Author Topic: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA  (Read 9538 times)

Online Chris Bergin

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Offline clegg78

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #1 on: 12/15/2014 06:39 pm »
I was watching them test these suits when I was at JSC and took the NBL tour this summer.   Pretty neat seeing this stuff first hand!
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Offline Rocket Science

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #2 on: 12/15/2014 06:42 pm »
The space-age version of reduce, re-use and recycle... ;D
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Offline AS-503

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #3 on: 12/16/2014 06:10 am »
What about MMOD protection?
Aren't the ISS suits hard for a reason?
From the astronauts perspective, how would the ACES handle a heavy back pack for extended periods compared to the current design?
 

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #4 on: 12/16/2014 02:28 pm »
If the commercial crew providers developed their own suits, will NASA evaluated them for use on the mission. One would think the CC spacesuits have be ready by around the end 2016.

Offline symbios

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #5 on: 12/16/2014 03:47 pm »
They are not for EVA. They are for pressure loss on launch and reentry. (rescue suits).
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Offline woods170

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #6 on: 12/16/2014 07:07 pm »
What about MMOD protection?
Aren't the ISS suits hard for a reason?
From the astronauts perspective, how would the ACES handle a heavy back pack for extended periods compared to the current design?
 

Only the upper torso and helmet of the current EMU's are hard. The arms, gloves, legs and boots are 'soft'. MMOD protection comes more from multiple layers rather than from 'hardness'.
And the term 'heavy' takes on little or no meaning in weightlessness. Mass, and more specifically, it's related inertia, is much more of interest.

Offline AS-503

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #7 on: 12/16/2014 08:28 pm »
What about MMOD protection?
Aren't the ISS suits hard for a reason?
From the astronauts perspective, how would the ACES handle a heavy back pack for extended periods compared to the current design?
 

Only the upper torso and helmet of the current EMU's are hard. The arms, gloves, legs and boots are 'soft'. MMOD protection comes more from multiple layers rather than from 'hardness'.
And the term 'heavy' takes on little or no meaning in weightlessness. Mass, and more specifically, it's related inertia, is much more of interest.

Right! *Only* the upper torso and helmet, like the rational of a bullet proof vest and helmet for optimal vital organ protection. If the MMOD protection is more from layers, then why the hard torso?
Using the word "heavy" implies the point you outlined related to mass/inertia, and in the specific context of supporting a backpack for prolonged period shouldn't have been as "un-interesting" as you implied!  ;)

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #8 on: 12/16/2014 10:02 pm »
They are not for EVA. They are for pressure loss on launch and reentry. (rescue suits).

So how are they different from the ACES suits?

Offline woods170

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #9 on: 12/17/2014 06:42 am »
What about MMOD protection?
Aren't the ISS suits hard for a reason?
From the astronauts perspective, how would the ACES handle a heavy back pack for extended periods compared to the current design?
 

Only the upper torso and helmet of the current EMU's are hard. The arms, gloves, legs and boots are 'soft'. MMOD protection comes more from multiple layers rather than from 'hardness'.
And the term 'heavy' takes on little or no meaning in weightlessness. Mass, and more specifically, it's related inertia, is much more of interest.

Right! *Only* the upper torso and helmet, like the rational of a bullet proof vest and helmet for optimal vital organ protection. If the MMOD protection is more from layers, then why the hard torso?
Making the parts, covering the vital organs, harder to penetrate by MMOD really makes no sense for early exploration EVA's.
Suppose the MMOD hits a soft part and penetrates the suit deep enough to do direct physical damage to the body. That means you have a hole in your suit. That means decompression. Not a good thing when present in a vaccuum, with only a limited capability of emergency pressurization in the backpack. The major dangers in an EVA are not so much cosmic 'bullets' damaging vital organs but decompression and suit-related failures.
The rationale for use of MACES suits on early exploration, deep-space, EVA's is very clear: being out of LEO means being in a much 'cleaner' environment with regards to MMOD. With the deep-space EVA's being limited in length it means the chance of MMOD related EVA accidents is also significantly reduced, thus not requiring an all-hard suit.

Offline newpylong

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Re: NASA evaluting modified Shuttle ACES for Asteroid EVA
« Reply #10 on: 12/31/2014 03:02 pm »
They are not for EVA. They are for pressure loss on launch and reentry. (rescue suits).

So how are they different from the ACES suits?

They won't be much different from ACES suits, they are just for pressure loss on launch and re-entry. Which also means they are no more useful in development of an EVA capable ACES suit than what we have now. It wouldn't make much sense to wait until 2017/2018 when we have the technology and suits now to begin modification testing (which they are.)

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