Heat Tape
Heat tape exists in durable Supply and deliberately failing IT varieties; it is now needed for the survivors’ departure preparations.
Story so far
Juliette found that tape diverted from IT fell apart easily and nearly caused an exhaust fire, unlike the more durable material used in Mechanical. She and Walker interpreted Scottie’s message as evidence that the failure was deliberate. Mechanical’s tape withstood a wool pad that would have damaged IT’s version, and protective tape formed a melted skin over Juliette’s gloves.
For later suit work, Juliette specified Supply’s yellow-spooled tape rather than the red-spooled variety. Solo identified the yellow kind as the good tape used on the compressor. Outside-air testing left Supply tape intact while eating a hole through IT tape, and one sample vanished in the airlock control container. Heat tape is now among the materials needed to prepare for departure.
Appearance
Heat-resistant wrapping used in overlapping strips and supplied on spools. The durable Supply version is identified by yellow spools, contrasted with red-spooled tape.
Role
A protective material whose differing durability exposed deliberate equipment failure and now matters to escape preparations.
Relationships
Sources — 16 recorded facts, by chapter
- Juliette reports that the heat tape taken from IT fell apart easily.
- Juliette considers Mechanical’s heat-tape design much better than IT’s.
- Juliette recalls that exhaust wrapped in the heat tape Scottie supplied almost caught fire.
- Juliette recalls joking that the tape could not have self-destructed better if designed to do so.
- Walker and Juliette interpret Scottie’s message as evidence that the heat tape is deliberately designed to fail.
- Juliette contrasts possibly decades-old heat tape in the pump room with the stolen tape she believes would barely survive twenty minutes there.
- Overlapping strips of heat tape form the outer skin of Juliette’s suit, and she believes the material is deliberately inferior.
- Mechanical’s heat tape withstands the wool pad that would have damaged IT’s tape.
- IT’s heat tape is engineered to fail.
- Walker reports that Jules recognized the heat tape’s breakdown was no accident.
- Heat tape forms a melted skin over Juliette’s gloves.
- Juliette specifies the heat tape from Supply on yellow spools rather than the red-spooled tape.
- Solo identifies the yellow-spooled tape as the good kind used on the compressor.
- The hill air sample leaves the Supply heat tape intact but eats a hole through the IT heat tape.
- One of the two heat tape samples has vanished from the airlock control container.
- Heat tape is among the materials required for the departure preparations.