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Iona Tolliver Allen (May 17, 1937 – July 15, 2003[1]) was an American seamstress who helped develop and createspace suits for multipleNASAspace missions as part of theILC Dover seamstresses team.[1] She constructed the boots thatNeil Armstrong wore when he first walked on theMoon, and also worked on laterExtravehicular Mobility Unit suits forastronauts in theSpace Shuttle program.[2][3]
Allen worked atInternational Latex Corporation (ILC) as part of theILC Dover seamstresses team.[4] ILC had contracts with NASA to construct space suits for theApollo program and the Space Shuttle program.[3] Allen worked on both of these initiatives. The ILC Dover seamstress team, including Allen, had ongoing input into the design on the astronauts' suits.[4][3]
Allen personally constructed the boots thatNeil Armstrong wore when he first walked on theMoon.[2][3][5] Construction of Armstrong's boots took weeks.[6] They consisted of thirteen layers, each of which had to be sewn perfectly and pass inspection.[6] The boots, as well as theApollo A7L and A7LB spacesuits created by Allen's team, suffered no major mishaps the entire time they were in use.[7] An ILC space suit designer at the time said of Allen: "She was the only one to ever make a perfect pair of boots."[6]
Allen was one of the several Black women who worked on this integrated team.[4][3] She worked for ILC for twenty-nine years.[6] She retired in 1998, though she later went to work for Draperies Etc.[1]
Allen was born in Virginia in 1937 with thebirth (maiden) name of Iona Tolliver.[1] She had three sisters and two brothers.[1] She married Sam Allen and had one child. She joined theNAACP and was aJehovah's Witness.[1] She died at the age of 66, on July 15, 2003.[1]