Apollo-Con

A little fun: June 25-27 the place to be in Houston was the Apollo-Con science fiction convention. Being close to JSC, the most interesting speakers showed up. Last year the convention saw astronaut Stanley Love; this year scientist Paul Abell talked about NASA and asteroids. Apollo-Con has always welcomed people with Spacesuits.

This unusual outfit was seen in the Saturday night masquerade and hallways. It received reviews at Failure Weblog.

"That one chick in the polished silver tight-fitting robot suit that completely covered everything head to toe -- based on sorayama's "sexy robot" work -- was pretty swank though. (and evidently won the costume contest)"

Also Aazari's LiveJournal:

"A gorgeously done costume inspired by Sorayama's "Sexy Robot" images won best of show"

Hajime Sorayama is best known for his pinup paintings and "Sexy Robot" women. The attendees of Apollo-Con must have a high art IQ to recognise his images. The outfit also won a Best Workmanship award. Hopefully Sorayama will be pleased.

Spacesuit and an Award

UPDATE: Here are pictures of the new suits. The skintight suit is an advanced project. NASA prefers to use hardware simliar to Apollo 40 years ago.

The George M. Low Quality and Performance Award is NASA’s premier honor for quality and performance. Oceaneering Space Systems (OSS) was nominated by Johnson Space Center, and received the award yesterday. Separately on Friday, Oceaneering signed the contract to develop the new Constellation Space Suit System. OSS originally won the contract in June 2008, but a protest caused the process to be delayed. Oceaneering now leads a team including the David Clark company, Paragon Space Systems and Hamilton-Sundstrand.

The Configuration 1 CSSS suit will be used during launch and entry of the Orion spacecraft, and for contingency EVA. The contract also includes options for support, training and more suits. Configuration 2 provides capability for EVA and walking on the Moon. The contract could extend to 2020, the Moon and beyond. With contracts being signed and suits being sewn, it looks like we are going to the Moon.

Check out the new Carnival of Space!

Space Diving

You go girl! The close-fitting Spacesuit shows that this is a woman. The booster is based upon Armadillo Aerospace designs. This video depicts suborbital diving. There is no life-support backpack, so this is a short trip. She is shown breaking the sound barrier, like Major Joseph Kittinger in 1960.

Kittinger (2-minute video below) jumped from a balloon at 102,000 feet, a freefall record which still stands. At 43,000 feet he noticed that his glove had depressurised. Like Chuck Yeager, Kittinger neglected to tell the ground about his right side. The mission would have been scrubbed and Kittinger confined to the hospital. The hand swelled to twice its normal size and Kittinger was in pain up and down.

Human skin is airtight, and forms a natural Spacesuit. If exposed to vacuum, the body will swell from internal pressure like Kittinger’s hand. Increasing volume leads to decreasing internal pressure and decompression sickness (the bends.) A human can survive a small portions of the skin exposed to vacuum. After landing, Kittinger’s hand was back to normal in a few hours.

Our skintight suit is made of materials that behave like elastic. Direct pressure from the suit, rather than air, protects the wearer from vacuum. This allows us to build a suit that is lighter, more flexible and comfortable. A hole in the suit would cause swelling directly beneath the hole until blood clotting naturally sealed the breach. In other words, you would just get a big zit. If an astronaut developed a hole in one of today’s suits, he would get a high school named for him.

The skintight suit is a reality that Space organizations are interested in. If not via Armadillo, perhaps we could launch from a modified Spaceship Two. The practical benefits include quick emergency evacuation from a Space station. Crewmembers carrying small payloads could also be boosted directly into orbit like Iron Man. Space Diving will be a reality someday soon.

Mission Control

We watched Tuesday's EVA from Mission Control in Building 30, Houston. The first spacewalk of STS-126 will probably be remembered for the lost tool bag, but most of the objectives were accomplished. Bagsat is now harmlessly orbiting below and behind ISS.

Perched on the manipulator arm, Steve Bowen hand-carries the Nitrogen Tank Assembly (NTA) from the station toward the Shuttle. The coastline below appears to be the Falkland Islands.

The Flight Director has a very busy job, so we try not to bother him. On the right-hand screen Bowen can be seen approaching the Payload Bay.

From the Shuttle's point of view, Bowen appears upside down as he fastens the NTA into place. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper is barely visible below him and to our left. The spacewalkers are hard to tell apart in those outfits, so Heide's suit has red stripes. How many women get to launch their own satellite?

