Space Suits

• Space Suits by DownRange on 16 Jul, 2006 01:45
• First post and all, so please be gentle...love this site, tho, been reading it for about the lasy 6-8 months.  Not a real serious question, but just curious...am I correct in assuming that for CEV launches to ISS, the astronauts would probably wear the orange ACES suit, but for a lunar mission, they would probably launch in their white lunar space suits with the fish bowl helmets or whatever they'll be using--they wouldn't want the extra weight of two space suits for each astronaut, and they would wear white on the moon to reflect sun light, correct?
  
  Thanks.
  
  KB
• #1 by nacnud on 16 Jul, 2006 02:42
• I suspect the ascent/decent suits will be the same in both missions. For the Luna suits they wouldn't have to be on the CEV but could be on the LSAM. That said having them on the CEV would alow emergeny EVAs.
• #2 by Dana on 16 Jul, 2006 03:26
• I think it would be best to just standardize the lunar EVA suit for all pressure suit requirements on the lunar mission. No reason to carry two different kinds of pressure suits for those missions even if one set is launched with the LSAM. Launch the crew in the CEV with the lunar suits on and trade that weight for more LSAM propellant on the lander.
• #3 by nacnud on 16 Jul, 2006 03:40
• You might not want to take the Luna suits back into the CEV though, they would get very dusty after a week of EVAs on the surface.
• #4 by Dana on 16 Jul, 2006 03:50
• Quote

  nacnud - 15/7/2006  8:27 PM
  
  You might not want to take the Luna suits back into the CEV though, they would get very dusty after a week of EVAs on the surface.

  
  There's probably ways around that. They took A7LB suits back aboard the Apollo CSMs after J-Mission landings, and those were bulkier suits in a more cramped environment without as much experience in spacecraft housekeeping as we've had over the ensuing 34 years. Back then even before they re-entered the LM they used to make a point of brushing as much dust off the suits as possible. With the addition of a small vaccum device I'm sure they could vaccum the suits clean in the LSAM if they had to.
• #5 by simonbp on 16 Jul, 2006 05:01
• The problem is that the dust adhears electrostatically, so a charged wand might be more effective than a vacuum...
  
  Simon
• #6 by Jim on 16 Jul, 2006 12:42
• If the "new" lunar suits have any of the shuttle EMU heritage or some of the new Ames' designs, which are semi or hard suit, they would be "unsuitable" for the CEV.  1.  They have integral ECS, and 2. they are rigid and don't flex as well.  The LES allows the crews to perform prelaunch ground evacuations.
  
  I don't think the current LES would be used.  the CEV LES wouldn't need the survival gear and need to protect against windblast.  One new design requirement would be to sustain a person for 120 hrs in a vacuum  This is the longest time it would have to protect a crew member from a cabin leak on a lunar mission.  It will need a mechanism to allow the crewmember to drink .
• #7 by CuddlyRocket on 17 Jul, 2006 12:59
• Quote

  Dana - 16/7/2006  4:37 AM
  With the addition of a small vaccum device I'm sure they could vaccum the suits clean in the LSAM if they had to.

  You might be sure, but I expect they'll want to test it on a mission to see if it works before relying on it. So, not for the first mission at least.
• #8 by HailColumbia on 17 Jul, 2006 19:41
• Somewhat off topic...
  
  I found this picture today.
  
  A blue LES? I have only seen that horrible bright orange color.  Whats the story with that? did they ever use blue ones? or was it only for training?

  ---

  
• #9 by Jim on 17 Jul, 2006 20:06
• Quote

  HailColumbia - 17/7/2006  3:28 PM
  
  Somewhat off topic...
  
  I found this picture today.
  
  A blue LES? I have only seen that horrible bright orange color.  Whats the story with that? did they ever use blue ones? or was it only for training?

  
  The suits are not just for shuttle.  U-2, SR-71 and WB-57 use them also.
• #10 by carmelo on 17 Jul, 2006 22:54
• Quote

  HailColumbia - 17/7/2006  2:28 PM
  
  Somewhat off topic...
  
  I found this picture today.
  
  A blue LES? I have only seen that horrible bright orange color.  Whats the story with that? did they ever use blue ones? or was it only for training?

  The original color for LES suit was blue,like the flightsuit for STS-5/STS-51L.But that dark color was not good for an escape/ejection suit.So it was changed in orange before STS-26 flight.

  Quote

  DownRange - 15/7/2006  8:32 PM
  
  First post and all, so please be gentle...love this site, tho, been reading it for about the lasy 6-8 months.  Not a real serious question, but just curious...am I correct in assuming that for CEV launches to ISS, the astronauts would probably wear the orange ACES suit, but for a lunar mission, they would probably launch in their white lunar space suits with the fish bowl helmets or whatever they'll be using--they wouldn't want the extra weight of two space suits for each astronaut, and they would wear white on the moon to reflect sun light, correct?
  
