Alan Shepard's Primary Life Support System (PLSS) upper right attachment strap personally-worn and -used during rigorous Apollo 14 EVA crew training exercises. The off-white Beta cloth strap measures an overall 20″ long, and features an ID label sewn into wider end, stamped in black ink, “A. S.—R," with handwritten notation below, "Mock up use only." Running through the center is a brown nylon cinching strap connector clips at either end, with bearing an added strap clip. The middle portion of the strap also features the female half of a snap button. This strap was used to secure the Primary Life Support System (PLSS) to Shepard's Apollo space suit. In very good condition, with tears to reverse and mild scattered toning. Accompanied by a series of images showing Shepard wearing the strap during training, framed to an overall size of 12.5 x 22.5, and a packet of images assembled by Dan Schaiewitz, who worked as Extravehicular Crew Training Engineer at KSC, detailing how to unstow the strap prior to connecting it to the suit's upper 'D ring'; also includes a copy of a Hamilton Standard "Quick Look Report," dated September 16, 1970, referencing the "EVA #1 Crew Training Exercise conducted on 9 September 7, which notes two anomalies during the four-hour exercise: "The Lower 'D' Ring on S/N 025 cryopack came loose. This condition was repaired on site. The upper spring clip on Astronaut Shepard's upper right harness pulled loose and was replaced with a spare harness." An exceptional piece of well-used training equipment that helped prepare Shepard for his eventual lunar EVA—Shepard and Edgar Mitchell performed two moonwalks during the Apollo 14 mission, amassing an incredible nine hours of lunar traverse. From the collection of Dan Schaiewitz, who worked as Extravehicular Crew Training Engineer at KSC. View Dan's many Collect Space posts here. Engineer Dan Schaiewitz gives us a fascinating firsthand glimpse into his experiences on the cutting edge of space exploration during the Apollo missions, in this podcast.
