ILC Dover is a special engineering development and manufacturing company, globally headquartered in Frederica, Delaware . It specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace , personal protection , and pharmaceutical industries .
103-498: (Redirected from ILCS ) ILC may refer to: Organisations [ edit ] ILC Dover , American engineering and manufacturing company International Latex Corporation , predecessor of ILC Dover Immanuel Lutheran College (disambiguation) , multiple schools Independent Learning Centre , provider of distance education in Ontario, Canada Indigenous Land Corporation, former name of
206-441: A system camera where the camera body is separate from the lens Invasive lobular carcinoma , a form of breast cancer International Linear Collider , a proposed particle accelerator Other [ edit ] Illinois Compiled Statutes , codified statutes of Illinois In Living Color , an American comedy TV series Iterative learning control , a form of production-process tracking control Topics referred to by
309-477: A body of legal experts International Land Coalition , a global social equity alliance International Lutheran Council , an association of Lutheran denominations Interprovincial Lottery Corporation in Canada Irish Land Commission , 1881–1999 Science and technology [ edit ] Innate lymphoid cell , part of the immune system Interchangeable-lens camera, another name for
412-607: A decade of reliance on the Russians. In 2019, NASA announced the Artemis program , intending to return to the Moon and establish a permanent human presence. This was paired with the Artemis Accords with partner nations to establish rules of behavior and norms of space commercialization on the Moon. In 2023, NASA established the Moon to Mars Program office. The office is designed to oversee
515-629: A month after the Soviet Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, executing a full orbital spaceflight. NASA's first orbital spaceflight was conducted by John Glenn on February 20, 1962, in the Friendship 7 , making three full orbits before reentering. Glenn had to fly parts of his final two orbits manually due to an autopilot malfunction. The sixth and final Mercury mission was flown by Gordon Cooper in May 1963, performing 22 orbits over 34 hours in
618-570: A permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade. In 1985, NASA proposed the Space Station Freedom , which both the agency and President Reagan intended to be an international program. While this would add legitimacy to the program, there were concerns within NASA that the international component would dilute its authority within the project, having never been willing to work with domestic or international partners as true equals. There
721-628: A possible source of antimatter at the center of the Milky Way and observing that the majority of gamma-ray bursts occur outside of the Milky Way galaxy. The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched from the Columbia on STS-93 in 1999, observing black holes, quasars , supernova , and dark matter . It provided critical observations on the Sagittarius A* black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy and
824-495: A separate contract for the life support backpack unit. ILC was further challenged after the Apollo 1 fire to remove all flammable material from space suits. After a nationwide search, ILC settled on beta cloth , a fireproof silica fiber cloth. Apollo spacesuits were custom-made for each of the astronauts in the program, and for each of the twelve crewed flights carried out, ILC produced fifteen suits. Three suits were made for each of
927-532: A space station since the agency was created. In 1973, following the end of the Apollo lunar missions, NASA launched its first space station, Skylab , on the final launch of the Saturn V. Skylab reused a significant amount of Apollo and Saturn hardware, with a repurposed Saturn V third stage serving as the primary module for the space station. Damage to Skylab during its launch required spacewalks to be performed by
1030-528: A special garment, the Demilitarization Protective Ensemble (DPE), to fulfill the U.S. Army's need for an off-the-shelf, positive pressure, totally encapsulating suit for use by maintenance personnel at a chemical weapons site. The DPE was delivered to the Army in 1979 and is still currently in daily use, with over 700 recorded entries into a "hot" environment and a perfect safety record. From
1133-997: A variety of inflatable habitats, airlocks , and shelters for use in Earth orbit and lunar / planetary exploration . Lunar habitat projects include the X-Hab Lunar Habitat, the InFlex Lunar Habitat, the Toroidal Lunar Habitat, and the Expandable Lunar Habitat. ILC has also worked on the Antarctic Habitat Planetary Analog Study, the Lawrence Livermore Inflatable Space Station, and the Minimum Function Habitat. For decades, ILC has worked on
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#17328735561181236-551: Is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program , aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958 , it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science . It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury , Project Gemini ,
1339-487: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages ILC Dover On June 3, 2024, Ingersoll Rand announced the acquisition of ILC. Best known for making space suits for NASA , ILC outfitted every United States astronaut in the Apollo program , including the twelve that walked on the Moon. It also designed and manufactured the Space Suit Assembly portion of
