Proof Apollo was hoaxed redux

[raven]

I was thinking the same thing when looking at the suits, it never occurred to me to ask why they should be light tan. Maybe it was Soviet fashion at the time

Maybe the USSR wanted to claim Soviet cosmonauts entered space in the buff. Coloured suits that is. But seriously, if anyone knows this, and why Soyuz capsules were green, I'd be most interested to know.

[smartcooky]

Perhaps the tan/beige/buff/off-white/ivory colour is because its the natural colour of the fabric, and they don't think its worth the time and expense of bleaching it white.

[Luke Pemberton]

Maybe the USSR wanted to claim Soviet cosmonauts entered space in the buff. Coloured suits that is. But seriously, if anyone knows this, and why Soyuz capsules were green, I'd be most interested to know.

At least people are consistent.

[raven]

At least people are consistent.

Heh, yeah. I found my old thread when I tried googling to see if I could get an answer after asking here. Even made the same 'lightly toasted marshmallow' comparison, wow, two years ago. Still no definitive answer though.

[Daggerstab]

Perhaps the tan/beige/buff/off-white/ivory colour is because its the natural colour of the fabric, and they don't think its worth the time and expense of bleaching it white.

I think that this is the case also for the EMUs - they are not deliberately bleached or painted, it's just the original color of the material (Teflon?).

This is a short PDF document listing the layers of the EMU and the Orlan:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/513053main_V1-eva_suit_layers.pdf

This is an Orlan manual in English:
http://www.colorado.edu/ASEN/asen3036/Orlan.pdf

Both list the outermost layer of the Orlan as made of "phenylon" or "phenilon", which is a latinization of "фенилон". Which, according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, is the Russian name for the same stuff as used in Nomex.

P.S. I remember trying to find out about the green color too. But I don't remember what I found.

[raven]

Either way, thank you kindly.
The EMU top covering is beta cloth, I believe, which is teflon coated woven glass fibre.