Adam Savage Stunned by This NASA Prototype Apollo Spacesuit!

[@tested]

Watch more from Adam's visit to the Smithsonian in VR on Meta Quest TV: creator.oculus.com/community/802834256715296/ or download our free app: www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/2586839431358655/

[@mikeuk666]

Couldn't you make an inflatable body to fit inside it?

[@BeTeLGeuZeX]

May I suggest for them to vacuum seal the suit with zero oxygen in any crevices so that the rubber and other synthetics doesnt oxidize further

[@seanj3667]

I love Adam putting his hands in his pocket so he does not touch anything when he leaned over the suit.

[@UncleManuel]

...and still he has to franticly point at things. But you can tell that he's trying hard not to touch it because of the brittle condition... 😁😇🤟

[@JBLewis]

It's like being very deliberate to keep your off hand behind your back when you lever the flyback off of a CRT.

[@colindempster786]

Came here to say the exact thing

[@slaphappyduplenty2436]

I’ve found myself doing the same in similar situations, mostly relating to fine arts and antiques, and it is equally as much to put the artist/curator at ease when we’re huddled around something that is absolutely not to be touched.

[@erics2133]

@@colindempster786 Yup, I have a habit of misplacing things because I handle them without even realizing it, so the moment I saw Adam there with his hands in his pockets, I recognized something I do and knew why he was doing it.

[@ClancyoftheOverflow]

She's awesome. This was amazing...

[@codemonkey2k5]

I love this series. I especially love that we are getting to see these treasures through the eyes of the conservators. There is so much knowledge to be gained through their stories.

[@MikeWood]

A spacesuit Adam hasn't seen before means hands in pockets for him. :) I wonder how many hundreds of detail pics he took of the AX-1L. :)

[@lorawaring883]

More with Lisa, please? So much cool information.

[@davidcole217]

Adam, I so appreciate your visits to the Air and Space Museum, I was born in 1957 just before Sputnik, my father worked for Aerojet General. So I am a child of the of the space program/race. It is so great to look at all these little seen parts of the program. Please keep up your visits. We all need to know what a Herculean effort the program was. Thanks for your work. Dave

[@randalscott7224]

This is a fantastic series! On a purely personal level, it couldn't have been timed better as I had visited the Independence Avenue museum on its reopening day in October. (Although this old Trekkie spent a disproportionate amount of time gazing at the USS Enterprise!) Thank you so much, Adam, for these in-depth videos from behind the scenes!

[@riparianlife97701]

I love seeing SR-71 specimens in museums, but hate the fact that they no longer fly.

[@brentbarr498]

6:47 Adam!.. You are doing FABULOUS at keeping your hands in your pockets for the MOST part.. I totally get that it's a hard to do but you are KILLING IT!!! :)

[@BuddhangGala]

For sure adam will make a version for his collection

[@slckb0y65]

The fact they manage to make air tight fabric and seems is sure quite impressive, also the fact they don't inflate like ballons due to the pressure différence, truelly incredible in every possible ways...

[@h.dejong2531]

@@qed100 AIUI, there was a layer of fabric around the neoprene that provided most of the resistance to expansion.

[@marxman00]

you mean un credible

[@h.dejong2531]

The inner layer of the suit is an airtight bladder. A separate layer on top of that restrains this bladder and keeps it from expanding too much.

[@marxman00]

@@h.dejong2531 in a vacuum ???? oh and they never tested those suits in a vacuum chamber on earth because they dont have a hard vacuum chamber on earth.

[@h.dejong2531]

@@marxman00 That is incorrect. Vacuum chambers on Earth get close enough to 0 pressure to do a realistic test. And yes, space suits are tested in vacuum chambers. In fact, every astronaut has to do a vacuum test with the space suit made for him. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYCbfWyqgLdnebs For Apollo, NASA did vacuum tests with the entire spacecraft (both CM and LM), with crews spending days in the spacecraft inside a huge vacuum chamber.

[@kael13]

Awesome, will definitely check out the VR app.

[@hollikitti4969]

Would a qr code added to the info tag with the suit on display help give more detail about the suit?

[@Shatterpath]

It's so amazing and heartening to see how Adam calms his body language when it's VERY clear that the expert (I missed her name, unfortunately) is uncomfortable. And she relaxes! Shame this is a rare talent, that sensitivity.

[@TheBalunStormhands]

This is why having a QR code with each display that links directly to more information is useful.