Jim Benson 1945 - 2008

The writer last met Jim Benson in 2007. He was very upbeat about the future in Space, and took great interest in the Spacesuit. He had big plans for his Benson Space Company, starting with suporbital flights in the Dreamchaser craft. Shortly afterward he was diagnosed with serious health problems. He wil be sorely missed.

Jim began by studying geology, then invented full text computer indexing and searching. He founded multiple companies like Compusearch. HIs Spacedev company was also successful, building and contributing to many spacecraft projects. As much as any party, Spacedev was responsible for the success of Spaceship One in 2004.

The heart of any rocket is the powerplant, and SS1 was powered by a hybrid engine. Scaled Composites had never built a rocket, so building and fuelling the engine was subcontracted to Spacedev. After the X-Prize was won and Scaled got most of the credit, the two companies parted ways. A fuel explosion at Scaled in 2007 tool the lives of three engineers. Recently the two companies have come back together to build Spaceship Two.

Among Jim's visions was a privately funded voyage to the Moon. Its mission would be servicing a Lunar Observatory. The trip is estimated to cost 3 billion, a tiny fraction of what NASA would spend. In 2007 he showed this fascinating video. 4 astronauts descend to the Moon in Lunar Human Access (ALOHA) chairs. That incredible ride would require a better Spacesuit, which led to Jim's interest. The dream of reaching the Moon must now continue.

Check out the new Carnival of Space!

ICES

Lobby of the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. The rocket-like elevators make this seem like a Space colony or underground Moon base. Architect John Portman designed this hotel, the Marriott Marquis and others in the early 1970's, when people were walking the Moon and the price of heating oil was low. In the first Space Age, optimism about the future was everywhere.

This week the hotel is host to the International Conference of Environmental Systems (ICES). Like last year in Chicago, this event brings together people who work on Spacesuits and life support systems. Sunday night was an early bird reception hosted by Hamilton-Sundstrand, who were decidedly downbeat. We heard from people working on everything from life support to Spacesuits. With Oceaneering winning the Constellation Spacesuit contract, there is excitement in the air.

Monday morning's plenary address was by planetary scientist Paul Spudis of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. His talk was full of enthusiasm about a return to the Moon. (This writer asked him about missions to asteroids.) As in the Chicago meeting last year, the program cover (below) showed people working on the lunar surface. This could be a second Space Age, moving upward with hope for the future.

Check out the new Carnival of Space!

The New Suit

Nearly a year ago an advanced Spacesuit was unveiled. This week NASA chose the suit design it wants for the Moon and Beyond. Since the days of Apollo, EVA suits were the proud domain of Hamilton and Sundstrand. In a surprise decision, NASA has chosen a team led by Oceaneering and Paragon Systems. The process is such that NASA decides what it wants, then chooses contractors to build to NASA's specifications. The design chosen is strikingly similiar to what was shown to NASA last year.

Single suit system for IVA, EVA and lunar EVA

Common helmet with open-flip visor (Apollo and Shuttle EMU's can't open the visor.)

Soft inner layer

Rear Entry (The current ACES suit has a zipper in front.)

Removable outer armour for lunar EVA

The counter-pressure technology is not yet included, but that is till under development. Since the suit system is modular, MCP can be added piece-by-piece starting with the gloves. It is very pleasing when NASA adopts your ideas!

Check out the new Carnival of Space!

Science of IRON MAN: Flight

IRON MAN can fly higher and faster than the F-22 Raptor. Is this just a comic book fantasy? His inexhaustible chest power source provides energy to "repulsors," which drive him through the air without propellant. Are those air intakes in his boots? They appear to ingest air, compress and expel it like a jet engine. His hand repulsors steer him and have the added use of blasting things. This may seem fantastic, but a good suit may lead to an unexpected application for Space.

The biggest expense in human Spaceflight comes from putting people into orbit. After years of design work, the Orion spacecraft is about 2000 pounds overweight. Private companies like Space-X are trying to create more economical spaceships. Again we must sit back and think of what hasn't been considered. For certain critical missions, we may not need a spaceship at all.

An Advanced Spacesuit is based on direct counter-pressure, allowing a suit that fits close to the skin. For EVA it can be armoured like Iron Man, protecting the wearer from hazards of Space. Fitting the suit close to the skin allows integral nutrition and waste elimination, meaning an astronaut can spend days in the suit if necessary. Like Iron Man, the outer armour can be equipped with a reaction control system and integrated helmet controls. This allows the suit to become a true wearable spacecraft.

