Questions tagged [spacesuits]
Questions regarding the spacesuits that astronauts wear whilst in space
216
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7
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1answer
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How many current or near-future pressure suits are there for use in space in total?
There are some pressure suits primarily for use inside spacecraft and some for use during EVAs. Currently how many pressure suits are used or will be used in the near future; let's say from 5 year ...
6
votes
0answers
116 views
Can an astronaut have a private communication during a spacewalk?
In this NASA page it describes an astronaut remaining in contact during an EVA.
While inside these pressurized suits, it's essential that they (the astronauts) remain in constant communication ...
8
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0answers
447 views
Why do the SpaceX suits require "drying" during the mission?
In the period when the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission was initially docking with the ISS, before the hatches were open, one of the tasks was to "dry the suits". They reported on the status later, ...
14
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2answers
1k views
Are SpaceX new space suits inferior to existing ones in terms of usability?
There is an article in Russian "Why do the American space suits look so different from Russian ones?" which claims that the new SpaceX suits are designed for looks, and have several issues, which, ...
28
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1answer
3k views
What sounds do astronauts hear inside their helmets during an EVA?
Besides the communications over the headsets, do astronauts hear any other sounds inside their helmets? Do they hear their own breath? Are there any mechanical sounds audible? Does the circulating ...
5
votes
1answer
565 views
Do launch suits have markings that can distinguish between crew members?
We've had two questions about the red stripes on extravehicular suits, used to distinguish between the suited astronauts. Usually the more experienced or higher-ranking astronaut wears the stripes. ...
4
votes
1answer
191 views
How does an ACES suit seal at the feet?
The Advanced Crew Escape Suit -- also known as the ACES suit or "pumpkin suit" -- was worn by all Shuttle astronauts (since 1998) during launch and landing.
The helmet and gloves were connected to ...
7
votes
1answer
171 views
Do any spacesuit designs (including prototypes, conceptual, etc) use radiators rather than open-loop cooling?
Answers to: How have space suits dissipated the heat removed from astronauts? explain how USA suits currently use open-loop cooling and do not answer this question!
Typically, space suits must ...
2
votes
1answer
154 views
Did the LiOH cartridges for the Space Shuttle cabin and spacesuit share the same shape?
In this answer, I explain how there were two contractors that made the environmental control systems and their lithium hydroxide cartridges during the Apollo program. Garrett AiResearch made the ECS ...
9
votes
1answer
718 views
What are beta cloth and beta marquisette, materials used in Apollo-era space suits?
The NASA PDF Space Suit which contains CSM21 Spacesuits pp 223-228 in the url name mentions beta cloth and beta marquisette several times.
Question: What are they ...
6
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1answer
135 views
Would potential astronauts on Titan be in danger of being blown away?
Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) has a thicker and denser atmosphere than the Earth and a surface gravity of less than 1/7 that of the Earth. So potential visitors would be very light and what would ...
7
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1answer
290 views
How many spacesuits were specifically manufactured for John Young?
John W. Young was a legendary astronaut:
The first American in space after the original Mercury Seven, as Gus Grissom's co-pilot in Gemini 3. He got in trouble during this flight for smuggling ...
13
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1answer
1k views
Did they manufacture six space suits for Apollo astronaut James A. Lovell?
An Apollo astronaut got three space suits, one for training on Earth, one for flight and one as backup.
James A. Lovell did fly on Apollo 8 as Command Module pilot and on Apollo 13 as Mission ...
9
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1answer
2k views
Why did the hose connectors on Apollo spacesuits come in pairs?
Apollo lunar spacesuits had four hose connectors for air:
The EV PGA, however, is provided with two sets: two [blue] inlet connectors interconnected by a plenum chamber and two [red] outlet ...
2
votes
1answer
250 views
Why aren't the hose connectors on Sokol suits color-coded?
The Sokol suit used for launch and reentry appears to have three hose ports, which all appear to be an anodized blue color. Why aren't the hose connectors color coded?
In contrast, the Apollo suits ...
2
votes
1answer
185 views
What spacesuits did the Apollo astronauts wear on Earth in their training for the Moon?
Even on the Moon the Apollo spacesuits were so heavy and bulky that the Apollo astronauts couldn't move quite well in them, except in the Apollo 15-17 missions where they were improved. However on ...
14
votes
1answer
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Nose-scratching Velcro in spacesuits: hook side or loop side?