[@pauldorman]

Bravo to Lisa Young! What a knowledgeable and passionate person to learn from! Interviews like this can be such an inspiration to young people who are curious about engineering, history, and conservatorship.

[@blip_bloop]

I'd love to see that interior wiring staged around a second manikin, or manikin section, but sadly that probably is beyond what the materials can handle this series on space suits it one of my all time favorite things on youtube, thanks for all your hard work!

[@Sajuuk]

NASA: This our old spacesuit prototype. Adam: Mmmm I could make this...

[@wonder_platypus8337]

As someone who has fallen completely into the rabbithole that is VR I'm always so thankful when you make experiences avaliable in it.

[@Co-opSource]

+1

[@OliverTheSpaceNerd]

Loving all the new space videos!!

[@jamesmcloughlin1457]

This has made my morning. I seriously love this.

[@nak3dxsnake]

Thats one good looking suit. Nice reveal!

[@jimmyholloway8527]

The suit looks like Major Matt Mason! I was just looking at one of my earliest Xmas present memories from when I was maybe 6. No NASA suit I remember from the time had those joints. Matel obviously took earlier designs from which to model the toys. Cool.

[@edrimeikis9270]

I thought the same thing

[@GBOB68]

What an incredibly cool and fascinating job this lady has!

[@ujona]

Happy holidays to you and your family Adam! Oh, how both my special needs son and I love everything related to space travel. I even got the replica Apollo sunglasses you noted in past video. No need to buy anymore sunglasses...lol One day we will visit the Air and Space Museum since it has been our wishlist for a very long time. I am also an avid model builder but no par on your level and your crew. Keep filming my friend!

[@benstrait333]

I think a solution to the limited space on the plaque is to put a QR code linking to a longer article about the item "for more information..."

[@nukedathlonman]

Oh wow - big thank you for sharing this. It is amazing!!

[@vick229]

That suit is looking nice

[@dynodude2002]

I wonder if Adam will attempt to build his own version. Always fun to see something like that! Also I think a cool suit you might consider checking out from a movie are the deep sea pressurized suits from Underwater.

[@robinmccullars4971]

Thank you so much for this!

[@sadiqmohamed681]

I have Michael Collins book "Carrying the Fire" in paperback. About a third of the way through in the first section of photos, there is a shot of two women working on a suit. The caption reads "My favourite ladies with their glue-pots."! It looks like this suit. I know they went to a manufacturer of ladies underwear for some of the structure, because they knew how to do such things! It's a fascinating episode in the book.

[@Games_and_Music]

A prototype spacesuit... those are some sexy words!

[@davidwoo2590]

What a great educational piece!

[@nathkrupa3463]

Adam sir you are awesome Thanks for sharing another fantastic video.

[@jsunn6791]

Loving all of the videos from the Udvar Hazy! I am going to have to make the trip out again soon!

[@sandy_knight]

I thought those straps coming out of the sleeves might be designed to attach to the gloves so you don't lose them in zero G, the same way ski gloves have straps so you don't drop them off the chair lift (or when mountaineering or back country ski touring where losing a glove could mean losing fingers).

[@belterglj]

I'm loving this Smithsonian a&s series.

[@morikitakurou2471]

Your NASA jacket is cool too!!!

[@SeanBlader]

They need to have video on the actual mannequin install, it sounds like an F1 pitstop situation.

[@TastyBusiness]

Man, that's super cool to see!

[@northuniverse]

Loving all this space content

[@wickedprotos1937]

Now that looks like Major Matt Mason's suit !!!

[@panamafloyd1469]

@Lee Studley : Came here to say that, delighted to see it's already here! Funny story, after years of telling people, "No, i had Major Matt Mason, not G.I. Joe..." and getting "Never heard of it" in return, I thought maybe I just remembered it wrong. Then one day, someone told me about eBay. Searched, and.. "I was right all along!"

[@JoseyWales44s]

@@panamafloyd1469 Never had a Major Matt Mason but I did have his space cannon.

[@wickedprotos1937]

@@panamafloyd1469 That's great!!!! I had the SpaceCrawler and took it apart and re-assembled so many times, Help me be an engineer. I get the same looks/responses from people when I mention UltraMan ( original ). Finally this past year there's been a revival of UltraMan with the new Shin Ultraman movie. We had the best toys in the 60's !!!!

[@Tacitus_Kilgore_]

Space is awesome!

[@BigKarl519]

This is soooooo awesome.

