Interesting Facts of Duct Tape and NASA Astronauts [Infographic]

Andrew Miller http://www.mspackaging.co.uk 4m 975 #ducttape

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Duct Tapes Saves Lives

If someone asks Americans about the history of Duct tape then first thing everyone, remembers is Apollo 13 mission. Few of them knows that this adhesive tape was invented in 2nd world war, the reason behind remembering it, is because this genius tape saves the life of astronauts and helps in successfully completion of this mission.  After this incident Duct tape a simple packaging material has been referred to as engineering tool by NASA and it is now an essential thing kept by the astronauts.

In this infographic, we have added the moments of NASA astronauts in space, showing how duct tape helped and made its presence important.

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How Duct Tape Saves The Problem Of NASA Astronauts

Duct Tape was not invented for the space program. Richard Drew invented it in the 1940s orginally invented for WW II and was used as medical tape. Duct tape is waterproof. It was often referred to as “Duck Tape”. Military personnel discovered “Duck Tape” could be used to repair objects, guns, jeeps, and even small aircraft, and many more things!

Was Duct tape invented for the space program? It’s no secret that duct tape is an important tool to the NASA program. In fact, a roll goes up on every flight that leaves the launch pad. Duct Tape has actually saved lives and equipment in space.

Here are some of the ridiculously cool ways Duct tape makes life far, far better in low Earth orbit and beyond.

1. THE PROBLEM
   • The Apollo 13 crew, played by Kevin Bacon (left), Tom Hanks, and Bill Paxton, contend with rising potentially lethal carbon dioxide levels in the spacecraft in “Apollo 13.” Thankfully, the real crew had plenty of Duct Tape, or “grey tape”, as NASA calls it, on hand.
2. IT WORKED
   • Creative use of Duct Tape allowed the Apollo 13 crew to fit a square canister (to filter carbon dioxide) into a round hole.
3. Cord made up of Tape
   • NASA astronaut Edward H. White II on the first American spacewalk with his umbilical line and tether line neatly taped into a single golden cord.
4. THE SOLUTION
   • At NASA Mission Control in Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center, Donald K. “Deke” Slayton (left), director of flight crew operations, holds lithium hydroxide canisters attachedt o a host as he discusses a makeshift repair to reduce the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft. The Apollo 13 astronauts’ improvised device, which relied heavily on Duct Tape, effectively treated the air aboard the craft.
5. TUCK JOB
   • Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. uses a tape-wrapped tool to stuff an array wing back in its blanket box.
6. ZAP PROTECTOR
   • To avoid electrical shocks and shorting out equipment, a pair of needle-nose pliers and a right-angled tool are wrapped in insulating tape.
7. AUTO BODY REPAIR ON THE MOON
   • Thanks to a broken fender, the lunar rover kicked up dust reducing visibility and causing other problems during the Apollo 17 moon landing. Astronaut Eugene Cernan fashioned a replacement out of a lunar map, telescope clams, and Duct Tape. It worked for a while.
8. INSTANT PLUMBER
   • Astronaut Dominic Gorie plays with candy trapped in a droplet in zero gravity. Gorie once repaired a leaky pipe in the Space Shuttle’s mid-deck by wrapping it with towels and then with duct tape.
9. OH, CHRISTMAS TREE
   • The Skylab 4 crew was determined to have a Christmas tree in December 1973, so astronauts devised one out of empty food cans and you guessed it, tape.
10. HOUSTON, WE NO LONGER HAVE A PROBLEM
    • Like a car driven without seat belts fastened, an alarm beeped incessantly April 24, 1998, on Space Shuttle Columbia after Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System failed. A leaky check valve was to blame. The mission could have been aborted then, but astronaut Richard Searfoss pulled off a hose clamp and bypassed the valve with aluminum tape.
11. ADHESIVE ADVANTAGE
    • Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko doesn’t need the power drill to screw in brackets. Instead, he tapes the piece to the wall in the Zvezda Module.
12. POST-IT NOTES
    • Tape secures instructions and notes to Space Shuttle Endeavour’s aft flight deck.
13. SMART ASS-TRONAUTS
    • What else is duct tape good for? Attachign smart-alecky notes! The Gemini-9A backup crew of James A. Lovell Jr. and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. left this teasing rhyme for the primary crew of Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan.
14. WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER
    • Astronauts Christopher Cassidy, Dave Wolf, and Tom Marsh burn pose with their beloved duct tape on the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
15. THIS BAG ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE
    • NASA astronaut Doug Hurley affixes a supply bag on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
16. GOOD FOR THE SOLE
    • The problem: Triangular shoe cleats that attach to a grid floor to prevent Skylab 4 crew members from floating away kept breaking off. Solution: a few wraps of grey tape.
17. A WHIZ IN THE KITCHEN
    • Cooking in zero gravity can create a huge mess because food scraps keep floating away from the preparation area. Astronaut Sandra Magnus attaches duct tape strips to individual scraps to anchor them, a process she says can take hours.
18. SPOON CANDY
    • Resting objects on a flat surface like a table is impossible in zero Gs, but a little grey tape can keep them tidy. Here, small squares of double-sided tape secure some wipes while a piece of regular tape attached sticky side up keeps a spoon from flying away.
19. TAPE TAMES JETPACKS
    • Spacewalking NASA astronauts Piers Seller and Michael Fossum work on the International Space Station’s freshly installed Starboard Truss. Kapton tape was used to keep Seller’s emergency jetpack firmly locked to his suit after latches popped open, nearly allowing the jetpack to escape.

Duct tape is commonly used in situation that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape. Some have a long-lasting adhesive and resistance to weathering.

M.S. Packaging

www.mspackaging.co.uk

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