1442-546: Is the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), which has two parts: the space suit assembly (SSA), manufactured by ILC, and the life support system (LSS), manufactured by Hamilton Sundstrand (previously Hamilton Standard). The SSA is made of individual components which are assembled to fit each astronaut. Since the first shuttle EVA in 1983, 216 U.S. astronauts have performed a total of 74 shuttle EVAs, combining for greater than 470 hours in space. The shuttle EMU
1545-599: Is the world's largest producer of modern aerostat and airship envelopes. Airships and blimps are used for a variety of applications including transport and tourism; advertising; and surveillance. ILC's airship products are used by the U.S. military, the American Blimp Corporation, and Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (Germany). Since the early 1980s, ILC has been involved in the design and development of high altitude airships. The advent and growth of
1648-583: The Faith 7 . The Mercury Program was wildly recognized as a resounding success, achieving its objectives to orbit a human in space, develop tracking and control systems, and identify other issues associated with human spaceflight. While much of NASA's attention turned to space, it did not put aside its aeronautics mission. Early aeronautics research attempted to build upon the X-1's supersonic flight to build an aircraft capable of hypersonic flight . The North American X-15
1751-720: The Army Ballistic Missile Agency would launch Explorer 1 , America's first satellite, on February 1, 1958. The Eisenhower Administration decided to split the United States' military and civil spaceflight programs, which were organized together under the Defense Department 's Advanced Research Projects Agency . NASA was established on July 29, 1958, with the signing of the National Aeronautics and Space Act and it began operations on October 1, 1958. As
1854-762: The Bell X-1 in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force . NACA's interest in space grew out of its rocketry program at the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division. The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in the Space Age and kicked off the Space Race . Despite NACA's early rocketry program, the responsibility for launching the first American satellite fell to the Naval Research Laboratory 's Project Vanguard , whose operational issues ensured
1957-658: The Big Bang . The James Webb Space Telescope , named after the NASA administrator who lead the Apollo program, is an infrared observatory launched in 2021. The James Webb Space Telescope is a direct successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, intended to observe the formation of the first galaxies. Other space telescopes include the Kepler space telescope , launched in 2009 to identify planets orbiting extrasolar stars that may be Terran and possibly harbor life. The first exoplanet that
2060-660: The Earth Observing System ; advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate 's Heliophysics Research Program; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and planetary rovers such as Perseverance ; and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang , through the James Webb Space Telescope ,
2163-753: The Environmental Science Services Administration on a series of weather satellites and the agency launched its experimental Applications Technology Satellites into geosynchronous orbit. NASA's first dedicated Earth observation satellite, Landsat , was launched in 1972. This led to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly developing the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and discovering Ozone depletion . NASA had been pursuing spaceplane development since
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#17328735561182266-676: The Europa and observed that the moon may hold ice or liquid water. A joint NASA- European Space Agency - Italian Space Agency mission, Cassini–Huygens , was sent to Saturn 's moon Titan , which, along with Mars and Europa, are the only celestial bodies in the Solar System suspected of being capable of harboring life. Cassini discovered three new moons of Saturn and the Huygens probe entered Titan's atmosphere. The mission discovered evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on Titan and subsurface water oceans on
2369-622: The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) developed by Collins Aerospace , worn by astronauts during performance of extra-vehicular activity (EVA) on Space Shuttle missions and on the International Space Station . Other ILC Dover products include the airbag landing devices for Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions; lighter-than-air vehicles, including airships , aerostats , and zeppelins ; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) masks and hood systems; and flexible powder-containment solutions for
2472-588: The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), the suit worn by astronauts during Space Shuttle and Space Station extra-vehicular activity (EVA). ILC continued its support of the space program, while expanding its personal protection and lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicle lines. In 1994 and 1995, ILC was awarded contracts with the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH and the American Blimp Corporation for production of envelopes for each company. Over
2575-738: The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation , Australia Indigenous Law Centre , at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Industrial loan company /corporation, a financial institution in the US that lends money International Labor Comparisons , division in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization International Law Commission ,
