways, and I found the writing to be clear and easy to follow. A really enjoyable scientific history book.

[Trev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it on audiobook and while a bit dry & pedantic in spots, I loved it. My significant other said it sounded like a sleep story, so maybe not for your typical reader. It does feel a stones throw from the academic essays I was assigned in Architecture school and seems to really be a commentary about mid-century design through the case study of the Apollo spacesuite.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at the design and fabrication of the A7L and it's competitors to take man to space. This book is as complex and layered as the A7L itself and goes in a number of tangents, some having little to nothing to do with the subject.

[Koen Crolla · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is an abbreviated history of the various American space suits up through the Apollo program in here, but it's well-hidden beneath mountains and mountains of irrelevancies and aggressively pretentious, high school-level prose.

[Andrew Liptak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific, stunning read. An absolute must for those interested in space and American history.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Smokes! I had no idea! This is an interesting read that I'm happy to have come across. Thanks NPR.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended - a very different view of the various challenges (political, social, technological, physical) involved in sending humans into space.