Md. Woman Designs Space Blankets For US Satellites
BALTIMORE (WJZ)--Making a difference in outer space. A Maryland woman answers an ad looking for a pattern maker, little did she know her work would be literally out of this world.
Marcus Washington has more.
From the looks it's shinny wrapping paper being rolled out but for Maryland fashion designer Paula Cain it became a once in a life time opportunity when NASA came calling.
"I'm a trecky, so it just drew my interest. I said, I just got to call," said Paula Cain.
Once the designer of clothes and purses, this local woman now works in a lab outside of D.C. taking miles of mylar and netting and designing blankets to protect U.S satellites in outer space.
Mark Albert: "Do you have a science degree?
"No," she said.
Mark Albert: "And yet you thought you could do this job."
"They said it was pattern making and I knew I was good a pattern making," said Cain.
Often said similar to the skill set to making a suit, the big lumpy irregular shapes are constructed with instruments that costs millions of dollars where the fit has to be exact.
"You got to think on your feet sometimes; like if they want it to be loose or if they want it to be tight," she says.
The space blankets will have to handle harsh temperatures in space
"Our satellites want to be working around room temperature. The blankets are going to be the installation you're going to get for the lightest weight," said Matt Garrison, Thermal Engineer.
After seven and a half years making space blankets, Cain thinks her job is out of this world, hoping to work on suits for astronauts someday soon.
The space blankets are bake in a large oven like machine that heats up to 190 degrees to kill off oil, bacteria and other contaminants.