Imagine the launch of a small booster, the size of Falcon 1 or smaller. The payload can be just one suited astronaut, along with time-critical small payloads. (This would be handy next time the computer aboard ISS crashes.) She is surrounded not by a ship, but by a payload shroud that jettisons in the upper atmosphere. Upon reaching orbit she separates from the upper stage, then flies solo like Iron Man. The view would be more spectacular than any spaceship porthole.

Atmospheric entry can also be accomplished without a ship. This astronaut reclines on a 2-meter heat shield. The shield may be a "ballute" that inflates from the backpack. If an astronaut needs to return in an emergency, she passes over a large landmass and fires retro-rockets. This allows an inaccurate but safe return to Earth.

Several heatshields could be docked around ISS to serve as escape pods. Presently ISS relies on a single Soyuz for escape, limiting the permanent crew to three. In an emergency the crew could be separated from the Soyuz, as happened during a fire aboard Mir. As we saw last month Going Ballistic, even the reliable Soyuz can miss the target by hundreds of miles. Multiple lifeboats are far better than just one.

The current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (spacesuit) was designed around Shuttle and can not fit into Orion. Once the Shuttle stops flying there is no way to get more EVA suits to ISS. The crew will rely on whatever suits are left up there, until they wear out. Why not a suit that delivers itself to orbit?

The dream of flying like Icarus is closer than most think. Advanced spacesuits will allow astronauts to fly far higher and faster than an F-22. Spaceflight is dangerous, and many emergencies can require a quick rescue in Space. Presently lifesaving options are highly limited. Someday an emergency will arise that is beyond our current spacecraft capabilities. Then we will need an Iron Man.

A gallery of Space stories is at the Carnival of Space!

Images of a New Space Age

This updated video is still subject to change. The Lunar Surface Access Module, in particular, is still in concept stage. That is a long ladder climb to the surface, so watch out for that first step! If the payload diameter of Atlas V is increased, the lander could be built lower to the ground. One reason the LSAM is so big is that it must perform the Lunar Orbit Insertion burn. If the lander dropped a stage during descent, it could be built even smaller.

At the Chicago ICES meeting, this scientist had the pleasure of talking with astronaut Michael Gernhardt. At the Space 2007 meeting in Long Beach, Gernhardt talked right after Laurie Leshin. He showed designs of pressurised rovers that would be about the size of the open rover but much more comfortable. Those spacesuits still look very bulky! Gernhardt showed graphic photos of broken nails and other injuries from spacesuits. NASA wishes to minimise the time spent in uncomfortable suits.

On the far side of the world, Michael Griffin spoke at the International Astronomical Congress in Hyderabad. In October 1957, Sputnik changed the world forever. Griffin said that by 2057 we should be celebrating 20 years on Mars, indicating that the landing may wait until 2037. Even today's undergrads will be middle-aged. Watch those primary school children, they may be first to Mars.

Below is animation of the Orion logo by a STAR TREK consultant. The original Space Age inspired all kinds of creativity. In film it inspired favourites from DESTINATION MOON to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. The James Bond series and even I DREAM OF JEANNIE started with the Space Race. Who knows what will be inspired by a new Space Age? We can hardly wait to see!

Science on the Moon

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2007 meeting was held last week in Long Beach, Califonria. Thursday a tag team of NASA personnel made a long presentation on lunar science. Laurie Leshin of GSFC spoke about "Science Capability on the Moon." Her opening points:

The Moon Presents Compelling Science Opportunities!

* Bombardment of the Earth-Moon system: Consequences for the emergence of life

* Lunar surface and interior processes and history

* Scientific treasure in the permanently shadowed lunar polar environment

* Regolith as recorder of the Sun's history

Expanding on the last point, scientists have been clueless whether the Sun's luminosity has been constant. Theories of astrophysics say that life should not exist on Earth at all! According to models when the Solar System was forming the Sun was only 75% as luminous. Earth's average temperature was 15 degrees below zero centigrade, frozen solid. This can't be correct, because geology shows signs of sedimentation and liquid water 4 billion years ago. Paleontology dates the earliest organisms at least 3.4 and possibly 4 billion years. Clearly liquid water and life existed when the model says Earth was an ice cube.

While Earth's surface has been churned by erosion, the lunar surface has rocks nearly as old as the Solar System. By examining a large enough sample of regolith, we can determine the lunar temperature history. Since the Moon has no atmosphere, its temperature is unaffected by greenhouse gases. The Moon can therefore help determine how brightly the Sun has shone over billions of years.

