Beta Cloth Sample, Accompanying Letter and Photo, Photobook

BETA CLOTH SAMPLE WITH AMERICAN FLAG AND NASA "MEATBALL" LOGO PRODUCED FOR THE APOLLO PROGRAM, GIFTED BY NASA TO ONE OF THE INVENTORS OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE.

The present lot includes two samples of Beta Cloth -- the American flag and the NASA "Meatball" logo -- made for the Apollo spacesuits. Beta cloth is a type of fireproof silica fiber, similar to fiberglass, that does not burn and only melts at temperatures exceeding 650 °C (1200 °F) — making beta cloth a suitable material for the manufacturing of the Apollo/Skylab A7L spacesuits, and other specialized applications. The invention and use of beta cloth was one of several significant innovations following the tragic fire that took the lives of the Apollo 1 crew on January 27, 1967.

The beta cloth samples, photograph, and book featured in this lot were enclosed in a letter from Julian Scheer, the assistant administrator for NASA Public Affairs, to Mr. John Thomas, the Vice President of Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation dated June 27, 1967. John Thomas, alongside his colleagues Dale Kleist and Games Slayter, invented the process for making fiberglass insulation in commercial quantities. John Thomas was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Enclosed in the letter with the beta cloth, the photograph depicts the space suit prototype. The accompanying book features 244 color images of earth taken from the Gemini III, IV, and V flight crews. Details about the length of the flight, apogee, perigee, crew, number of photos taken and photographic equipment used preface each section of the book.

Presented together as they were sent to Mr. John Thomas, the present lot is an incredible artifact from the development of the Apollo Program.