Space Craft: Lightship Basket Weaving
Double Helix 69, January 2024.
Sailors live on their ships for months on end, too. Until last century, lightships (lighthouses built on boats) would float off the coast to warn of dangerous rocks. Lightship crews from Nantucket Island would weave baskets to pass the time.
Astronaut Dan Bursch knew about Nantucket lightship basket weaving from visiting the island as a child. He flew with Australian Dr Andy Thomas on Space Shuttle Endeavour, and crafted lightship baskets during his 190-day stay aboard Space Station.
"I didn't think of weaving in space until NASA gave me a small box to pack hobbies in," says Dan.
Other astronauts painted or made quilts. One played a fold-up guitar.
"Sewing or basketweaving has a repetitive process, which can be soothing,” says Dan. “It feels like you're creating something out of nothing. Doing something other than your work is very important."
Here’s how to weave astronaut Dan’s lightship baskets using household materials. Try it and imagine you’re relaxing after a busy day in space!
The cane wick Dan uses needs to be wet to make it bendy for weaving. But in space, liquids float away and can make a huge mess! How did Dan solve the problem?
“Due to surface tension, water holds the shape of a bubble,” he says. “All I needed to do was keep a little bead of water at the end of a straw, and I could just pull the piece of cane through that.”
Why is an even number of staves a bad idea? Can you modify the weave to work with an even number of staves? Try it and find out!
Copyright © Mitchell Jeffrey 2024