As readers of this blog know, speed of light c is related to age t of the Universe by GM = tc^3. The Sun turns its fuel to energy according to E = mc^2. Because c in the past was higher, instead of 75% the Sun was nearly as bright as today. Calculated over Solar System history, the upward curve of solar luminosity becomes a nearly level line. If c had not changed in precisely the amounts predicted, life would not have evolved on Earth.

The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment left by Apollo revealed an anomaly in the Moon's orbit. According to LLRE the Moon is receding at 3.82 cm/yr. Geology and the fossil record tell more precisely how the Moon's orbit has changed. These markers say that recession is only 2.9 cm/yr. Small discrepancies in planetary orbits can be very significant. Mercury's orbit precesses at 5600 arcsec per century, yet a difference of only 43 arcsec per century was enough to verify General Relativity. If the Moon appears to recede 1/3 faster than geology says, it is a serious anomaly.

If the speed of light is slowly changing, that will increase the time for light to return, making the Moon appear to recede faster. The amount of yearly change is 0.935 cm/yr, precisely accounting for the anomaly. Solar luminosity and the lunar orbit are truly independent verifications of a changing speed of light.

The Moon offers many, many opportunities for science. These relate to the conditions for life and other important questions. By exploring the Moon, we can truly determine whether the solar constant is really constant. Discovery of a Lunar Orbit Anomaly indicates a changing speed of light. Many more surprises await those going where none has dared go before.

The Buzz At Mars Society

Big scoop! BUZZ ALDRIN will shortly be joining Jim Benson's SpaceDev!

I've been at the 10th International Mars Society Convention on the UCLA campus. With 100 degree F temperatures in Southern California, it is great to have an air-conditioned suit! Thursday the attendees heard an opening plenary by Robert Zubrin, with additional talks by Elon Musk and Peter Diamandis. Friday's program included Chris McKay, Scott Horowitz and Ares Launch Program Manager Steve Cook. Saturday afternoon I gave a talk on spacesuits, and in the morning was in the front row for Aldrin. (His hat reads ON TO MARS.) He has officially joined the ranks of greybeards, but promises to get a shave by November.

As an American, Dr. Aldrin is very concerned about the "gap" between Shuttle retirement (2010) and Orion (2015, maybe). He let us know that he is joining the #3 COTS team, which we recognise as SpaceDev. The COTS program had been narrowed to SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler. Now that RPK has failed to meet funding targets because they are hard, SpaceDev hopes to fill the gap. They want to build a winged spacecraft based on the HL-20 design atop an Atlas V booster.

Aldrin does not favour a large lunar settlement because "the Moon is not a nice place to stay. Trust me." He thinks we should explore Phobos and Deimos before Mars. After expeditions to asteroids, the Martian moons would be a logical next step. Aldrin pointed out that Phobos' L1 point is only 3.2 km from the surface, an excellent place for a Space station.

Below is one of the analog spacesuits used by the Society at their Mars Desert Research Station. The suit is made of heavy canvas, has no cooling and gets extremely hot in the desert. Many activities are restricted to night and Winter because the suits are so uncomfortable. I hope to assist the Mars Society with a more comfortable climate-controlled suit.

Spacesuit for Sale

You have one more day to bid on eBay item #230155439555, Svetlana Saviskaya's original spacesuit. In August 1982 Saviskaya became the second woman in Space after Valentina Tereshkova. Later she would become the first woman to go EVA. This suit is made of white canvas and weighs 10 kilograms. This is a launch-entry suit, not suitable for EVA. "The suit features all of the original Soviet insignia, and includes the fitted gloves with machined couplings, integral boots, the domed helmet and all of the threaded hoses and other couplings that enable humans to traverse the heavens."

Starting price is only 17,000 US. If you don't want to spend that much on a spacesuit, I can sell you a cheaper one. You will be a huge hit on Halloween or in your country's Air and Space Museum.

This week Universe Today hosts the new Carnival of Space!

ALOHA to the Moon

Jim Benson's company built the engines for Spaceship One. At the ILO conference in Silicon Valley, Benson showed us this video of a planned Moon mission. His Spacedev company has a record of delivering things on time and on cost. Rhetorically he asked, "Why not buy from Spacedev instead of re-inventing the wheel?"

