AT THE STADIUM...Moonsuit Stadium

What does a spacesuit worn by NASA astronauts on the moon have in common with a roof?

Like a good roof, the moonsuit is lightweight, durable, and repels water. Roofs look stiff, but they are designed to be flexible so they can expand with heat and contract with cold. The moonsuit, made of a fabric, is very flexible. The moonsuit is even better than most roofs in that the moonsuit fabric won't catch fire.

The fabric was developed by the Owens-Corning company, using a glass fiber yarn (Fiberglas). The Fiberglas fabric was covered with Teflon, a strong, slick coating. Pound-for-pound, the moonsuit fabric is stronger than steel.

The moonsuit fabric is now used as a permanent covering for shopping centers and sports stadiums. The stadium shown at left, in Vancouver, British Columbia has a roof made of 10 acres of moonsuit fabric. The moonsuit roof weighs only 1/30th as much as a conventional roof of the same size. That makes the stadium easier and cheaper to build. The fabric also lets in light and reflects heat, which reduces cooling and lighting costs.

Moonsuit fabric also covers the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Olympic Stadium in Rome, and the airport terminals in Denver Colorado and Hajjis, Saudi Arabia.