[@peterlewis3540]

WOW the suit is the same age as me, !!!!!!! I was born in June 1962. Top marks to the NASA custodians, for maintaining this remarkable test suit. Without this suit, they would not have been able to go to the Moon

[@hartzogLovesScience]

Fit to Mike Colleen’s size. I just started his book “Carrying the Fire”. This video supplements it well. San Francisco’s Calif. Academy of Science adds QR codes that allow more information than a card.

[@fan13n24]

If you have not done so already, Read "Lunar outfitters" it is an excellent history and time line written by a Former ILC employee(who worked on shuttle suits). It starts with ILC creating this suit among other designs before NASA even had a need for it. It also follows the interesting relationship between ILC and Hamilton standard. You are correct it was sized for Collins and he was going to do the testing, but because of availability, an ILC engineer did the initial testing wearing it. I am only up to the AX-5L so far, but a very interesting read .

[@Preske]

that is a gorgeous color

[@martinschulz9381]

I've worked with the best industrial rubbers and no matter how good it is, it all breaks down from UV rays. I'm sure that this necessity will bring about a lot improvement in materials. I can see Adam just wanting to touch and feel it.

[@marxman00]

it also evaporates in a high torr vacuum .......

[@aserta]

In regards to the lacing, it's not just about accuracy and comfortable use, it's also about integrity. One can see lacing as "pixelated" fabric, spreading the load evenly from one side of the suit to the other and bridging the gap.

[@djlabs1975]

I don't care about nasa spacesuits, not my thing.... BUT I LOVE watching the gleeful enthusiasm Adam has in these videos, like watching my children open christmas presents from Santa... heartwarming!

[@aaronhokanson6718]

Thank you for this.

[@GCharlesLangisChip]

Thank Adam I just can’t get enough nasa information I feel starved for new info on old stuff! This was a great snack!

[@mattguey-lee4845]

Looks great. I definitely got to this this suit last Friday at the Air and Space downtown. You need to make another visit to see everything on display especially the X-wing.

[@lunareplicas]

GREAT video, and FANTASTIC flight jacket!!!!

[@Joe___R]

To easily solve the limited lable problem. You can add a QR code to the labels that will take you to a web page with all the info about that item.

[@ESPlover707]

I really appreciate the option to enjoy the Smithsonian in VR, just a lil bummed its limited to oculus. Thankfully there are workarounds, but they do involve downloading their software. Great video nonetheless.

[@patrickhale424]

Very cool suit for sure. The color screams military. The white suit symbolizes NASA better with their being space pioneers.

[@misterscottintheway]

This was the inside layer

[@patreekotime4578]

@@misterscottintheway She explained that this is a very early prototype, so not even at the point where they had an inner and outer layer.

[@patreekotime4578]

White is reflective to help stabilize the temperture. Its not symbolism, its science.

[@misterscottintheway]

@@patreekotime4578 yes. But if they had layers this would have been the inside one

[@hinugundam81]

It has a very MGS3 sneaking suit like design to me. Loving the black and OD green.

[@TonyTylerDraws]

Haha yeah

[@njones420]

I came directly from a Metal Gear video to this 🤣 I didn't notice that at all, but you're totally right!

[@pirobot668beta]

Are y'all gonna do an episode on the AX-2 'hard-suit'?

[@pmsteamrailroading]

Adam, you need to go to Dayton, OH and see the MOL spacesuit.

[@pardalyp412]

Have you tried automotive silicone for interior ?? maybe it can help the rubber problem It works really well in old cars.

[@arikbord2256]

I'd like to hear her reasoning why they couldn't use the silicone oil conservation technique on the rubber bits. Yes, it's non-reversible, but it's incredibly effective (albeit expensive, though I'd imagine the smithsonian can afford it). It would be a challenging conservation, but IMO probably worth it.

[@captiannemo1587]

Now a days non reversible is an absolute lay ditch option in conservation.

[@0815Skorpio]

Museum tend to preserve the original state, non reversible options are only considered as a absolut last resort when an artifact is about to get lost if nothing else is done.

[@CSJiGSaW08]

they want it as original as possible

[@HappyHands.]

6:07 Replastisizing synthetic rubber or vinyl coatings after the have off gassed and become brittle is indeed a true challenge , i've been experimenting with various products and ultimately nothing truly replasisizes these materials. You can soften them with products like Ethanol and and penetrating oils or MEK but nothing really works. Whoever breaks this code will become rich selling their product to restorers. On a side note i have found that a 50/50 mix of boiled Linseed oil and Mineral Spirits is an excellent product for slowing the damage.

