The ultimate NASA jacket!

[p51]

Not movie related specifically, but several early Apollo-themed movies have jackets just like this.
Just made an amazing score off eBay over the weekend...

This is a custom-made copy of the Apollo-era astronaut jacket. These are hand tailored to meet a person's measurements and is a dead-on, museum-quality replica of the ultimate flight jacket from that era. I lucked up by finding someone wanting to sell his (I think he was a contractor for the materials and this was one given to him for his help, it has no wear on it) and he was almost exactly my size. the jacket fits perfectly. Best of all, I got it for a fraction of the normal cost (which is staggering).
Adam Savage of "Mythbusters" fame (and also a member here who posts from time to time) has one as well! More info on it here: Apollo couture: Astronaut offers replica of iconic NASA flight jacket | collectSPACE

 

[nick daring]

I want one of these jackets so bad it hurts.

 

[p51]

It looks great hanging up in the closet next to my NASA blue flight suit and my Gibson & Barnes (NASA contractor) NASA flight jacket...

I was getting some NASA mission specialist name patches made up for a film project and I couldn't resist having what's probably the only screen-accurate copy out there of the "Big Bang Theory" Howard Wolowitz nameplate patch for his fake ISS mission. The mission patch is easy to get now, but nobody I know is making correct misison specialist nameplates except the person I was dealing with. So, now I have a set that likely nobody outside of CBS has:

I can re-create his mission jacket right now, as he used a standard Alpha Industries shuttle jacket, they even used the same oversized NASA patch that comes with it (just put on the opposite side). The only reason I don't make a copy of his jacket is that his jacket used on the show is probably a medium size, if that. I'm not 100% sure what I'll be doing with the nameplate but it's nice to have...

 

[p51]

They just came out with a yellow (gold) one, just like Tom Hanks wore in "Apollo 13"
http://www.alexanderleathers.com/nasa2.html

 

[TheBryanScout]

Hmm, and where did you get those nametapes made up?

 

[p51]

Hmm, and where did you get those nametapes made up?

I had them custom made by a friend of mine, but it was a one-time thing.
I was told that other vendors do make the NASA mission specialist nametapes elsehwere, but I've never looked into it.

 

[p51]

Sadly, Simmons Bilt Clothing Company doesn't make these anymore. Al Worden is apparently looking for a new company to make more of them.
You can see the later yellow one being worn in this video, complete with the nameplate that comes with them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLPUpsd58nQ
I'd love to know if Adam added the Apollo 8 patch himself or if it came with his...

 

[nick daring]

Such a cool jacket. I hope a new maker is found

 

[cdr6]

p51,

Only caution here... Back in the day when I was a mechanic at NASA-Ames our test pilots wore either the blue and /or the gold jackets exactly like you show here. However, the "meat ball" and the leatherette name tag positions were swapped from what you show here. ("Meat ball" on the right and name tag on the left.) Astronauts coming in from Houston in their T-38s for "sim" training were the same. Also, I don't recall seeing any astronauts/pilots with the embroidered name patches (circa 1983 and prior), most all had leatherette stile tags on flight suits and jackets. Cool jacket though... Good find!

Regards,
Chuck

 

[p51]

Chuck,
The jacket is from the early Apollo era, and the nametape/meatball placement is correct for that. It was changed to the way you recall somewhere during the Apollo era.
You can see this on Wally Schira's jacket, which Al Worden used in part for the pattern work on these reproductions:

Here's another original which went up for auction not long ago: http://www.prices4antiques.com/item_images/medium/16/74/86-01.jpg

 

[cdr6]

Uhm-m. The old MKII eyeball is unable to confirm the early Apollo era stuff, which predates my time with NASA, so I will defer to you.

Regards,
Chuck

 

[p51]

Uhm-m. The old MKII eyeball is unable to confirm the early Apollo era stuff, which predates my time with NASA, so I will defer to you.

It's all good. I'm a former Army officer and I agree that the nameplate on the wearer's right looks very odd indeed. But that was pretty common in the military as well until sometime into sometime in the 60s...
here's a few more examples.

Note the 'meatball' on Armstrong's left, behind the parachute harness. that would place the nametape on his right:

Gemini era astronauts on a geology trip, wearing their issued jackets:

Now, all that said, you can find them worn as you recall in some photos right after this timeframe, on the wearer's left. But yeah, for a while, they were worn like this.

 

[cdr6]

Army guy eh? Well from one ex-army guy to another... Thank you sir, for your service!"

Regards,
Chuck Rhodes
Crewchief, 335th AHC

 

[Rycraft]

Wow! Awesome jacket! Sorry to resurrect a long-dead thread, but I came across this then found Al's site and it says they're sourcing a new vendor..
Over the last year and a half or so I've found myself exceedingly obsessed with NASA, even more so the Apollo era and back. (It helps I had never really seen Apollo 13, or From the Earth to the Moon). All started when I received the book "Apollo 8" by Jeff Kluger. But I digress.

Does anyone know if these are coming back, or if any comparable (color, style) jackets exist?


Thanks in advance.


Very Respectfully,
RC

 

[Sickyc]

I came across this today and thought I'd let you know that you can get the jackets here: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...a-gemini-and-apollo-astronaut-flig?ref=cokw5f

Not Al Worden's, but affordable.

 

[p51]

That doesn’t look bad and I might just buy one as I’d like a more affordable one to put patches onto it and not worry about something happening to it. It would really be cool to get my hands on a yellow one, as I foolishly turned down the chance to buy a real one (in my size) from a NASA test pilot once. I still kick myself, but that was well over 20 years ago…
Frankly, I’ve never understood why Alpha, Avirex or one of the other jacket companies never made one of these.

 

[Sickyc]

I'd probably kick myself, too. Lol A yellow reproduction one would be pretty sweet, though.

 

[Racer_X]

Hmm, doesn't Simmons Bilt still offer the NASA jacket? It's still showing up on their webpage here: http://www.simmonsbilt.com/vintageclassics/nasa-jacket.html

Still a bit pricey, but at least it's bespoke.

 

[Sickyc]

Understandable, but at least it’s an option for those that can’t quite afford the higher priced one.