1.   Summary

2.   Lessons
3.   Velcro Fouled by Dust
4.   Adhesive Failure
5.   Snack Pouch, Drink Bag, Nose Scratcher
6.   Velcro Use in the Command Module
7.   Velcro Use in the Lunar Module
8.   Velcro Straps
9.   Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly (LEVA) Velcro
10. Oxygen Purge System (OPS) Velcro
11. Portable Life Support System (PLSS) Back Velcro
12. PLSS Tool Harness (also known as the Tool Carrier) and Sample Collection Bags (SCBs)
13. Suit Velcro
14. Descent Stage Equipment Stowage and Offloading; Miscellaneous Equipment
15. Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) and Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) Velcro
16. Shuttle/ISS Experience

Velcro was used in many contexts during Apollo.  In both the Command and Lunar Modules, it was used to secure checklists and miscellaneous small piece of equipment to instrument panels or bulkheads for easy viewing or access.  On the lunar surface, it was used to keep suit pockets closed or open, to secure Sample Collection Bags (SCBs) and other gear to the PLSS tool harness, to secure antenna leads on the Rover or for such spurposes as hanging the Cosmic Ray Experiment from a convenient landing gear strut, securing dust covers on the Rover, and securing wristwatches, small mirrors, and cuff checklists to the suit sleeves.

2.1  Generally speaking, Velcro was used successfully -  provided that a particular Velcro patch did not become dust clogged, that the adhesive used to attach the patch to a particular surface was properly chosen and applied, and that the patches of Velcro hooks and pile were properly aligned and mated. On occasion, the astronauts had trouble separating Velcro pieces, complaining that "too much" Velcro had been used in particular applications.

2.2  Dust could be a problem for Velcro when used

(a) low on the suit legs;

(b) on the floor of the LM cabin where dust collected after being brought in on the suits; and

(c) on the Rover when failure of a fender allowed wheel-generated roster tails to shower the Rover with dust.  A strap sewn to the bottom of the PLSS and used to secure SCBs on the Rover missions was particuarly prone to dust clogging.

2.3  There was two notable instance of adhesive failure and three minor ones:

(a)  A thermal bag designed to protect the Surface Electrical Properties receiver was mounted behind the LMP's seat on Apollo 17.  Cover flaps were intended to protect the radiating surface on the top from dust during drives from one geology stop to the next.  The adhesive used to attach Velcro patches to the body of the thermal bag failed and, as a consequence, the astronauts were unable to keep the radiator clean enough to prevent the receiver from overheating.  Because the receiver was regularly hotter than its design limit, little useful data was collected;

(b) The half-full SCB on John's PLSS tool harness came off during the drive from Station 9 to Station 10.  Fortuantely, it wedged between the rear fender and the Rover frame, where he found it after dismounting at Station 10.  The bag had been secured with a Velcro strap with one end sewn to the bottom of the PLSS.  The free end was then passed thru a fabric loop on the bag and secured to the bottom of the PLSS with Velcro.  A better solution might have used a strap sewn onto each SCB, a loop on the PLSS, and a Velcro and/or snap fastening on the SCB;

(c) There was a failure of the adhesive used to secure Velcro to the portion of the TV sunshield that was, in turn, mated with Velcro surrounding the TV lens.  John Young discovered that the sunshield was loose late in EVA-3.  Although the sunshield was loose, a Velcro strap between the top of the sunshield and the top of the TV lens barrel kept the shade from entering the TV field=of-view.  Once Young had parked the Rover at the VIP site, he was asked to remove the sunshield, perhaps to avoid any possible interference when the camera was later titled upward to follow the LM ascent;

(d)  Adhesive holding two of three Velcro patches designed to hold a traverse map on the handle assembly of the Apollo 15 Modular Equipment Transporter (MET or "rickshaw") failed; and one of the astronauts had to carry the map. This was not a significant problem in the context of Apollo 14.

(e) Adhesive holding Velcro patches that secured straps to special padded sample bags used on Apollo 16 failed.  The straps would have provided extra security for keeping the bags closed, but the inability to used the straps has no particular consequences.

2.4  During Apollo 15 EVA-2, Dave Scott had difficulty using his drink bag, probably because of improper positioning.

2.5  During the Apollo 11 Technical Debriefing ( Section 18.6.2 ), Mike Collins noted that he suffered eye irritation from broken pieces of Velcro hooks that floated around the cabin in zero gravity.  Because no mention of such a problem appears in the later Mission Reports, a change in materials and or manufacturing may have been made to reduce or eliminate the problem.