[@patreekotime4578]

Im sure it doesnt help that this is a blend of synthetic and natural rubber. Something that "preserves" the synthetic part may eat the natural latex, and the other way.

[@andrewdonatelli6953]

This is a very cool piece of history. I'm sure if somebody didn't ask is well aware of this, but MG Chemicals Rubber Renue works great on old hard rubber. I used to use it to restore platen rollers on dot matrix printers.

[@JohnPepp]

I wonder how many times Lisa was tempted to slap Adam's hand? 😂

[@XCaliKev]

👍😎 Real cool to see that

[@MrNeptunebob]

Is the fabric part like Columbia wear is today? Seems like the fabric held up better than the rubber.

[@juanramirezgonzalez2213]

The Last Suit You VVill Ever VVear

[@jiubboatman9352]

The Smithsonian is pretty much the only reason I would want to visit Washington.

[@donjones4719]

Danger Will Robinson!!! Anyone else getting vibes of the robot in Lost in Space from those arm and leg corrugations? (Yeah, I was around for the start of the Space Race *and* the L in S series when it was new.)

[@jeremyblackmouth3323]

Wonder how many prototypes were actually designed and made. And I wonder how many of them Adam will manage to collect

[@BrisketChef]

Adam creates or collects Spacesuits like Pokémon.

[@h.dejong2531]

The spacesuit that was used for the Apollo flights was the A7L, i.e. the seventh major design.

[@AuditAmplifier]

A word they were looking for was "pathfinder" when describing the spacesuit that doesn't closely resemble what eventually became operational. 🙂

[@Skrap007]

You could build the feet so that it could collapse down into the leg and then be expanded to form the foot after the leg is in place with a rod or something through the leg to push out the foot.

[@DaHaiZhu]

Idea: QR codes on cards for phones to scan to go to web sites with full in-depth details on the displays

[@Shatterverse]

I always kinda hope we can make suits that look like the ones from the movie _Armageddon._ Those suits look really good. I'm also always a little surprised that small, overlapping plates under a layer of kevlar or charged material (dust repelling) material or something, like armor, aren't used to protect against micrometeors.

[@alexgallegos9584]

You should do a smartereveryday collab

[@jamesdewald339]

I think we know what the next iteration of savage industries tool/edc bags are going to look like.

[@patrickday4206]

Rubber can be coated in wintergreen oil to resoften it. Lol had to do that for a rubber intake on an old motorcycle!!

[@nickkinnan7485]

"Music by Jinglepunks" but what track? I have gleaned that it's from the youtube free audio library, but it's driving me crazy that I can't the specific track. Can anyone help?

[@copydepastey]

this is fascinating and is it only me, or does this look very similar to the 2001 space odyssey suits? not identical by any means but it was the first thing i thought of when i saw this.

[@matthewrobertdavies865]

Awesome. I did think when they were mentioning the mannequin issue, is that couldn't they basically create a human-shaped inflateable of some kind, insert it and then slowly inflate it? easy way to add support and then easy to remove by deflating it? either way, great to see this.

[@tedbarr1551]

Great idea. I had the same idea but then I saw your comment.

[@zenmaster76]

I think they try and have the suit have as little contact with the mannequin as possible except for the points necessary to adequately support it to allow for air flow through the inside of the suit so a fully inflatable mannequin probably wouldn't allow for that

[@davidward9935]

I thought of the inflatable mannequin idea as well. I wonder if they could get one that did not have detrimental off gassing and fill with it nitrogen. The feet might still be a bit difficult to get aligned, but maybe there is a way to put an uncoiler wire or nylon stiffener that would put the foot in place before inflation.

[@Alex-zi1nb]

fascinating!

[@macspock2346]

So a zipper can keep the pressure in the suite ? . .No kidding , wow who would have thought .

[@h.dejong2531]

On the inside of the zipper, there are two overlapping flaps of fabric that are covered in an adhesive. These provide the actual seal, the zipper holds the fabric together mechanically. The air pressure presses these flaps onto each other and against the zipper.

[@ThornsOfOurTime]

Very cool

[@denisjudd4350]

Could they not add a qr code to the label with more detailed information?

[@duenge]

You do know,....Off camera, Adam was BEGGING to try it on!....

