Monthly Archives: September 2012

Langley Preservation Project: Thinking Outside the Box

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In 1887, Samuel Pierpont Langley became the third Secretary of the Smithsonian.  Included among his many accomplishments is his founding of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in 1890.  His research in the fields of astronomy, physics, and aviation remain a testament to his diverse interests.  While Secretary, Langley took up the challenge of powered flight.  Langley’s efforts evolved from the study of birds in flight and proceeded through experimentation with small rubber band-powered models.  These early research efforts quickly gave way to more advanced experiments utilizing large whirling arms, and far more sophisticated large unpiloted models powered with steam and gasoline engines.  As the series of his Aerodromes (the name coined by Langley for his aircraft) developed from one stage to the next, Langley improved his design.  He had his first successes in 1896 with his unmanned, heavier-than-air Aerodrome No. 5 and No. 6 models.  Following these successes, in 1898, Langley received grants from both the United States War Department and the Smithsonian Institution to develop a full-sized piloted flying machine.  Unfortunately, Langley’s experiments came to an abrupt end with two crashes on take-off of his full-sized Aerodrome on October 7 and December 8, 1903, and the Wright brothers’ successful flight nine days later.

Following Langley’s death in 1906, his laboratory and designs became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s collection, and care was taken to organize, catalog, and house the collection. This unique collection includes objects from Langley’s research laboratory and remains important due to its rarity and the experimental nature of early powered flight between 1891 and 1903.  Paper, wood, silk, copper, brass, and steel are incorporated into the collection’s variety of propellers, wings, fuselage concepts, engines, and launch platforms.  After preliminary sorting and organization of the material, in the fall of 2011, a Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF) grant sought to formally upgrade the standard of this rare collection’s storage, and to provide valuable documentary information to researchers that was not previously available.  Some of the goals for the re-housing aspect of the project were to provide the collection with adequate or upgraded object supports and housing, and to prepare the collection for its eventual move to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  Additional goals were to ensure the collection’s survival into the future by  improving documentation and addressing stabilization issues identified in the course of surveying.

Based on the diversity of the objects within the collection, we have had to consider innovative solutions in order to accommodate the varying sizes, materials, and conditions of the objects.   Due to the fragility of some objects, consideration was given to the quality of both the materials used and the support systems constructed.  When choosing materials for the re-housing project, we sought out products that are chemically stable, durable, and would not negatively impact the object.  Each artifact has different storage requirements and often calls for custom-made support systems in order to address the needs of the artifact, rather than trying to make the artifact fit a standardized system. Prior to constructing supports and housings, each object underwent a thorough inspection of its current condition and the identification of the safest points to support the object to avoid unnecessary damage during the course of handling and movement.  Archival materials such as ethafoam provide a sturdy support for the object; cushioning materials such as volara were then used to line the foam to provide a surface for the object to rest on. In some cases, a non-abrading surface was incorporated into the construction.  Archival tissue paper was sometimes used between the objects and their supports as an additional separating and buffering layer.  All supports were made of ethafoam carved to conform to the object’s shape and engage various points of contact; heat welding, rather than adhesive was used to cover the foam with volara in order to minimize the use of adhesives within enclosures.  Below are some of the solutions that we have constructed during the project.

 

Box Wing

Box wing on pallet (top); box wing resting inside drop-front box (lower)

When considering proper storage for the Box-Wing, forethought was given to the wing’s delicate wooden frame and heavily degrading silk surface. There were few points of contact in which the object could be safely engaged in order to prevent movement, while avoiding areas with delicate silk components.  A set of bumper supports strategically placed prevents movement of the wing horizontally, while the tight fit of the bumper pairs keeps the wing from displacing vertically.  The wing was placed on a two-tiered pallet system within a drop-front box in order to allow for ease of movement of the object without having to handle it directly, while providing a storage area for detached silk fragments beneath the wing, preventing disassociation.  This also served to reduce the footprint of the box’s size in storage.

 

Main Tank

Main tank cradle support; secondary tank and tubing cradles; overview of assembly with cradle supports (clockwise from top left)

The Tank Assembly consists of two copper tanks and associated piping extending in upward and opposite directions. The various sizes of the components of the objects required specialized cradle supports in order to prevent further deformation and damage.  This required individually designed supports of various heights and angles.  Twill tape was then used to mechanically prevent movement out of the cradles.

 

Boat Model

Boat model in drop-front box with project members for scale; rear cradle support with post for stabilization; front cradle with side walls to prevent movement; overview of lower cavity packing and supports (clockwise from top left)

When approaching the Boat Model it was realized that a combination of support types was needed in order to accommodate the main assembly of the object as well as the detached components. The model in its current state is unable to support itself.  Due to the large nature of the model, we were also challenged by a limited ability to increase its existing footprint within storage.  These considerations forced us to create an intricate support system that allowed all the pieces to fit together within a set parameter.  The model was stabilized using a combination of cradle and support pieces in order to prevent tilting and shifting of the object.  The front support was a cradle with two ridges to support the edges of the base, minimizing contact with a flaking surface, while the rear support featured a cradle and support post that fit within the rear well on the model and further prevented movement.  In order to minimize the space taken up by the detached elements, a cavity packing method was implemented within the space below the object.  These inlays were specially carved to fit each element and twill tape was used to prevent their vertical movement. The entire ethafoam support system was palletized on a piece of archival blue board to allow for ease of transfer to and from the object’s housing, as well as increase the strength of the support system.   A track was created from ethafoam to help guide the tray into its drop-front housing; the track also locks the tray into place and prevents vertical movement.

