This Wednesday afternoon, ASME UD toured the ILC Dover facility in Frederica, Delaware. After eating a delicious lunch at Frederica Pizza & Pasta, we headed over to meet our guide Bill in the ILC Dover lobby. From there we proceeded to the museum portion of the tour where Bill provided background on the pioneering spacesuit development work and other fabrics engineering projects as company historian.
Formerly a part of International Latex Corporation dating back to 1938, ILC Dover has specialized in soft fabric goods though a series of spin-offs and aquisitions. This small company is know for producing spacesuits daring back to the Apollo program, but also manufacturers personal protective equipment, pharmaceutical process containment equipment, flood barriers, and blimps.
From the company museum, we then proceeded to the spacesuit testing room. There we learned all about spacesuit construction, with an emphasis on fabrics engineering. We got to see a spacesuit test subject conducting repetitions under 4.3 psi gauge pressure for spacesuit validation, as well as the test equipment used to assess ergonomic functionality. Our very own Pete is also a spacesuit test subject who was able to show us some of the ropes. Plus, we were able to inspect the modular suit components while they were disassembled, and discuss how the three spacesuit garnet layers wear against each other with the engineers who design the suits. Finally, we visited the spacesuit production floor where the fabric pieces are sown together. Thank you to everyone who came out today & truly enjoyed the tour, and perhaps we will see you again on our next tour of W. L. Gore after break.