This answer states
One of the more innovative uses of Velcro included putting a patch into EVA suits to assist in scratching the astronaut's nose.
Considering that Velcro has two different ...
4
votes
1answer
371 views
In layman's terms, how hot will the skin of a spacecraft become, 144 million miles from the Sun?
Ok, last week I asked how hot would a piece of metal become at a distance from Earth to Mars facing the Sun. Thank you for all the nice replies, but I do not have much math knowledge. So let me ...
6
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0answers
110 views
Can astronauts in currently planned pressure suits survive a cabin which cannot be repressurized?
Imagine the Crew Dragon (or Stariner or Orion) has just achieved orbit. Due to a manufacturing flaw or a meteor, the window suddenly blows out. All 6 of the crew manages to get their suit visor's ...
1
vote
0answers
96 views
IVA space Suit leakage
What is the allowed suit leakage for Sokol suit at
40kPa/5.8 psi.
What is the allowed leak rate in IVA shuttle suits
at 24 kPa/3.5 psi.
What is the allowed leak rate from IVA suit
helmet
6
votes
3answers
391 views
How much of a drag is it, orbiting the Earth in a space suit?
An astronaut in a spacesuit travels around the Earth at the same altitude as the ISS. Let's say the astronaut leads the ISS by 1000 meters along the same orbit.
After one orbit, how much velocity has ...
2
votes
1answer
167 views
How will space suit computers likely be radiation hardened?
Writing this comment inspired the following question:
Space suits are critical to life, so if there's a solar storm and the astronaut has received a less-than-lethal dose of radiation, they'll be ...
3
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2answers
198 views
Are there other "glow in the dark" Luminex wire and light-emitting patch designs for the Z-2 or any other space suit?
The prototype Z-2 space suit has different light-emitting patches to make it easier to identify specific crew members during a spacewalk. NASA has released these three designs.
image source
image ...
2
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0answers
143 views
Why did NASA want the Z-2 prototype spacesuit need to mimic the appearance of sportswear?
NASA has been considering a new type of space suit, the Z2 Spacesuit, "in order to protect NASA astronauts embarking on a new class of mission, NASA has to build a new class of space suit. Far off ...
5
votes
2answers
331 views
How hot was the surface of RTG radiator which powered ALSEP on Apollo-12?
The last 5 Apollo missions that landed on the moon (starting from Apollo-12) deployed Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) which was powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG)
...
6
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0answers
130 views
Why do spacesuits have air in the body? [duplicate]
Wouldn’t it be easier to make a space suit that only maintains air around the head, and just has a “tight” insulated and shielded suit around the body?
It seems to me the reasons we need a space ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Short documentary about spacesuit seamstresses
I'm trying to find a short documentary video about people who sew together NASA spacesuits.
I saw it quite some time ago -- at least 20 years, maybe longer. Quite possibly on PBS, maybe the Spokane ...
5
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0answers
167 views
Design considerations for a space suit going to Mars?
Essentially, I am trying to design a heat exchanger for a space suit traveling to mars. From my understanding, I assumed that the energy generated from the space suit relates to the astronaut as well ...
13
votes
1answer
731 views
Reentry without pressure suits in Apollo: was there a formal risk assesment?
In Apollo 11 Flight Journal the following is stated:
The crew will make re-entry without suits or helmets on. Although this was a controversial decision on the first Apollo flight, Apollo 7, when the ...
3
votes
1answer
327 views
How often did Apollo astronauts wear red helmets?
Images of NAsA astronaut David R. Scott performing a spacewalk during Apollo 9 show a red helmet.
When did NASA's use of red-colored helmets begin, and when did it end, and was there a special name ...
15
votes
1answer
2k views
Are the EVA suits used in the ISS and in the NBL same or different?
Are the space suits used in the International Space Station (ISS) and in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) same or different? They look similar, but they are used in two different media - one in a vacuum ...
1
vote
2answers
199 views
Can we create a vacuum inside an EVA suit when the outside is pressurized, will it implode?
EVA suits are specially designed spacecrafts for astronauts during spacewalks. I can say for sure, it can handle the following cases of pressurization of the system:
Pressurized inside, but vacuum ...
0
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1answer
211 views
Best (or least worst) conditions to "store" an astronaut in a suit for six days?
