Apollo A7LB Suit (Space Hall)

From my first visit in 2002 until the Lunar Module and Lunar Roving Vehicle were moved to the Davidson Center sometime after its opening in 2008, an A7LB spacesuit was displayed beside them.

The suit has a Skylab I (first manned Skylab mission, aka "SL-2") Beta cloth mission patch sewn on its breast. This would, presumably, make it a Skylab A7LB suit, which is a minor modification of the A7LB suit worn on Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17.

During my first visit, there was an Apollo 16 patch (the museum displays the Apollo 16 command module) affixed to the suit over the Skylab I patch, but from certain angles the Skylab patch could be seen peeking out. By my next visit three months later, the Apollo 16 patch was gone, leaving the Skylab I patch exposed. Based on stains on the suit, it does appear to be the same suit.

I didn't photograph the suit again until nearly three years later, when a different A7LB-type suit was there (showing no sign of the Skylab patch and having a notably less dingy white color), although I only have a few photos of that. I see that the PLSS is actually mounted to the base by two rods, so it's entirely possible that the PLSS serves to support the suit and that suits could be easily swapped.

I have a number of resources regarding the Apollo spacesuit.