2678-742: The Johnson Space Center as the lead center for the design, development, and manufacturing of the Space Shuttle orbiter , while the Marshall Space Flight Center would lead the development of the launch system. NASA's series of lifting body aircraft, culminating in the joint NASA-U.S. Air Force Martin Marietta X-24 , directly informed the development of the Space Shuttle and future hypersonic flight aircraft. Official development of
2781-634: The Mars Global Surveyor orbiter and Mars Pathfinder , deploying the first Mars rover, Sojourner . During the early 2000s, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter reached the planet and in 2004 the Sprit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red Planet. This was followed in 2005 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2007 Phoenix Mars lander. The 2012 landing of Curiosity discovered that
2884-589: The Orbiting Geophysical Observatory in the 1960s and 1970s to look down at Earth and observe its interactions with the Sun. The Uhuru satellite was the first dedicated x-ray telescope, mapping 85% of the sky and discovering a large number of black holes . Launched in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Great Observatories program are among NASA's most powerful telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope
2987-631: The STS-1 mission, designed to serve as a flight test for the new spaceplane. NASA intended for the Space Shuttle to replace expendable launch systems like the Air Force's Atlas , Delta , and Titan and the European Space Agency 's Ariane . The Space Shuttle's Spacelab payload, developed by the European Space Agency, increased the scientific capabilities of shuttle missions over anything NASA
3090-616: The STS-60 mission in 1994 and the Discovery rendezvoused, but did not dock with, the Russian Mir in the STS-63 mission. This was followed by Atlantis' STS-71 mission where it accomplished the initial intended mission for the Space Shuttle, docking with a space station and transferring supplies and personnel. The Shuttle- Mir program would continue until 1998, when a series of orbital accidents on
3193-471: The Space Race when the Soviet Union gave up its lunar ambitions. As the first human to step on the surface of the Moon, Neil Armstrong uttered the now famous words: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. NASA would conduct six total lunar landings as part of the Apollo program, with Apollo 17 concluding the program in 1972. Wernher von Braun had advocated for NASA to develop
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3296-609: The Space Shuttle began in 1972, with Rockwell International contracted to design the orbiter and engines, Martin Marietta for the external fuel tank , and Morton Thiokol for the solid rocket boosters . NASA acquired six orbiters: the Enterprise , Columbia , Challenger , Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour The Space Shuttle program also allowed NASA to make major changes to its Astronaut Corps . While almost all previous astronauts were Air Force or Naval test pilots,
3399-602: The United States Congress created the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914 and established NACA in 1915 to foster aeronautical research and development. Over the next forty years, NACA would conduct aeronautical research in support of the U.S. Air Force , U.S. Army , U.S. Navy , and the civil aviation sector. After the end of World War II , NACA became interested in the possibilities of guided missiles and supersonic aircraft, developing and testing
3502-405: The inner planets . Despite these successes, Congress was unwilling to fund further interplanetary missions and NASA Administrator James Webb suspended all future interplanetary probes to focus resources on the Apollo program. Following the conclusion of the Apollo program, NASA resumed launching interplanetary probes and expanded its space science program. The first planet tagged for exploration
3605-497: The pharmaceutical drug manufacturing process. Such containment systems enable the safe and effective processing of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Flexible enclosure systems or specific products, such as the DoverPac, G2Pac and Continuous Liner, can be incorporated into various procedures in the manufacturing process to provide containment of potent pharmaceutical agents, protecting workers from harmful exposure and ensuring purity of
3708-440: The space station . The suit is a combination of hard and soft elements, designed for pressurization to 8.3 psi (57 kPa). Shuttle suits are pressurized to 4.3 psi (30 kPa), and astronauts are required to breathe pure oxygen for several hours prior to EVA to remove all dissolved nitrogen from body fluids (to prevent " the bends " upon de-pressurization). Pressurization to 8.3 psi (57 kPa) would eliminate
3811-516: The 1960s, blending the administration's dual aeronautics and space missions. NASA viewed a spaceplane as part of a larger program, providing routine and economical logistical support to a space station in Earth orbit that would be used as a hub for lunar and Mars missions. A reusable launch vehicle would then have ended the need for expensive and expendable boosters like the Saturn V . In 1969, NASA designated
3914-621: The 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle . Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program , and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program . NASA's science division is focused on better understanding Earth through
4017-655: The 44 commercial companies that contracted with NASA to deploy their satellites to return to expendable launch vehicles. When the Space Shuttle returned to flight with the STS-26 mission, it had undergone significant modifications to improve its reliability and safety. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and United States initiated the Shuttle- Mir program . The first Russian cosmonaut flew on