@GremlinWrangler's answer to How can an Astronaut survive for six days inside a Spacesuit? includes the following:
make sure the suit can provide air and water, and adjust the temperature to ...
6
votes
1answer
420 views
How can an Astronaut survive for six days inside a Spacesuit?
In the video #AskNASA | What are the Next Generation Spacesuits?, spacesuit engineer Dustin Gohmert says the following about the Orion Crew Survival Suit (Orange Spacesuit):
This suit is also ...
2
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0answers
58 views
How are xEMU's rotating joint at waist level shock proof?
Following this question about new spacesuits (xEMU),
I was wondering how resistant to shock might be the biggest rotating seal, (at waist level) considering an astronaut might fall or be hit by some ...
5
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0answers
81 views
Are ferrofluidic seals used in spaceflight? Main applications? Human-rated?
Comments below this answer have inspired this quesiton.
Wikipedia's Ferrofluidic seal sez:
Ferrofluid-sealed feedthroughs routinely operate in environments including ultra-high vacuum (below 10⁻⁸ ...
11
votes
2answers
580 views
How are Rotating Joints in a Spacesuit Gas-tight?
In Spacesuits, especially in newer ones like the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), there are a large number of rotating joints at different portions like wrists, arms, torso, etc.
...
29
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1answer
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What are the Advantages of having a Double-pane Space Helmet?
In the following image of Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) or Artemis Generation Space Suit, it can be seen the helmet contains double-pane of glass (inside the black rectangle)
What ...
14
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8answers
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instead of pressurizing an entire spacesuit with oxygen could oxygen just pressurize the head and the rest of the body be pressurized with water?
Instead the body would be kept from boiling by a thin layer of water that was held down by oxygen up at the head. 1 gallon of water is 8lbs which per inch is what the latest spacesuit is designed to ...
10
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1answer
1k views
What are these objects near the Cosmonaut's faces?
The obituary "Aleksei Leonov, First Man to Walk in Space, Dies at 85", includes this photo:
What are the white objects alongside each of the cosmonaut's mouths? Are they microphones? If so, why two? ...
9
votes
2answers
948 views
International Orange?
Was the Launch Entry Suit, the pumpkin suit, the first time any space agency used the color International Orange in anything intended to go into space?
From International orange; Astronautics:
The ...
24
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3answers
4k views
How do EVA suits manage water excretion?
This answer immediately sparked the question in my mind of how space suits manage water excretion from the person wearing them. I am aware that the astronauts had to wear diapers since one may need to ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Who put their spacesuit boots on the wrong feet?
Was just reading Mike Massimino's memoir Spaceman and came across this fascinating line:
Another time a spacewalker - and this is a true story - accidentally
put his right boot on his left foot ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Was any hole in the upper layers of the Apollo suits found caused by a micrometeorite impact?
What about the micrometeorite protection layers of the Apollo suits used for lunar EVA? Was any hole found after landing on Earth?
3
votes
2answers
344 views
Apollo suit atmosphere before launch?
What was the pressure and oxygen concentration used in Apollo space suits on Earth before launch and after closing the suit with helmet and gloves during the transfer of the astronauts to the launch ...
7
votes
1answer
984 views
How were Apollo spacesuits cooled during simulations/rehearsals on Earth?
The answer and comments to How have space suits dissipated the heat removed from astronauts? explain that the Apollo space suits used the sublimation of ice into the vacuum of space to constantly ...
2
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1answer
727 views
What is this red spacesuit made out of, and why is it red?
The BBC News website often uses this file photo on spaceflight-related pages such as this one.
Is it possible to identify the following?
the astronaut
the spacecraft
the spacesuit
the external red ...
2
votes
1answer
454 views
What would it feel like for an astronaut if his/her spacesuit ran out of air?
I’m curious what it would feel like if an astronaut’s spacesuit ran out of air while they were on mars, vs taking the suit off?
inspired this question
14
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1answer
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Do space suits measure "methane" levels or other biological gases?
A comment below Was “I have the farts, again” broadcast from the Moon to the whole world? links to this humorous video clip of the 1997 comedy movie RocketMan about astronauts on Mars. Personnel on ...
3
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0answers
191 views
Why was the Communications Carrier Assembly black and white?
I understand the CCA, the headset for NASA astronauts, was made up of lycra and teflon fabrics. Is there a reason, relevant to space flight, that the two materials were different colors?