Watch CBS News

Pennsylvania Company Developing Heat Resistant Fabric for Space Explorations

PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Less than 50 miles from Philadelphia sits a small factory in Bally, Pennsylvania.

The factory is known as the Bally Ribbon Mills and the work being done inside could one day help people travel some 139 million miles from earth.

"The end vision is truly to get humans all the way to Mars," said Steve Jurczwk, NASA associate administrator.

Rows of looms which weave fabric fill the Bally Ribbon Mills factory. Much of this equipment inside was developed more than a century ago.

The company makes everything from parachute cords to ribbons which honor our military. But now they're also working with NASA, retrofitting the looms and creating a lightweight, extremely durable, and heat resistant fabric designed to  line and protect spacecraft.

That material took more than a year to develop and is known as Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment or "HEEET" technology.

"It gets very hot, so we have what we call a thermal protection system materials that protect the structure of the spacecraft from these aerodynamic, high speeds," explained Jurczyk.

Officials show CBS 3 some samples of the woven fabric. It is made of carbon and about 100 layers thick. It could help astronauts get to Mars.

The factory has been in Bally since 1923. The factory's president, Ray Harries, says his workforce is unlike any other in the country.

"Everybody that works here except engineers have been trained in house. You don't have schools that teach you how to thread a machine like this. It's all in house training," he explained.

"[Bally Ribbon Mills] has stepped up to every challenge that we've thrown at them and come up with some really innovative solutions. They are delivering hardware--flight hardware--that is going to fly in the not too distant future not only returning crew from space to earth, but also landing robotic probes on other planets," said Jurczyk.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.