Bright orange Nomex racing suit personally-owned and -worn by Apollo 12 moonwalker Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad. The flame-resistant racing suit features yellow and black stripes, wrist and ankle knit cuffs, a zip-up front and adjustable waist strap, and a Velcro collar with sewn-on black Simpson patch. Conrad’s name, “Pete Conrad,” is stitched with yellow thread above a zippered pocket on the right chest. The inner collar area bears Simpson Safety Equip., Inc., manufacturing and warning labels, affirming that the “garment is manufactured to comply with the rules as set forth by USAC, SCCA, NASCAR, IMSA and other regulatory bodies.” The suit features several sewn-on embroidered patches for Conrad’s sponsors and racing teams, such as: Goodyear, Simpson Safety Equipment, Hong Kong Theodore Racing, USAC National Championship Series Citicorp Cup, and ARCO Graphite Eagle Racing Team, with the company name emblazoned in black thread along both arms. In fine condition. Following his retirement from NASA in December 1973, Conrad worked for the American Television and Communications Company and then later with McDonnell Douglas. He divvied up his free time by pursuing his other interests, which included golf, water skiing, and auto racing, such as Formula Vee. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Farthest Reaches, in part: "The nomex racing suit that accompanies this COA comes from the personal wardrobe of Astronaut Charles 'Pete' Conrad. The suit was produced by Simpsons Safety Equipment Inc. for the exclusive use of Pete Conrad."
Conrad played a pivotal role in the introduction of flame-resistant Nomex material—which had been used in the Gemini space suits—to auto racing. His contribution is discussed in the book Racing Safely, Living Dangerously: The Hard Life and Fast Times of a Motorsports Mogul by safety equipment pioneer Bill Simpson: 'I had gotten to know Pete Conrad, the NASA astronaut who commanded the Apollo 12 mission, because he dabbled in road racing and had bought some of our products. One day Pete told me about a temperature-resistant material NASA was using to protect space capsules as they re-entered the earth's atmosphere. I asked Pete how I might be able to acquire some of the stuff, and he gave me the name of a person who could help. It turned out to be available in fabric form, and I was excited the moment I saw it. It was not only fire-resistant, it was also everything our drag-suit material was not: It was light, it was flexible, and it breathed. It was clear to me immediately that I had found something that could revolutionize our sport. The material was filament Nomex, and I was the first person to make a racing suit out of it. I took an old cotton driver's uniform and cut it apart; from there I made a pattern, put my ever-expanding sewing skills to work, and stitched up a suit out of Nomex.'