[@spearshaker7974]

I still kinda wish they wouldn’t of lost the original moon landing videos

[@h.dejong2531]

They lost only one recording: the Apollo 11 landing and first steps, as recorded at Honeysuckle Creek, where the TV signal was received. We still have other recordings of that broadcast. The Honeysuckle Creek recording was at a higher quality (it avoided one step of conversion and quality loss) so it would have been nice to have. For Apollo 12-17 we have those first-generation TV recordings.

[@marxman00]

You mean all the data and originals except the fake videos

[@h.dejong2531]

@@marxman00 False. As I said before, only 1 TV broadcast recording was lost, 0 photos were lost, 0 of the 16mm film was lost. None of the technical data was lost. The only data that was deleted was engineering telemetry that became useless the moment Saturn V production was stopped.

[@HappyHands.]

6:07 Replastisizing synthetic rubber or vinyl coatings after the have off gassed and become brittle is indeed a true challenge , i've been experimenting with various products and ultimately nothing truly replasisizes these materials. You can soften them with products like Ethanol and and penetrating oils or MEK but nothing really works. Whoever breaks this code will become rich selling their product to restorers. On a side note i have found that a 50/50 mix of boiled Linseed oil and Mineral Spirits is an excellent product for slowing the damage.

[@thecrowcook]

Something that I used to use in the automotive world for revitalizing rubber parts was coconut oil, I found it worked better than linseed

[@patreekotime4578]

This is a blend of synthetic and natural latex. The mixture is itself unstable. Linseed oil is also very unstable and I wouldnt put it on anything for preservation purposes. It yellows badly, hardens, and shrinks as it offgasses, eventually cracking badly. It never fully cures, but goes into a constant state of decomposition as it oxidizes. And the addition of mineral spirits will quicken the hardening as well as destabilize the oil. It is not even recommended as a furniture polish any more, and it certainly wont keep soft materials supple. The boiled linseed oil you find in hardware stores is an especially nasty product that includes stand oil and metallic hardeners. It might make a rubber part appear nice and shiny for a little while, but eventually you will be looking at a cracking, dissolving mess.

[@WilliamBlakers]

I think Adam should run paid curated tours of the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. I would pay to walk and talk with him.

[@marxman00]

Please Adam , Go to Devon Island next ! Nasa went to loads of effort to make an exact replica of the Mars crater . Its just like the real one , we are so blessed

[@OldSlabSides]

Are you trying to say nasa made the Haughton impact crater and that it’s not natural somehow?

[@marxman00]

@@OldSlabSides no, Its where they pretent to be on mars

[@BrandonWestfall]

It blows my mind a suit that is 55+ years old is in that condition.

[@chrishahn3834]

I wish my VR headset didn't give me motion sickness, I'd love to try out that Tested VR app. Unfortunately, my Rift S doesn't do my any favors. :(

[@timblack33]

I’d never been motion sick before in my life till I tried a VR headset. And I’ve done a lot of boating and flying but that VR set takes the cake

[@adamfalldorf1581]

@@timblack33 Speaking from experience for some it's more a matter of getting used to it. When I got my first VR headset years ago I couldn't have it on for very long or I'd start to feel it. Slowly over time I was able to have it on for longer and longer until now I really can keep it on as long as I like and usually end up taking it off due to sweat or fatigue instead of sickness or dizziness. Obviously everyone is different but I'd make sure it isn't similar for you.

[@dahan419]

Major Matt Mason!

[@clivemacken552]

Can they not put them in vacuum display cases so no air so they don’t degas or does it still degas??

[@blip_bloop]

I'm pretty sure it would still off gas. I'm not a chemist but it seems like the hydrocarbons would break down into CO2, and maybe chlorine gas, if the suit uses vinyl components

[@clivemacken552]

@@blip_bloop yes but a vacuum takes all air out no air no CO2 either

[@blip_bloop]

@@clivemacken552 I mean if you have a vacuum pump constantly running yes. but if you arnt running it constantly the CO2 might accumulate over time depending on the materials and if they will sublimate and,or decompose into CO2

[@jeanny003]

Adam you are Santa Clause after he went on a diet! You're a legend sir!!!

[@patrickday4206]

There was someone that found some old suits that nasa put in a dumpster! I remember wondering how valuable those were I believe they were the first generation?

[@cbspock1701]

That is cool

[@simonhoney2050]

I think I can hear Ryan Nagata taking notes.

[@mith5168]

I see an infomercial for Flex Seal - New Astro Blend

[@QuestionMan]

Hands in pockets, Adam. ("Hands in pockets" was practically my mantra growing up.) 😆