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Protecting Treasures of Space from Long before Samantha Snell Gallagher ’98 had her baby shoes bronzed, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon. Decades after that historic event, Gallagher is playing a major role in preserving the very boots that took that small step for man, that giant leap for mankind. Gallagher is part of a team whose mission is to preserve not just the boots but the helmets, gloves, and spacesuits of the Apollo era. “These are incredibly fragile artifacts,” Gallagher said, “though they had not been considered such until recently. The spacesuits were thought of as mere uniforms. They were considered to be indestructible—after all, they went all the way to the moon and back.” There are 210 spacesuits in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM). The spacesuits and their components are exhibiting signs of degradation and corrosion. For the past 18 months, Gallagher and her colleagues have been working to save these threatened pieces of America’s history. “These Apollo spacesuits are unique and complex artifacts,” Gallagher explained. “This project is a small step toward a long and stable future for the suits and their rich history.” Gallagher works in the Collections Processing Unit (CPU) at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Suitland, Md. This facility is the main storage area for the 40,000 objects in the NASM collection. Hired as an intern for the Save America’s Treasures project in May 2000, Gallagher had the opportunity to work in this national treasure chest, rummaging (on foot and forklift!) through the storage buildings, restoration and preservation shops, archives and the exhibit department, studying and learning about the nation’s space and aeronautic history while studying Apollo-era spacesuits. (The Save America’s Treasures grant program is a public-private partnership involving the White House Millennium Council, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies company.) In August 2000, Gallagher applied for a full-time position as a museum technician at the Garber Facility. “I was hired to work in the CPU,” she said, “and I have been very fortunate because my bosses have allowed me to continue to work on the SAT project. It is amazing to come into work each day—to see, to touch, these unique pieces of history.” |
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Photos: Ann Grillo |