4120-450: The Air Force as the military space lead. Plans for human spaceflight began in the U.S. Armed Forces prior to NASA's creation. The Air Force's Man in Space Soonest project formed in 1956, coupled with the Army's Project Adam, served as the foundation for Project Mercury . NASA established the Space Task Group to manage the program, which would conduct crewed sub-orbital flights with the Army's Redstone rockets and orbital flights with
4223-448: The Air Force's Atlas launch vehicles. While NASA intended for its first astronauts to be civilians, President Eisenhower directed that they be selected from the military. The Mercury 7 astronauts included three Air Force pilots, three Navy aviators, and one Marine Corps pilot. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space, performing a suborbital spaceflight in the Freedom 7 . This flight occurred less than
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4326-410: The Apollo program. Despite attacks on the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon from the former president Dwight Eisenhower and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater , President Kennedy was able to protect NASA's growing budget, of which 50% went directly to human spaceflight and it was later estimated that, at its height, 5% of Americans worked on some aspect of the Apollo program. Mirroring
4429-478: The Army Ballistic Missile Agency's original Saturn I . The Apollo spacecraft was designed and built by North American Aviation , while the Apollo Lunar Module was designed and built by Grumman . To develop the spaceflight skills and equipment required for a lunar mission, NASA initiated Project Gemini . Using a modified Air Force Titan II launch vehicle, the Gemini capsule could hold two astronauts for flights of over two weeks. Gemini pioneered
4532-426: The Department of Defense's program management concept using redundant systems in building the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, NASA requested the Air Force assign Major General Samuel C. Phillips to the space agency where he would serve as the director of the Apollo program. Development of the Saturn V rocket was led by Wernher von Braun and his team at the Marshall Space Flight Center , derived from
4635-439: The Keplar space telescope confirmed was Kepler-22b , orbiting within the habitable zone of its star. NASA also launched a number of different satellites to study Earth, such as Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) in 1960, which was the first weather satellite. NASA and the United States Weather Bureau cooperated on future TIROS and the second generation Nimbus program of weather satellites. It also worked with
4738-412: The M43, M40, MBU-19/P). The M40/M42 masks became the standard field mask of the U.S. Army, and, as of 2010, over two million had been produced and sold. Hamilton Standard , of Windsor Locks, CT was contracted to oversee ILC's suit manufacture due to ILC's inexperience with federal government contracts. In 1977, ILC Dover, in conjunction with Hamilton Standard , began development and manufacture of
4841-448: The Martian interior. The 2021 Perseverance rover carried the first extraplanetary aircraft, a helicopter named Ingenuity . NASA also launched missions to Mercury in 2004, with the MESSENGER probe demonstrating as the first use of a solar sail . NASA also launched probes to the outer Solar System starting in the 1960s. Pioneer 10 was the first probe to the outer planets, flying by Jupiter , while Pioneer 11 provided
4944-517: The Metals Division, eventually became ILC Dover. Located at that time in Dover, Delaware , ILC's earliest work was on high-altitude pressure helmets and high-altitude pressure suits for the U.S Navy and Air Force. In 1965, ILC (then known as the Government and Industrial Division of the International Latex Corporation) was awarded the prime contract for the Apollo Lunar Space Suit , based on its unique approach to designing flexible joints in air filled suits. ILC successfully designed and manufactured
5047-402: The Moon and going to Mars. Embracing this approach, NASA's Commercial Crew Program started by contracting cargo delivery to the International Space Station and flew its first operational contracted mission on SpaceX Crew-1 . This marked the first time since the retirement of the Space Shuttle that NASA was able to launch its own astronauts on an American spacecraft from the United States, ending
5150-404: The Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the 1960s and installed James E. Webb as NASA administrator to achieve this goal. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy openly declared this goal in his "Urgent National Needs" speech to the United States Congress, declaring: I believe this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on
5253-427: The Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. Kennedy gave his " We choose to go to the Moon " speech the next year, on September 12, 1962 at Rice University , where he addressed the nation hoping to reinforce public support for
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#17328735561185356-409: The Russians be included. In 1993, the Clinton Administration announced that the Space Station Freedom would become the International Space Station in an agreement with the Russian Federation. This allowed the Russians to maintain their space program through an infusion of American currency to maintain their status as one of the two premier space programs. While the United States built and launched