Training photo of Gene Cernan

The Apollo 15, 16, and 17 crews had snack pouches and drink bags secured inside the suit neck ring to get them through the eight-hour EVAs.  Some of the astronauts had small patches of Velcro on the inside of the emergency feedport for nose scratching

Velcro straps of various lengths were used to secure watches, cuff checklist, and small mirrors to the suit sleeves, to secure antenna leads on the Rovers, etc.

Detail from Apollo 17 training photo 72-HC-699 shows A tool harness strap secured to the left side of both Jack's and Gene's LEVAs. An identical strap is attached on the right side of each LEVA. At the back of each LEVA, we have a glimpse of Velcro closures over  the astronaut's neck. There are similar closures at the front, as can be seen in a close-up photo of Jack's flown LEVA.

On all the missions, after donning the bubble helmets, the astronauts donned the LEVAs and made sure the front and back closures were tidy and secure.  On the Rover missions, the astronauts also Velcroed harness straps to the LEVAs.  Once outside, they sometimes did more tidying.  Making sure the patches of Velcro pile and hooks were accurately mated helped keep them clean.

Detail from AS11-40-5942 showing Buzz's PLSS and the two columns of
horizontal Velcro strips that were a feature of all the flown PLSSs

Each of the PLSS had two columns of horizontal Velcro strips on the back.  Ken Thomas, a member of Hamilton Sundstrand's Space Hardware Heritage Team and author of U.S. Spacesuits (2006, Springer-Praxis), writes "The white cover - or Thermal Meteoroid Garment -  on the PLSS was designed and fabricated by Hamilton Standard (now Hamilton Sundstrand), Windsor Locks, CT.  In zero gravity, if an astronaut wished to look out the Lunar Module windows, he would have difficulty keeping position.  Where his feet would be was the rack where the CDR PLSS and both OPSs were stored. In zero-G simulations, someone damaged an antennae on an OPS mounted in the rack of the simulator."



"Because the astronauts were already wearing booties with Velcro hook on the bottoms, patches of Velcro pile could be placed on the back of the CDR PLSS and the tops of the OPSs to provide a crew member with places to anchor his feet so he would not floating around and potentially damaging things while he was doing visual positioning or recreational star gazing.  Once the Velcro was there, additional uses for sample bags and tool pouches were found as the missions evolved."  The LMP's PLSS was stowed on the cabin floor next to the hatch.  These also had Velcro strips, perhaps in the interest of interchangability.

The astronauts used sewn-on and/or strap on leg pockets in various combination.  Most of the  cover flaps were held open or closed with Velcro.

Strap-on shin pocket displayed on Charlie Duke's training suit.
The open flap reveals the Velcro that would keep it closed.

Mission	Activity or Topic	Time, Image, or Source	Notes
Apollo 11	EVA, Contingency Sample into suit pocket	109:36:33	Flaps on leg pockets held open or closed with Velcro.  See, also, the photo essays linked below.
Apollo 14	EVA-1, suit pocket photo	AS14-66-9233	Mission "tourist photo" of Ed Mitchell showing Velcro strips used to hold the thigh pocket flap closed.
Apollo 15	EVA-2, suit pocket photo	AS15-92-12425	Shows Velcro strips on the inside of the open cover of the pocket on Jim's left thigh and the strips with which they mate for closure on the body of the pocket.  Jim is digging a trench and has just thrown a scoopful of dirt back between his legs.  Below mid-thigh, his legs are encrusted with dirt.
Apollo 15	EVA-2, open pocket	AS15-85-11500	Shows the open pocket cover on Dave's right thigh.  Dave may be about to step to his right to take the second frame of a cross-Sun stereopair.
Apollo 16	Strap-on shin pockets	Strap-On Shin Pockets	Close-ups of pockets displayed on Charlie's training suit.
Apollo 13	Fred Haise, pre-flight suited portrait	S69-62238	Each of the suits had a pattern of Velcro strips and snaps surrounding the connector cluster on the torso for the installation of a "dust bib" or "umbilical cover".  None of the bibs was ever used on the Moon; and there are none that appear in the stowage lists.
Apollo 16	Palm-restraint access flap	Charlie's Left EV Glove	Velcro closure on the palm-restraint flap
Apollo 11	Post-flight Suit Photo Essay	Neil Armstrong's Flown Suit	Photographs of  details of the Pressure  Garment Assembly (PGA) and LEVA
Apollo 11	Post-flight Suit Photo Essay	Buzz Aldrin's Flown Suit	Photographs of  details of the Pressure  Garment Assembly (PGA) and LEVA
Apollo 14	Post-flight Suit Photo Essay	Ed Mitchell's Flown Suit	Photographs of  details of the Pressure  Garment Assembly (PGA) and LEVA
Apollo 17	Post-flight Suit Photo Essay	Jack Schmitt's Flown Suit	Photographs of  details of the Pressure  Garment Assembly (PGA) and LEVA

