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ILC Dover (thing)
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(
thing
)
by
junkpile
Fri Jul 13 2001 at 17:48:55
ILC
Dover is a privately-owned manufacturing company which lives at One Moonwalker Road, Frederica,
Delaware
. They make
spacesuit
s.
ILC has been putting US astronauts in space jammies since the
Apollo
program (that's 33 years). So far, in the whole history of manned spaceflight, there have only been about
80
spacewalks which required suits. Over the next four or five years, as we and Russia build the international
space station
, more than
150
walks are planned - and they all require pressurized pants.
So, over the past year, ILC has tripled its sewing work force. Which isn't so easy; their space station programs manager says, "You don't find people out on the street holding signs saying, '
Will sew spacesuit gloves for food.
' "
The plant employs about 450 people; half do space-related work. They come from a wide variety of seamstressy backgrounds. Some used to make
suitcase
s, some used to make
wedding gown
s. ILC's shuttle manufacturing trainer says the ones who have craft-related training, and those used to completing difficult and meticulous projects, do best.
The space suits are made up of modular arm, leg, and torso units in mix-and-match sizes. Custom-fitted boots and gloves are made using
laser
scans of plaster casts of space guys. On Earth, the suits weigh close to 300 pounds, but in space they ain't nothin.
Last year, the company had about $20 million in space-related sales. They also manufacture
gas mask
s for the Army, air bags for landings of unmanned space vehicles, airship fabrics, and containment bags used in
pharmaceutical
manufacturing. Other products from their website:
Chemturion (
TM
): Your Suit of Armor in Hazardous Environments
Vapor Guard: The Ultimate in Odor Containment
The ILC Model 19 Cool Vest
is a completely portable cooling garment worn to aid in maintaining worker comfort and safety in extremely warm environments for extended periods of time. Through the use of a centrifugal pump, chilled water is circulated throughout the series of passages within the vest. The unit is machine washable and costs $285. Suggested Applications: foundries, forgeries, theme park characters.
thanks to:
www.ilcdover.com
www.cnn.com
Too few astronauts and too much sky
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
space station
Bayard, Delaware
Deutsche Bahn Baureihe 150
Gas Mask
suitcase
Apollo
claim
Delaware