5459-507: The Russians to fly to the International Space Station for four days, despite the opposition of NASA to the idea. Advocates of this new commercial approach for NASA included former astronaut Buzz Aldrin , who remarked that it would return NASA to its roots as a research and development agency, with commercial entities actually operating the space systems. Having corporations take over orbital operations would also allow NASA to focus all its efforts on deep space exploration and returning humans to
5562-426: The Sentinel XL CBRN PAPR, used to protect against CBRN threats; the Sentinel HP PAPR, used to protect against infectious disease ; and the Sentinel XT PAPR, used to protect pharmaceutical workers from airborne active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) . They also produce an air purifying escape respirator (APER), the SCape CBRN, and the M40/42 gas mask used by the U.S. military. In the late 1970s, ILC developed
5665-422: The Solar System. Mars has long been a planet of intense fascination for NASA, being suspected of potentially having harbored life. Mariner 5 was the first NASA spacecraft to flyby Mars, followed by Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 . Mariner 9 was the first orbital mission to Mars. Launched in 1975, Viking program consisted of two landings on Mars in 1976. Follow-on missions would not be launched until 1996, with
5768-404: The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, NASA was forced to rely on Russian Soyuz launches for its astronauts and the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle accelerated the station's completion. In the 1980s, right after the first flight of the Space Shuttle, NASA started a joint program with the Department of Defense to develop the Rockwell X-30 National Aerospace Plane. NASA realized that
5871-418: The Space Shuttle allowed NASA to begin recruiting more non-military scientific and technical experts. A prime example is Sally Ride , who became the first American woman to fly in space on STS-7 . This new astronaut selection process also allowed NASA to accept exchange astronauts from U.S. allies and partners for the first time. The first Space Shuttle flight occurred in 1981, when the Columbia launched on
5974-443: The Space Shuttle and expand space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Constellation was intended to use a significant amount of former Space Shuttle equipment and return astronauts to the Moon. This program was canceled by the Obama Administration . Former astronauts Neil Armstrong , Gene Cernan , and Jim Lovell sent a letter to President Barack Obama to warn him that if the United States did not get new human spaceflight ability,
6077-478: The Space Shuttle began flying, selling it as an orbital laboratory, repair station, and a jumping off point for lunar and Mars missions. NASA found a strong advocate in President Ronald Reagan , who declared in a 1984 speech: America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight I am directing NASA to develop
6180-444: The Space Shuttle, while a massive technological accomplishment, would not be able to live up to all its promises. Designed to be a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane, the X-30 had both civil and military applications. With the end of the Cold War , the X-30 was canceled in 1992 before reaching flight status. Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, President Bush started the Constellation program to smoothly replace
6283-483: The Space Shuttle. Due to technical challenges, the spacecraft was cancelled in 2001. Despite this, it was the first time a commercial space company directly expended a significant amount of its resources into spacecraft development. The advent of space tourism also forced NASA to challenge its assumption that only governments would have people in space. The first space tourist was Dennis Tito , an American investment manager and former aerospace engineer who contracted with
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#17328735561186386-507: The Space Station Freedom was controversial, with much of the debate centering on cost. Several redesigns to reduce cost were conducted in the early 1990s, stripping away much of its functions. Despite calls for Congress to terminate the program, it continued, in large part because by 1992 it had created 75,000 jobs across 39 states. By 1993, President Bill Clinton attempted to significantly reduce NASA's budget and directed costs be significantly reduced, aerospace industry jobs were not lost, and
6489-425: The U.S. Air Force for use at Cudjoe Key Air Force Station. Subsequently, they entered the field of personal protective equipment , paving the way for development of industrial protection suits, such as the Chemturion suit line. In later years, their development of protective equipment expanded into type classified military chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) masks and hood systems (for example,
6592-399: The U.S. risked become a second or third-rate space power. As early as the Reagan Administration, there had been calls for NASA to expand private sector involvement in space exploration rather than do it all in-house. In the 1990s, NASA and Lockheed Martin entered into an agreement to develop the Lockheed Martin X-33 demonstrator of the VentureStar spaceplane, which was intended to replace
6695-409: The US's premier aeronautics agency, NACA formed the core of NASA's new structure by reassigning 8,000 employees and three major research laboratories. NASA also proceeded to absorb the Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard, the Army's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under Wernher von Braun . This left NASA firmly as the United States' civil space lead and
