Spacesuits are the ultimate in couture. Think about it: Custom-fit garments, dozens of layers deep, made from innovative textiles that can run US$5,000 per square foot, with eye-catching accessories.
Gemini suits, moon-dust-coated boots and Neil Armstrong's gold-visored helmet all preserved in the Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Md., under Amanda Young's careful watch are just some of the stars of her new book, "Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Collection." The book focuses on the evolution from the pressure suits of the 1930s, used by aircraft pilots trying to reach higher altitudes, to the R2-D2-like fiberglass and woven steel suits of the post-Apollo period.
The book "Spacesuits" started about six years ago. Much of the information about the artifacts was stored in Young's head, or scattered among manuals, historical documents and other people's memories. "We had a chairman who used to talk about the 'hit by the bus syndrome,'" recalled Young.
What would happen to all the information should Young disappear or retire?
As it turns out, 62-year-old Young plans to do just that at the end of June after 25 years at the museum.
What Young originally conceived as a catalog or set of binders has developed into a glossy coffee-table book. She teamed up with Mark Avino, who over a five-year period photographed hundreds of suits, boots, gloves and helmets.
couture:高级时装
custom-fit：合身的
innovative：創新的
to preserve：保存；保藏
evolution：发展，进展
altitude：高；高度
to be scattered among：分布于，散布于
syndrome：症候群；并发症状
to conceive：以为，想象
to team up with：与...携手合作 |