Private industry has long believed they can send things into Space cheaper than NASA. Like Hubble, the International Lunar Observatory will eventually need servicing. Spacedev has conceived a mission that would service ILO and incidentally put people back on the Moon. While NASA estimates 100 billion for their Moon plan, Spacedev estimates their cost at less than 3 billion US.

Benson's plan links technology already being developed. Bigelow Spacehab modules would be prepositioned between Earth and Moon. A crew would shuttle from Earth in the orbital version of Benson's Dreamchaser. Upon reaching lunar orbit, 4 astronauts would descend to the Moon in Lunar Human Access (ALOHA) chairs. What a ride that would be! These open vehicles would be much simpler than the Lunar Surface Access Module NASA is designing. The crew would stay in Spacehab modules already landed on the Moon.

One drawback of this plan is the large number of launches. A failure or delay in just one vehicle could scrub the whole mission. For this reason Scott Horowitz and NASA prefer sending as much as possible in one big rocket. Despite this, Benson's plan is so cool that it should be developed in parallel.

As you know, advanced spacesuits are being developed for the Moon. Most Moon plans assume 150 kg for the mass of a crewmember. That assumes spacesuits weighing as much as the 83 kg Apollo suits. If your suit and backpack weigh 23 kg you have saved 1/3 of payload mass. Hire one of us 50 kg astronauts and you have saved HALF the mass per crewmember. Using lighter suits leads to enormous savings in weight, fuel and dollars.

As reported here, NASA's plan for the Moon is moving forward. In parallel, other Space programmes are working toward the same goal. Private industry is more open to innovations (like a lighter spacesuit) that can eventually be used by NASA. By using new ideas, we can all reach the Moon. Riding one of those ALOHA chairs would be worth the trip!

You Belong In a Museum

INDIANA JONES: That belongs in a museum!

VILLAIN: So do you!

There is more to see at the National Air and Space Museum than one could possibly include photos of. The original Apollo 11 spacecraft carried the first astronauts to lunar orbit and back. These Apollo capsules returned in such good shape that there was talk of refurbishing and sending them back in Space. If that were done, the Shuttle would not have been the first reusable spacecraft. NASA chose this shape for their new Orion spacecraft.

The rocket-powered X-15 was launched from a carrier aircraft and flew to 62 miles, like Spaceship One decades later. Today they share the same Milestones of Flight hall. Benson Aerospace is adapting a straight-wing design for their Dreamchaser spacecraft. Straight wings mean less lift and a higher landing speed, but create far less drag than delta wings. X-15 flightsuits were silver too.

On February 20, 1962 Friendship 7 carried John Glenn on America's first orbital flight. Who can forget the RIGHT STUFF movie when the astronaut candidates first stride out in their shining suits? These spacecraft were so small that Mercury astronauts could be no more than 5' 10". Japan has so much interest in Space that we can expect great things from them. Who wants their picture next?

National Air and Space Museum

Today July 20 is very a special day, anniversary of the first Moon landing. A scientist was invited to display the spacesuit at America's NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM in Washington. It is an enormous unexpected honour to be in the same hall with Apollo 11 and Spaceship One. There are enough things to see here to keep a little girl busy all day, and enough photos to fill a week of blog posts.

Above is a recreation of the historic day in 1969. (This lunar module hasn't been to the Moon either.) The camera doesn't show the crowds taking photographs. A scientist never expects to be surrounded by more cameras than Jessica Biel. It is about time that our generation got excited about going to the Moon. This time women will go too!

There are children out there, nearly two generations who have never seen people walk on the Moon. Even many of their teachers were born after 1969, and have no memory to pass on to students. Many don't even know what a spacesuit is for, but they all think it looks cool. Why should our generation be deprived of the Moon?

Below is the main hall with the X-1 and Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh had private investors believing in him too, and Yeager wore a primitive counter-pressure suit. There is an almost instinctive attraction to the spacesuit. From the accents I heard today, people from every part of the world are fascinated by Space. We simply can not let down the many people who believe in us.

This day has been exciting beyond all expectation, Thanks to all the nice people met today. Thanks to the NASM staff and Michael Belfiore for suggesting and arranging this. Be sure to read Michael's new book Rocketeers.

Chicago Highlights

Looking South toward Museum Park from 94th floor of the John Hancock Center. The building has 100 floors and views of 4 States. If you don't want to pay the admission price, visit the bar on the 96th floor and buy a drink. The best view of all is from the ladies room.