6798-577: The cellular phone market renewed interest in the use of high altitude airships as an economical alternative to satellites. In the past decade, ILC has worked with Lockheed Martin to support several US government-funded high-altitude airship (HAA) programs to define the system for a mobile platform capable of carrying various payloads, including communications and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors. Aerostats are typically utilized as platforms to carry surveillance radars to altitudes reaching 15,000 feet (4,600 m) while tethered to
6901-413: The design and manufacture of inflatable airbag systems. ILC's most notable accomplishments are the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover (MER) airbags which helped land the Sojourner , Spirit , and Opportunity rovers on the surface of Mars . In addition to planetary landing systems, ILC has designed and fabricated airbag landing systems to safely return crewed and uncrewed space systems to
7004-415: The designer and producer of the space suit pressure garment for NASA . Throughout Apollo , Skylab , Space Shuttle , and Space Station missions, the space suit has been required to protect astronauts from hazards faced in Earth's orbit and on the surface of the Moon. These hazards include the vacuum environment of space, temperature extremes ranging from -250 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit,
7107-468: The development of the Z-1 Suit for NASA Designed and manufactured at ILC Dover's Houston facility. The Z-1 is the first suit to be successfully integrated into a suit-port dock mechanism eliminating the need for an air lock; and reducing the consumable demands on long term missions. Since the early 1970s, ILC has been designing and manufacturing softgoods structures for aerostats , airships , blimps , and other lighter-than-air (LTA) structures. ILC
7210-420: The first close up view of the planet. Both probes became the first objects to leave the Solar System. The Voyager program launched in 1977, conducting flybys of Jupiter and Saturn , Neptune , and Uranus on a trajectory to leave the Solar System. The Galileo spacecraft, deployed from the Space Shuttle flight STS-34 , was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, discovering evidence of subsurface oceans on
7313-405: The first crew to make it habitable and operational. Skylab hosted nine missions and was decommissioned in 1974 and deorbited in 1979, two years prior to the first launch of the Space Shuttle and any possibility of boosting its orbit. In 1975, the Apollo–Soyuz mission was the first ever international spaceflight and a major diplomatic accomplishment between the Cold War rivals, which also marked
7416-402: The first humans to see the Earth as a globe in space, the first to witness an Earthrise , and the first to see and manually photograph the far side of the Moon. The first lunar landing was conducted by Apollo 11. Commanded by Neil Armstrong with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins , Apollo 11 was one of the most significant missions in NASA's history, marking the end of
7519-592: The following decade, ILC's production of LTA vehicles continued, and in 2001, ILC, in collaboration with TCOM and Uretek, developed and manufactured the world's largest pressurized LTA vehicle for CargoLifter in Brand, Germany. In 1994, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory contracted ILC to develop and manufacture the airbag landing system for the Mars Pathfinder mission , which successfully cushioned Pathfinder's landing on July 4, 1997. In 2003, ILC's airbag system enabled
7622-465: The four Great Observatories , and associated programs. The Launch Services Program oversees launch operations for its uncrewed launches . NASA traces its roots to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Despite being the birthplace of aviation, by 1914 the United States recognized that it was far behind Europe in aviation capability. Determined to regain American leadership in aviation,
7725-445: The ground by a single tether. ILC has manufactured aerostats with volumes ranging from 56,000 to 595,000 cubic feet (1,600 to 16,800 m ). The length of these aerostats ranges from 109 to 240 feet (33 to 73 m). The lift generated by a helium filled LTA vehicle can allow heavy loads to be transported in an economical manner. In the early 1990s, ILC was involved in the design and manufacture of logging balloons, devices used in
7828-454: The impact of micrometeoroids and orbital debris, and lunar dust . Above the 63,000 foot threshold, spacesuits are needed to supply oxygen and to provide a pressurized environment around the body to keep body fluids in a liquid state. ILC began delivering spacesuits for the Apollo program in 1966. Initial deliveries of suits did not perform well in tests and NASA initially cancelled its contract with ILC and Hamilton Standard. NASA relaunched
7931-451: The last flight of the Apollo capsule. Flown in 1975, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule. During the 1960s, NASA started its space science and interplanetary probe program. The Mariner program was its flagship program, launching probes to Venus , Mars , and Mercury in the 1960s. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was the lead NASA center for robotic interplanetary exploration, making significant discoveries about
8034-504: The majority of the International Space Station, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency all contributed components. Despite NASA's insistence that costs would be kept at a budget of $ 17.4, they kept rising and NASA had to transfer funds from other programs to keep the International Space Station solvent. Ultimately, the total cost of the station was $ 150 billion, with the United States paying for two-thirds.Following