  Thanks.
  
  KB

  Is probable that the new CEV spacesuit will be a IEVA (intra/extra vehicular) suit,like G4C Gemini,and Apollo and Skylab suits.In this case the color of CEV suit will be white.The actual ACES and EMU suits will become obsolete.
• #11 by ericr on 18 Jul, 2006 00:25
• Quote

  Dana - 15/7/2006  10:37 PM
  ... With the addition of a small vaccum device I'm sure they could vaccum the suits clean in the LSAM if they had to.

  
  Hmm, would a vaccum cleaner even work when there is no atmosphere?
• #12 by Jim on 18 Jul, 2006 00:50
• Quote

  carmelo - 17/7/2006  6:41 PM
  
  Is probable that the new CEV spacesuit will be a IEVA (intra/extra vehicular) suit,like G4C Gemini,and Apollo and Skylab suits.In this case the color of CEV suit will be white.The actual ACES and EMU suits will become obsolete.

  
  ACES variation will be used on the CEV for ISS missions.  Since the CEV will plumb for this, it probably will be used on the lunar missions.  The lunar EVA suits will be based in the LSAM and be semi hard like the EMU
• #13 by carmelo on 18 Jul, 2006 16:23
• Quote

  Jim - 17/7/2006  7:37 PM
  
  

  Quote

  carmelo - 17/7/2006  6:41 PM
  
  Is probable that the new CEV spacesuit will be a IEVA (intra/extra vehicular) suit,like G4C Gemini,and Apollo and Skylab suits.In this case the color of CEV suit will be white.The actual ACES and EMU suits will become obsolete.

  
  ACES variation will be used on the CEV for ISS missions.  Since the CEV will plumb for this, it probably will be used on the lunar missions.  The lunar EVA suits will be based in the LSAM and be semi hard like the EMU

  Improbable.All new studies for future CEV spacesuits (ILC Dover,David Clark)are on IEVA type suit.ACES and EMU were designed for a large space veichle with airlock for EVA.CEV have a more small cabin and nothing airlock.for EVA in space (or emergency transfer to another rescue vehicle) all the cabin is depressurized.ACES is a escape/ejection  pressure suit,not more necessary on a capsule with escape tower."is likely that CEV will include a IEVA suit system" (Joseph Kosmos"NASA's senior engi-neers for advanced spacesuits).
• #14 by Jim on 18 Jul, 2006 16:38
• The ISS missions would more likely have suits similar to the ASTP suits.
• #15 by carmelo on 18 Jul, 2006 20:03
• Quote

  Jim - 18/7/2006  11:25 AM
  
  The ISS missions would more likely have suits similar to the ASTP suits.

  Like A7L CMP. Is probable.
• #16 by carmelo on 18 Jul, 2006 20:15
• Quote

  pad rat - 18/7/2006  12:14 PM
  
  

  Quote

  carmelo - 17/7/2006  6:41 PM
  
  

  Quote

  HailColumbia - 17/7/2006  2:28 PM
  
  Somewhat off topic...
  
  I found this picture today.
  
  A blue LES? I have only seen that horrible bright orange color.  Whats the story with that? did they ever use blue ones? or was it only for training?

  The original color for LES suit was blue,like the flightsuit for STS-5/STS-51L.But that dark color was not good for an escape/ejection suit.So it was changed in orange before STS-26 flight.

  
  LES suits used on STS-1 thru -4 were a shade of tan. The basic suit was available in a number of colors, depending on the requirements of the using agency. Blue LES suits were never used operationally by NASA and served as training units only.
  
  

  In origin the EES (Ejection Escape Suit) used for STS-1/STS-5 missions were yellow-orange.But before of STS-1 launch  the suit's overgarnment became brown tobacco.Nothing know why.Brown is a mimetic color,very bad for rescue searches in sea or in land.But the sad brown was a very beloved color for NASA in mid 70s-early 80s (Skylab-ASTP flight suit,Shuttle EES pressure suit),the times of ugly worm logo.
• #17 by Rocket Nut on 19 Jul, 2006 12:30
• Back in the late 60s, when we transitioned from the "dash 2" to the "dash 6" full pressure (space) suits, we were told that the brownish green color was the less expensive "native" color of the nomex.  The previous suit we used was bright orange.  
  
  Most of us preferred the bright orange suits except when we were flying over 'hostile' territory where the darker suits would provide some cover if we ever went down.  Of course, nobody ever survived "going down" so that was a rather moot point.
  
  I think most of us preferred the orange suits because they were distinctive...most other flight suits in the Air Force at that time were nomex green and we kinda stood out in a crowd.  As if walking around carrying a LOX air conditioning unit in a space suit wasn't distinctive enough...
  
  Cheers,
  
  Larry