Mission	Activity or Topic	Time, Image, or Source	Notes
Apollo 14	EVA-2 Hatch Closure	135:38:57	Ed Mitchell notices a piece of Velcro off the MET lying on the door sill as they prepare to close the hatch at the end of EVA-2.
Apollo 15	LRV seat deployment	120:28:59	Both Dave and Jim have trouble raising their LRV seats against the resistance of the Velcro, particuarly because the vehicle is so lightweight on the Moon.
Apollo 16	LRV seat deployment	119:28:59	During LRV deployment, Charlie tries to release the Velcro holding his seat back down and tells Houston that, instead of the Velcro coming loose, he lifted the whole vehicle off the ground.  John  commented, "the people that put Velcro in don't know its strength, that's the message, Tony."  See some detailed Tech Debrief comment following 119:29:33 and  120:08:16.
Apollo 16	EVA-2 prelim, LRV seat	143:07:41	Charlie apparently has trouble raising John's seat bottom and suggests that they "need less Velcro".
Apollo 17	LRV seat deployment	117:37:44	Gene and Jack raise the Rover seats without any comment about any unusal effort.
Apollo 17	LRV seat bottom	118:11:03	Jack mentions Velcro used to hold the seat bottom up, out of the way, against the seat back when items were being placed under the seats for stowage or being removed for use. Procedures for seat deployment are shown in Figure 2-9 in the LRV Handbook, including the Velcro strap which would secure the raised seat bottom.
Apollo 15	LRV battery covers	Mission Report Section 8.2.5	The covers "must not have been closed tight enough against the Velcro edges" during the EVA-2 traverse.  This allowed excess dust acclumulation and heating during the rest period.
Apollo 16	LRV battery covers	Mission Report Section A.3.2	As a result of Apollo 15 experience, Velcro was added to the covers to increase protection from dust.  No problems were reported during either Apollo 16 or 17.
Apollo 16	EVA-3 traverse, TV sunshield	169:20:59	Late in the EVA-3 traverse, after reaching Station 10-Prime, John reports that the "glue" securing Velcro to the TV sunshield had failed. NASA document "AP16 Problem and Discrepancy List" dated 26 June 1972 includes the following: "The sun shade is secured in place by Velcro hooks on the sun shade and Velcro pile on the camera. The Velcro pile is sewn in place on the television blanket. The Velcro hooks are held to the sun shade with an adhesive. A discrepancy report was written during qualification testing of the sun shade because the adhesive would not hold during pull test. Lunar surface photographs verified separation occurred between the sunshade and Velcro cemented to the sunshade. For Apollo 17 it is directed that stiching or brads be added to prevent this occurence."
Apollo 16	EVA-3, TV sunshield	170:30:52	CapCom tells John to remove the TV sunshield and throw it away.  There may be concern that, when Ed Fendell tilts the TV upward to follow the LM ascent, the loose sunshield could block the field-of-view or, perhaps, disturb the camera.
Apollo 16	LRV footrests	119:32:36	The transcript indicates that  the footrests were Velcroed into the deployed position.
Apollo 16	LCRU thermal blankets	Mission Report Section A.3.3	As a result of Apollo 15 experience, Velcro added to permit covering the LCRU control panel for thermal protection between the EVAs.
Apollo 16	LCRU thermal blankets	119:59:52	Charlie has trouble releasing the the Velcro holding down the LCRU blankets.  Neither he nor John nor the Apollo 17 crew mentioned any subsequent problems.
Apollo 17	EVA-3 close-out, "big bag"	170:34:12	The big bag was a long version of the SCB. Gene has trouble securing the Velcro that keeps the "big bag" closed.  Jack comments that it "never had a very good closure on it." Jack suggests that the weight of the contents is keeping it from holding. A detail from  AS17-143-21924 shows the big bag on the inside of the gate at the back of the Rover.
Apollo 17	Training, TV suhnshield	KSC-72PC-499	Side view of the sunshield Velcro attachment on the one-g LRV trainer.

Shuttle astronaut Thomas D. Jones, author of Skywalking and a veteran of four Shuttle flights including three EVAs to install the ISS Destiny module, provided the following comments about his experiences with Velcro:

With reference to Jack Schmitt's negative review of the Teflon Velcro used during Apollo, Tom Jones's comment that safety considerations dictate a minimum spacing between Velcro patches in the Shuttle suggests that Teflon Velcro is not used in the Shuttle.