[Spridgets] No LBC - plastic fittings

Michael Rowe mdrowe at optonline.net
Sat Mar 10 20:49:37 MST 2012


Alright.  I guess this list has finally come through as I knew you could. 
Here's the story, less blow-up dolls.

Our younger daughter (23) is a mechanical engineer and foodie interested in
this NASA project -
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400768,00.asp .
Among many requirements is a proposal for a research project to keep the
participant busy in the four months of confinement in Hawaii. Our daughter
is considering several possibilities, among which is an ultra-compact
emergency shelter for a spacesuit-clad Mars astronaut caught out for some
reason. Various gas-filled structures come to mind, including free-standing
Mylar domes and gas-filled Mylar tubes acting as supporting "rods" for Mylar
tents. The latter has the advantage of reparability and easy spares.  Those
pop-up tents with memory-metal rods are another possibility.

I don't yet know what she has proposed or how easy it will be to modify that
proposal later. But meanwhile, I am doing some grunt work looking for
supplies that might be useful.  I have found fittings used on blow-up kites 
that
are pretty cool, but they are $20 each.  10,000 vinyl valves are a bit much,
but cutting them off of cheap  beach balls is a great idea and well in 
keeping with her budget.

So you see. the query is actually pretty interesting after all. Thanks for
your help.

Aloha,
Michael Rowe


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