8137-609: The moon of Enceladus , which could harbor life. Finally launched in 2006, the New Horizons mission was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and the Kuiper Belt . Beyond interplanetary probes, NASA has launched many space telescopes . Launched in the 1960s, the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory were NASA's first orbital telescopes, providing ultraviolet, gamma-ray, x-ray, and infrared observations. NASA launched
8240-542: The need for a lengthy pre-breathing time. The Mk III has since been used in test programs that study space suit operations in the lunar and Mars surface environments. The I-Suit is a lightweight experimental suit designed and manufactured by ILC to be used for high-mobility surface operations in gravity, such as on the lunar surface or on the surface of Mars . The I-suit is also being studied for use with next generation NASA launch vehicles and commercial space vehicles. ILC continues in their space suit innovation with
8343-560: The northwestern U.S. and western Canada for the purpose of retrieving logs from mountainous areas inaccessible by road. Since the mid-1970s, ILC has designed and produced products for chemical and biological protection. Currently, ILC designs and produces respirators , masks, and suits used to protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats. The products are used by U.S. military troops, federal employees, scientists and health care workers. ILC produces powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs). These include
8446-471: The pharmaceutical agents by preventing contamination . ILC designs and manufactures inflatable structures for use in earth orbit , lunar , and planetary exploration . Inflatable structures have been used on a number of space missions for a variety of applications including specialized flexible containment covers ( Hubble Space Telescope ), impact attenuation airbag systems, and inflatable aerodynamic decelerators. ILC has developed and manufactured
8549-676: The pharmaceutical industry. ILC Dover initially formed as a branch of the International Latex Corporation , the company founded in 1932 by Abram Spanel and later known as Playtex best known for manufacture of women's undergarments. The International Latex Corporation supported American efforts in World War II with latex products such as attack boats, life rafts, and canteens. In 1947, the International Latex Corporation split into four divisions, one of which,
8652-402: The program to develop a spacesuit for the Apollo program experimenting at first with hard suits. ILC and Hamilton Standard submitted competing designs this time with ILC winning the sole contract based on its flexible, close-fitting design which featured water cooled undergarment, a blue inner pressurized layer, and covered in a white nylon layer to protect the suits from rocks. Hamilton received
8755-608: The radiation levels on Mars were equal to those on the International Space Station , greatly increasing the possibility of Human exploration, and observed the key chemical ingredients for life to occur. In 2013, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution ( MAVEN ) mission observed the Martian upper atmosphere and space environment and in 2018, the Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy, and Heat Transport ( InSight ) studied
8858-553: The safe landing of the twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity , during the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions . In the 1990s ILC entered the pharmaceutical industry with the design and production of flexible containment systems, used to improve operator safety and ensure product purity during the manufacturing processing of potent pharmaceutical agents. Since the beginning of the Apollo Program , ILC has been
8961-403: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title ILC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ILC&oldid=1179112791 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
9064-502: The satellites were repaired and relaunched. Despite ushering in a new era of spaceflight, where NASA was contracting launch services to commercial companies, the Space Shuttle was criticized for not being as reusable and cost-effective as advertised. In 1986, Challenger disaster on the STS-51L mission resulted in the loss of the spacecraft and all seven astronauts on launch, grounding the entire space shuttle fleet for 36 months and forced
9167-641: The separation of dark and regular matter during galactic collisions. Finally, the Spitzer Space Telescope is an infrared telescope launched in 2003 from a Delta II rocket. It is in a trailing orbit around the Sun, following the Earth and discovered the existence of brown dwarf stars . Other telescopes, such as the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe , provided evidence to support
9270-504: The setback caused by the Apollo 1 fire, which killed three astronauts, the program proceeded. Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon . The crew orbited the Moon ten times on December 24 and 25, 1968, and then traveled safely back to Earth . The three Apollo 8 astronauts— Frank Borman , James Lovell , and William Anders —were
9373-534: The space shuttle be retired. In 2006, the Space Shuttle returned to flight, conducting several mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope , but was retired following the STS-135 resupply mission to the International Space Station in 2011. NASA never gave up on the idea of a space station after Skylab's reentry in 1979. The agency began lobbying politicians to support building a larger space station as soon as