From the objects we have encountered so far, we have realized the true importance of creating specialized support structures and enclosures that will aid with research access and the survival of the artifact into the future.  When creating supports and enclosures, one must consider what is best for the object and seek out new and innovative systems; we learned you must really “think outside the box.”

Jessica Bulger is a Collections Care and Preservation Fund contractor, and Eleesha Blackwell is an intern for the Collections Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 Extravehicular Gloves and Visor

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Extravehicular gloves and visor worn by Neil Armstrong when he took his first steps on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

There is a new display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport.  Along the south wall of the James S. McDonnell Space Hanger, in a large storefront case, are the extravehicular (EV) gloves and visor that Neil Armstrong wore when he first stepped on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969.  These three components of Armstrong’s A7-L spacesuit are a small portion of what hundreds of millions of people saw on the television broadcast of his first steps on the lunar surface.  But they are also the most immediately identifiable.  The gloves have the blue silicone fingertips and the stainless steel fabric that wraps the hands with the long white gauntlet with instructions printed on the left one.  The visor is the giant sun goggles that astronauts needed to survive in absence of the Sun-filtering effects of the Earth’s atmosphere.  These objects were placed on display on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Museum’s memorialization of Neil Armstrong’s life.

Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 Visor

Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 EV Gloves

The first question that might come to mind to many of the visitors seeing the gloves and visor is why these components and not the rest of his spacesuit?   The short answer to that question is that the Museum is trying to preserve Armstrong’s suit and all the other spacesuits in the national collection for generations to come.  When the news of Neil Armstrong’s death was released to the public, I was shopping for a swim team picnic and immediately began to text our spacesuit conservator, Lisa Young.  We both immediately recognized that the significance of Armstrong’s life and his role in the space program called for a significant action on the part of the Museum.  The components of Armstrong’s spacesuit that he returned from the Moon have been on display almost continuously from the time in 1973 when NASA transferred them to the Museum until 2001 when my predecessor Amanda Young made the very difficult decision to remove them for conservation purposes.  Objects in the spacesuit collection are rotated on and off display based on their individual needs as determined by Museum collections specialists. The climate and display conditions in the existing display were not ideal for preserving the spacesuit for decades.  The natural deterioration processes of the synthetic materials; interactions between components of the suit, humidity, light and the traditional upright display position were all contributing to a worsening condition of the suit.  By 2001, Lisa Young had determined that storage conditions of a moderate temperature (60 degrees Fahrenheit or 15.5 degrees Celsius) and low relative humidity (<30%)  are the ideal conditions to maximize the stabilization of the materials in the suit. Once removed from display, Neil Armstrong’s suit was stored under those conditions for 10 years, first at the Museum’s Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and more recently at the Museum’s modern storage facility at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Lisa and I decided that these three of all the suit components were the best able to withstand the hazards of display outside of their storage containers for a brief period of time.

Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit, currently in storage at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Photo credit: Mark Avino

Once we made that decision, a remarkable number of Museum divisions had to come into play to make the display happen.  The Exhibits Design and Exhibits Production units had to approve a design and location including approving, editing, and producing exhibit labels.  The Smithsonian’s Office of Protection Services had to ensure that the display conditions met the Institution’s monitoring requirements.  Our chief conservator, Malcolm Collum, swung into action in the midst of moving his laboratory from Suitland to the Udvar-Hazy Center and produced a detailed condition report prior to display.  Our mount maker, Glenn Rankin, had to build new mounts to fit the glove and the visor that met both conservation and exhibit requirements.  Then Samantha Snell, Jeannie Whited, and Jennifer Stringfellow of the Collections Division worked to assure that the transport of the artifacts from storage to the Conservation lab and finally to display went smoothly and without incident.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s spacesuits were formerly on display together, pictured here in 1999. Buzz Aldrin’s suit is currently on display in “Apollo to the Moon.” Photo credit: Eric Long

The gloves and visor will be on display for about two weeks.  When they return to storage, we hope that it will not be for another decade.  Neil Armstrong’s death has emphasized to all of us at the Museum the importance of sharing our precious collections related to the Apollo program with the public.  The Museum plans to complete a renovation of its Apollo to the Moon gallery on display at the Museum in Washington, DC.  The new gallery, which is planned for 2018, will tell the story of how the United States built the Apollo program in eight years on the basis of 15 minutes of human spaceflight experience.  In that gallery, visitors, including those who have no personal memory of seeing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in 1969, will see his spacesuit kit and other personal materials on display.  At that time, the suit and its components will be displayed under conditions that will come close to our storage standards.  Once we have established these new display standards for our spacesuit collection, we will be able to share more of our collection with the public while preserving it so that visitors will be able to view it for generations.

Neil Armstrong in his Apollo 11 spacesuit with visor on the table in front of him. Photo credit: NASA

 

Cathleen Lewis is a curator in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum.

All photos by Dane Penland, National Air and Space Museum, unless otherwise noted.

Because of the fragility of the suits, the Air and Space Museum joined with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) to create Suited for Space based on Amanda Young and Mark Avino’s book, Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Collection.  Near full-sized images of spacesuits from the Museum’s collection bring you up close, and x-rays give you the inside-look at some suits and their components. The exhibit is currently showing at the Center for Earth and Space Science in Tyler, Texas and will open at the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in July 2013.