67. MILLS: From Cotton Cloth to Space Age Textiles

While researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon missions.”

Episode Source Material:

• Address at Rice University in Houston, Texas on the Nation's Space Effort, 12 September 1962 | JFK Library
• We choose to go to the Moon - Wikipedia
• Beta cloth - Wikipedia
• BA 500BC / CF500 F (Beta Cloth, Beta Fabric) – Bron Aerotech
• Popular Science | November 1967
• Comparison of Observed Beta Cloth Interactions with Simulated and Actual Space Environment
• Beta Cloth Durability Assessment for Space Station Freedom (SSF) Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) Blanket Covers
• Apollo Applications of Beta Fiber Glass
• Lunar Dust Effects on Spacesuit Systems
• Man in Machine: Apollo-Era Space Suits as Artifacts of Technology and Culture | Douglas N. Lantry
• APOLLO SPACE SUIT
• Journeying to the Moon in a Suit of Glass | Behind the Glass
• Tensile Fabrics Enhance Architecture Around the World | NASA Spinoff
• Owens Corning 2019 Sustainability Report
• Our History
• Owens Corning - Wikipedia
• Owens-Corning Records, 1938-Present , MSS-222
• OWENS-CORNING MILESTONES
• Coated Membrane Materials for Use in Construction of Stressed Membrane Structures
• Beta Cloth Patches
• 50 Years on, Apollo 11 Spacesuit Continues to Influence Imaginations and New Designs | KQED
• Textiles in space - Textile Technology Source