NASA APOLLO PROJECT FIRE SAFETY & FLAME RESISTANT MATERIALS EDUCATIONAL FILM 55554

This color educational film produced by A-V Corporation for NASA addresses fire in the 1969 Apollo missions. It opens with shots of bubbling magma (:17), an Apollo rocket launch (:49), and firemen battling a huge blaze (1:00). Fire must have three basic components: a combustible fuel or material, an agent to react chemically with the fuel to produce combustion, and an ignition source, using a candle as an example (1:28-2:05). Within a manned space flight, there are other flammable factors, such as the enriched oxygen. Shown is what may be the May 18, 1969 crew to Apollo 10 inside the space capsule during the mission, as it looks like John Young, Thomas Stafford, and Eugene Cernan (2:16-2:27). Next shown is a man performing tasks on the moon, which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin accomplished in Apollo 11, July 20, 1969 and Charles Conrad and Alan Bean repeated in Apollo 12, November 14, 1969 (2:30-2:43). To create flame resistant materials able to safely withstand space, a standardized set of practical flammability tests were established (2:44-3:31) as were tests for durability (3:34-3:58). The result was beta cloth, a type of fireproof silica fiber cloth used in space suits after the deadly 1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire. Shown are Apollo astronauts moving within the space capsule (4:00-4:19). Another fiber created for spacecraft webbing and cords is PVI, due to its almost complete non-flammability in pure oxygen (4:23-4:34). Teflon is also used in the astronaut white coveralls; shown is one for astronaut Thomas Mattingly (4:39-4:46). The flight bags and kits are made of Teflon-coated beta cloth combined with asbestos fabric and aluminum foil (4:49-5:07). An Apollo astronaut puts on his space suit of fabric woven of metallic fabrics (5:08-5:22). Other non-flammable fabrics are under consideration (5:30-5:59). A type of slow-to-burn paper, developed by a German firm, was used during Apollo 12 (6:00-6:15). Insulating compounds used to encapsulate spacecraft electrical components must also be non-flammable (6:23-6:33). Fluoroelastomer is a special purpose fluorocarbon-based synthetic rubber that performs well in high temperatures (6:37-6:50). Fluoropolymers and asbestos are combined and painted on structural wood to make it non-flammable (6:53-7:17). These fire-resistant discoveries can be used outside of space, such as the wood in housing developments, insulation, wall paneling, drapery materials, and paint). Race car drivers are testing flame-resistant coveralls (8:50-9:00). NASA has experimented with these materials in one of its planes (9:01) Treating commercial airplane seat cushion material and woolen seat upholstery with fire-retardant chemicals increases safety (9:34-9:56). A Cessna 210L is shown (9:58-10:17). Firemen at Kennedy Space Center wear non-flammable suits made of Du Point Nomex (invented in 1967) to practice rescuing astronauts from a space capsule and for use in public fire fighter suits (10:19-11:50). Images already shown wrap up