Mission crews often use commercially-available products that are slightly modified for spaceflight. This tissue dispenser contains standard tissues for personal hygiene, but the container is custom-made of fire-retardant material. Almost everything carried aboard a spacecraft is repackaged for stowage and safety in bags or "boxes" made of this Teflon-coated Beta cloth. This tissue dispenser, made in 1971, may have been meant for use aboard Skylab, the U.S. space station where astronauts lived in 1973-74. NASA gave it to the Museum with many other spaceflight items in 1976, after the Apollo and Skylab programs ended.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
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