By Andrew WestDOVER — No doubt, for Dover old-timers, there’s a bit of nostalgia creeping in this week.
The Artemis II mission is a throwback, of sorts, to the Apollo 8 effort in December 1968, when astronauts first orbited the moon.
They ended up circling it 10 times during a 20-hour trip.
It was an exploratory journey that led the way to Apollo 10’s lunar landing in July 1969.
Those heroes were wearing space suits made by ILC Industries in Dover and Frederica.
The men and women involved in the project were admired throughout the community for their roles in the space race in the late 1960s.
The designers and seamstresses really started getting noticed in mid-October 1968, when Apollo 7 orbited Earth for 11 days.
“Apollo 7 is the first test of the bulky suits that astronauts will wear on the moon,” read an Associated Press story the day of the launch. “Built by ILC Industries in Dover, the 14-layer suits, each costing over $100,000 are designed to protect men from harsh temperature extremes and possible puncture by micro-meteroid particles.”
Walt Cunningham, a member of the Apollo 7 crew, visited Dover in August 1968 for a fitting.
“It’s the most expensive suit I’ve ever bought and I intend to see that it fits perfectly,” he said.
Following Apollo 7’s success, the Delaware State News praised ILC Industries workers in an editorial.
“Now that our friends and neighbors are an established part of the NASA team in this greatest pioneering project in history, it makes all of us feel much more a part of these exciting times,” the editorial noted.
ILC Industries, too, was proud of the progress and its role. A unique full-page ad after the moonwalk carried the headline, “Take one giant step.”
It continued, “The first step onto the lunar surface by Neil Armstrong was truly a giant step … for mankind … for our country’s technology in the eyes of the world … and for thousands of individuals in our space industry.”
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It’s wonderful that we can reflect on the space suits made locally.
But did you know that Dover has another tie to the Apollo program?
Tang — the powdered drink mix consumed by space visitors in the 1960s — was packaged at General Foods in the capital city.
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This editor wishes to thank Jesse Riggin of Dover for his commentary, "Dover is worth fighting for."
He reminds us of the good in the city and just how much potential it has.
And it’s a good reminder in our newsroom that we should always look out for the positives in our community. That said, send us an email about the “good news” stories that make Dover a great place in which to live, work and play.
Email newsroom@iniusa.org.