9476-476: The space station spelled an end to the program. In 2003, a second space shuttle was destroyed when the Columbia was destroyed upon reentry during the STS-107 mission, resulting in the loss of the spacecraft and all seven astronauts. This accident marked the beginning of the retiring of the Space Shuttle program, with President George W. Bush directing that upon the completion of the International Space Station,
9579-461: The suit worn by astronauts in the Apollo program, including Neil Armstrong during the first moonwalk. By 1969, ILC's workforce expanded to 900 employees as it supported the space program through production of Apollo space suits and a sun shield to protect Skylab, the first U.S. space station. In 1974, the Skylab program ended, and ILC faced an immediate need to diversify their product offerings. That same year, ILC delivered its first aerostat to
9682-918: The surface of Earth. This includes airbags for the Orion spacecraft , and the Advanced Launch System. Other inflatable products with space applications include ballutes and decelerators; inflatable and deployable antennas ; sunshields , solar sails and solar arrays ; radiation shields; decoys; and planetary balloons. ILC has produced numerous inflatable structures for military and aerospace applications. Inflatable structures are those made from high-performance flexible materials, often providing weight, size, and economic advantages over structures made from traditional metal or composite materials. Products include ballutes and decelerators; floats; munition dispensing systems; UAV wings; radomes ; and shelters. NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA / ˈ n æ s ə / )
9785-659: The technology used in production of the DPE, ILC developed a protective suit to be used for commercial applications. The Chemturion is a multi-use, totally encapsulating protective suit, currently used by Public Health Canada, Boston University, USAMRIID and AI Signal Research, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, and many industrial companies such as DuPont, Dow, and Georgia Pacific. ILC designs and manufactures products that allow for flexible containment of potent pharmaceutical agents during
9888-476: The three astronauts comprising the crew (one suit for flight, one for training, one for back-up) and two suits were made for each of the three back-up crew members (one suit for flight and one for training). Twenty extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) were performed during the Apollo program , and ten were performed during Skylab . The Apollo suits were used for a total of 160 hours on the lunar surface. The space suit used for EVA during Space Shuttle missions
9991-579: The use of fuel cells instead of batteries, and conducted the first American spacewalks and rendezvous operations . The Ranger Program was started in the 1950s as a response to Soviet lunar exploration, however most missions ended in failure. The Lunar Orbiter program had greater success, mapping the surface in preparation for Apollo landings and measured Selenography , conducted meteoroid detection, and measured radiation levels. The Surveyor program conducted uncrewed lunar landings and takeoffs, as well as taking surface and regolith observations. Despite
10094-454: Was Venus , sharing many similar characteristics to Earth. First visited by American Mariner 2 spacecraft, Venus was observed to be a hot and inhospitable planet. Follow-on missions included the Pioneer Venus project in the 1970s and Magellan , which performed radar mapping of Venus' surface in the 1980s and 1990s. Future missions were flybys of Venus, on their way to other destinations in
10197-484: Was a joint NASA–U.S. Air Force program, with the hypersonic test aircraft becoming the first non-dedicated spacecraft to cross from the atmosphere to outer space. The X-15 also served as a testbed for Apollo program technologies, as well as ramjet and scramjet propulsion. Escalations in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union prompted President John F. Kennedy to charge NASA with landing an American on
10300-663: Was able to previously accomplish. NASA launched its first commercial satellites on the STS-5 mission and in 1984, the STS-41-C mission conducted the world's first on-orbit satellite servicing mission when the Challenger captured and repaired the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite. It also had the capability to return malfunctioning satellite to Earth, like it did with the Palapa B2 and Westar 6 satellites. Once returned to Earth,
10403-531: Was also a concern with sharing sensitive space technologies with the Europeans, which had the potential to dilute America's technical lead. Ultimately, an international agreement to develop the Space Station Freedom program would be signed with thirteen countries in 1985, including the European Space Agency member states, Canada , and Japan . Despite its status as the first international space program,
10506-471: Was improved for use on the International Space Station (ISS). The suits for the ISS were modified to provide greater mobility, to afford better tactile capabilities of the glove, and to provide an increased operational life. As of February 2011, a total of 104 EVAs on the ISS had occurred, for greater than 650 total hours in space. The Mark III (MKIII) is an experimental suit that was designed by ILC for use on
10609-492: Was launched in 1990 on STS-31 from the Discovery and could view galaxies 15 billion light years away. A major defect in the telescope's mirror could have crippled the program, had NASA not used computer enhancement to compensate for the imperfection and launched five Space Shuttle servicing flights to replace the damaged components. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was launched from the Atlantis on STS-37 in 1991, discovering
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