In the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space, it was essential to create a suit that would shield the astronauts from these dangers, while also being capable of replicating the atmospheric pressure required to sustain human life. The suit had to be made from non-combustible material, one that would not get torn or weakened, but would also be flexible enough to enable the astronauts to complete their mission.
At first, NASA turned to the three major defense contractors to spearhead the design. B. F. Goodrich, Litton Industries, and Hamilton Standard had all previously created prototypes for suits and equipment, and thus seemed to be the right choice. But their models, which were made of metal, were too stiff and bulky to be suitable for a moonwalk.
Looking for another option, NASA turned to Playtex, the consumer division of International Latex Corporation (ILC), that specialized in making bras, girdles, and diapers. While this choice certainly raised a few eyebrows, NASA realized that the technology and skill required to produce female undergarments were very similar to those needed to make an astronaut suit. Both outfits needed to be flexible yet durable, and both needed to keep their shape with body movement.
Unlike the other companies, Playtex designed its suits from fabric, using bra and girdle material like nylon to develop a fine high-tech textile known as beta cloth. It was made from fireproof Teflon-coated silica fibers that were flexible enough to manipulate, while also smooth enough to not irritate the skin.
NASA engineers also realized that professional sewers, especially the ones who specialized in delicate artistry and were used to operating complex sewing machines, would be the right people to complete this task.
Henrietta Crawford assembling suit pieces on the Apollo A7L spacesuit (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)
Indeed, at a time when much of the space race was led by men and was seen as a masculine endeavor, it was the women cutters, seamstresses, and assemblers of Playtex who provided the essential workforce for making the spacesuits.
These women played an active role in the design process, contributing their knowledge and expertise to develop hand and machine sewing techniques to carry out the designs.
Unlike many of the engineers and astronauts, these were working-class women who learned to sew from their mothers or in home economics high school classes, but they were highly skilled in the clothing trade. This group of women was also racially diverse, a rare thing for NASA in the 1960s. Hazel Fellows, a Black seamstress, was depicted in a photograph will sewing pieces of an Apollo A7L spacesuit, while Iona Allen, another Black seamstress, was responsible for constructing Neil Armstrong’s boots.