Astronaut Malcolm Carpenter inspecting his capsule, Aurora 7, while in his Mercury Suit
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Of the first legitimate space suits ever made, Litton Industries’ Litton Mark I came the closest. In the mid 1950’s the United States Air Force was looking to solve some of its problems with electronics and vacuum tubing. Developed by company scientist Dr. Siegfried Hansen who also happened to be working with vacuum tubing, the Mark I was Hansen’s first of many space suits. Of these space suits many even predated the launch of Russia’s Sputnik and the US creation of NASA. In the vacuum chamber built at Litton Industries by the United States Air Force, the Mark I alone already proved to be a major step in space suit design as it proved to be functional for over 600 hours at a simulated altitude of 100 miles. Unfortunately the hard-suit concept was never able to progress as other designs took the stage for NASA’s first missions.
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In NASA’s first manned mission to space, the Mercury mission borrowed the designs of the Goodrich US Navy Mark IV high altitude jet aircraft pressure suit. Turning the Navy’s Suit into NASA’s first space suit required few modifications but most notably there was the replacement of the dark outer fabric layer with an aluminum-nylon layer. Though the Mark IV had pressurization capabilities what NASA needed for space exploration was the additional ability to control temperature which they achieved with the aluminum. The full use of the Mercury suit was scarce however as pressurization was merely a back up to capsule cabin pressure. As pressurization brought issues with human mobility the Mercury suit was worn soft (unpressurized).
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In the period after the Mercury missions there was a need for a new step in the abilities of a spacesuit. The Gemini mission needed to prove the abilities of extravehicular activity. Like the Mercury suit the Gemini space suits were decedents of airplane suits. The manufacturer of the suit derived the suit layout from suits worn by X-15 pilots. One of the key features of the Gemini suits was that they used a net containment system for pressurized areas. The holding of inflation by the net allowed for limb movement with a fully pressurized suit, a feature required in future missions. On June 3rd, 1965 Edward White moved out of the Gemini 4 capsule and performed the very first spacewalk by the United States. During this excursion White tested a piece of equipment called the Hand Held Maneuvering Unit or HHMU in addition to NASA’s new suit. The HHMU was basically a couple of oxygen gas tanks held by hand used to propel the holder.
The Gemini missions continued to test the capabilities of the suit and on the missions after, improvements were made to its overall structure and donning process and also to its life support systems. The G5C suit, which evolved from the G3C, had only two layers instead of four and a two piece helmet with a hard helmet in addition to a soft, hood helmet for ease of mobility. The G5C also was also much easier to take on and off so that astronauts could move inside the spacecraft in cotton garments. Development of life support was just as great with the already impressive Ventilation Control Module to the Extravehicular Life Support System which allowed for the astronaut to be independent of the space craft and was also able to triple the oxygen supply.
The Gemini missions continued to test the capabilities of the suit and on the missions after, improvements were made to its overall structure and donning process and also to its life support systems. The G5C suit, which evolved from the G3C, had only two layers instead of four and a two piece helmet with a hard helmet in addition to a soft, hood helmet for ease of mobility. The G5C also was also much easier to take on and off so that astronauts could move inside the spacecraft in cotton garments. Development of life support was just as great with the already impressive Ventilation Control Module to the Extravehicular Life Support System which allowed for the astronaut to be independent of the space craft and was also able to triple the oxygen supply.
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As one of the main features of the Cold War, the Space Race is often described as one of the most progressive time periods in scientific history. Ending the Space Race competition between the US and the USSR was the Apollo 11 mission with American astronauts landing and walking on the moon. The lunar landing was no easy feat however. Designers not only had to design a lander which could deliver astronauts safely to the moon but also provide the astronauts with suits able to withstand the moon environment. The challenges encountered included resisting jagged moon rocks, resisting day time temperatures of the moon, the ability to bend down to the surface, and the capacity of life support to accommodate several hour expeditions.
From the inside the Apollo A7L has a liquid cooling garment which is a full body suit the tubes embedded into the suit circulate cool water in and out of the garment and into the backpack to dissipate the energy. The next two layers consisted of a nylon fabric and Neoprene-coated nylon for pressure sealing. Nylon and Neoprene were two materials which were discovered decades ago but still were highly effective in containing air and being highly mobile. Like the Gemini suits another layer of nylon netting is added on the Neoprene bladder to prevent ballooning. Thin layers of alternating Kapton and glass-fiber cloth were then added to provide thermal insulation to protect the astronaut from the high temperature of the moon surface. On the final fittings there are Mylar and spacer alternations to provide micrometeorite shielding. Teflon coated glass-fiber Beta cloth made the final outer layer to protect from solar radiation. The Apollo suit was also a hybrid suit making it one of the first to incorporate soft materials like those of traditional space suits and hard materials like in its Hard Upper Torso or HUT and joint rings to provide greater mobility.
In addition to the overall suit structure numerous other devices were added to insure survival of the astronaut. To protect from the rocky surface the installation of “moon boots” were made so that the suit feet were protected from puncturing. A design to make the helmet area less bulky for the astronaut was to modify the entire head area as to have the astronauts head free from loading. The glove system was also different from previous space suits. As the astronauts on the moon had to interact with the environment the gloves were formed from silicone rubber to allow the astronaut to have a sense of feel. One of the most notable improvements though in the Apollo suits was in the Portable Life Support System or PLSS. The PLSS was an enormous isolated life support system which allowed for the astronaut to be independent in space for a full seven hours. The PLSS was a hardened backpack fitted onto the HUT (Wardrobe).
Though the Apollo Mission suits were a major step in space exploration, it should be noted that the improvements made were in conjunction to all the previous space suits before the Apollo series like those in Mercury, Gemini, and those not even in the exploration of space
From the inside the Apollo A7L has a liquid cooling garment which is a full body suit the tubes embedded into the suit circulate cool water in and out of the garment and into the backpack to dissipate the energy. The next two layers consisted of a nylon fabric and Neoprene-coated nylon for pressure sealing. Nylon and Neoprene were two materials which were discovered decades ago but still were highly effective in containing air and being highly mobile. Like the Gemini suits another layer of nylon netting is added on the Neoprene bladder to prevent ballooning. Thin layers of alternating Kapton and glass-fiber cloth were then added to provide thermal insulation to protect the astronaut from the high temperature of the moon surface. On the final fittings there are Mylar and spacer alternations to provide micrometeorite shielding. Teflon coated glass-fiber Beta cloth made the final outer layer to protect from solar radiation. The Apollo suit was also a hybrid suit making it one of the first to incorporate soft materials like those of traditional space suits and hard materials like in its Hard Upper Torso or HUT and joint rings to provide greater mobility.
In addition to the overall suit structure numerous other devices were added to insure survival of the astronaut. To protect from the rocky surface the installation of “moon boots” were made so that the suit feet were protected from puncturing. A design to make the helmet area less bulky for the astronaut was to modify the entire head area as to have the astronauts head free from loading. The glove system was also different from previous space suits. As the astronauts on the moon had to interact with the environment the gloves were formed from silicone rubber to allow the astronaut to have a sense of feel. One of the most notable improvements though in the Apollo suits was in the Portable Life Support System or PLSS. The PLSS was an enormous isolated life support system which allowed for the astronaut to be independent in space for a full seven hours. The PLSS was a hardened backpack fitted onto the HUT (Wardrobe).
Though the Apollo Mission suits were a major step in space exploration, it should be noted that the improvements made were in conjunction to all the previous space suits before the Apollo series like those in Mercury, Gemini, and those not even in the exploration of space