67. MILLS: From Cotton Cloth to Space Age Textiles

<p>While researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon missions.”</p><p><i>Episode Source Material:</i></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHA/1962/JFKWHA-127-002/JFKWHA-127-002">Address at Rice University in Houston, Texas on the Nation's Space Effort, 12 September 1962 | JFK Library</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_choose_to_go_to_the_Moon">We choose to go to the Moon - Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_cloth">Beta cloth - Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://bronaerotech.com/product/ba-500bc-cf500f-beta-cloth/">BA 500BC / CF500 F (Beta Cloth, Beta Fabric) – Bron Aerotech</a></li><li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=wioDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA98#v=onepage&q&f=true">Popular Science | November 1967</a></li><li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3Fg7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=beta+cloth&source=bl&ots=FpOH5jlFe7&sig=ACfU3U2IRnq_kd3oOjU919lPaA5_tQ0z0g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyg8mrj_T7AhX5kGoFHdsWBmA4ChDoAXoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=beta%20cloth&f=false">Comparison of Observed Beta Cloth Interactions with Simulated and Actual Space Environment</a></li><li><a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42807639.pdf">Beta Cloth Durability Assessment for Space Station Freedom (SSF) Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) Blanket Covers</a></li><li><a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112067697901&view=1up&seq=151">Apollo Applications of Beta Fiber Glass</a></li><li><a href="https://www.si.edu/content/MCIImagingStudio/papers/Lunar%20Dust%20Effects%20Spacesuit%20Systems.pdf">Lunar Dust Effects on Spacesuit Systems</a></li><li><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4618514?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Man in Machine: Apollo-Era Space Suits as Artifacts of Technology and Culture | Doug