The Documentary Podcast Hey Sisters, Sew Sisters
Dec 31, 2019
Former NASA astronaut and artist Nicole Stott celebrates the Sew Sisters who handcrafted space suits for astronauts, from Apollo to Shuttle era. Highlighting the unique blend of craftsmanship and dedication of these women in creating specialized equipment for space missions, reflecting on their unsung hero status in the space industry.
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Seamstresses Who Sewed Apollo Suits
- Joanne Thompson and Jean Wilson left dress factories to sew Apollo spacesuits at ILC Dover, passing strict sewing tests and working to tight tolerances.
- They made seam samples sent to test labs, tied thread ends with chemicals and knew lives depended on seam strength.
Apollo Fabrics Were Extremely Costly And Controlled
- Apollo suits used many ultra-expensive, delicate coated fabrics costing nearly $3,000 a yard and were tightly controlled.
- Completed suits were X-rayed at a hospital to check for pins or defects because a tiny hole could be catastrophic in space.
How Apollo Gloves Were Handcrafted
- Glove construction combined custom-dipped latex bladders with fingerless inner pieces and convoluted covers for flexibility, sewn within millimeters of edges.
- Each astronaut had hand molds; stitching and tiny straps required precision to avoid rejection.