Across the street at the Westin Hostel July 9-12 was the 37th International Conference of Environmental Systems (ICES). Attending were representatives of Hamilton-Sundstrand (the shuttle EMU suit), David Clark Company (the orange pumpkin suit), experts in life support and especially spacesuits. Talks covered everything from suborbital spacecraft to Mars habitats. Private Space companies, you needed to be here.

Monday morning's opening talk was by Dr. Michael Gernhardt of NASA, who has also flown in Space 4 times. He showed results of astronauts being eaten alive by the Mark III spacesuit. Most of the talks seemed to favour rear entry, allowing suits to be docked outside in a "suitlock." Studies at the University of Colorado showed favoured a flexible inner layer and removable armour. These are features of the advanced suit seen July 4.

Tuesday saw a presentation by Dr. Dava Newman's team at MIT. They have managed to complete a suit leg made of rubber strips and test it on humans. Unfortunately, the strips tend to slip off and expose the subjects to vacuum. Hint: Buy materiel in sheets. Their funding came from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, which sadly has been terminated. Many promising ideas, like a liquid air backpack, are languishing for lack of funding.

Wednesday night was the banquet and social with Scott Horowitz. Private industry and government are very serious about going to the Moon and Mars. Most current designs resemble the I-suit, You're Going Out in That? Building spacesuits is difficult and very, very expensive. Only one party showed up with a full suit. (Well, I didn't know what else to wear.)

You heard it here first: Very soon NASA will issue a formal Request for Proposals for the next-generation suit. They are expected to make a decision in Summer '008. The new suit system will be used for journeys to other worlds lasting until the 2030's. Our hosts Hamilton Sundstrand and David Clark will fight very hard to keep a piece of the action. Hopefully the counter-pressure technology will help make future astronauts safer.

Rockets, pyramids, tall buildings and spacesuits all symbolise the human desire to reach the sky.

The Mission

Now the journey begins. In building a spacesuit, it is best to learn from the experience of our astronaut crews. When dealing with people who have already been to Space, the customer is always right. Here are some spacesuit requirements from an agency that loves Powerpoint.

For this set of outcomes, a counter-pressure suit has inherent advantages. It minimises mass and volume while maximising mobility. Tests have shown that current "soft suits" can not provide adequate mobility when pressurised. Regarding quick-donning, preliminary tests verify that an astronaut can quickly dress herself, thank you. For future upgrades, design flexibility and modularity are built into the system.

"Return scenarios from the lunar surface could require up to 120 hours of unpressurized survival." The original Lunar Module was built of very fragile materiels and depressurisation was a real danger. 55 hours and 53 minutes hours into flight Apollo 13 suffered an explosion in an oxygen tank. All power and oxygen was lost in the Command Module. By improvising and using the LEM as a lifeboat, the crew barely survived until splashdown at 142:54 hours. If their suits had 120 hour duration they would have needed only to lower their visors.

Humans can't last 120 hours without drinking. You can survive 5 days without food, but we wouldn't want you at the controls of a spaceship. Current spacesuits have a plastic drink bag stuffed into the helmet. During Apollo 16's walks on the Moon, the bags of orange juice burst inside the astronauts' helmets. Yuck! It must have made them wonder about the rest of their suit. One bag of juice will not last 120 hours.

120-hour capability will be available as an option. Another hole can be built into the helmet for a feeding tube from the backpack. The tube is electrically heated to prevent freezing. A pinch valve allows the astronaut to drink at will. A nutritious smoothie-like drink provides liquid and food needs in an emergency. (This blogger prefers chocolate.) Canisters of the stuff can be stored in the spacecraft for easy replacement.

The other end poses a challenge. The infamous "astronaut diaper" can simply not cut it. Can you imagine sharing a sealed spacesuit with 5 days of waste? Without revealing any proprietary information, having a suit fit closely to the skin may be the only way to solve this problem. Only a counter-pressure suit can meet this important requirement.

"Suit system must be able to accommodate various functions (i.e. reconfiguration) without necessarily requiring doffing of entire system." Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions included both lunar surface EVA's and zero-G EVA's on the return home. Especially on long missions, a crewmember will need both capabilities. In that 120-hour situation, she may need to change from EVA to Earth return configuration without without opening the suit. As Darnell of Colony Worlds so kindly notes, the suit can be customized to fit different needs, even inflight. A compact, flexible inner layer makes this possible.

"Minimize dust in crew habitable space...Maintaining suit system performance." That abrasive lunar regolith gets into everything. NASA wants to leave the dusty portions of the suit behind and still have a spacesuit to return home. This requires that the outer EVA layers be removable. Previous "hard suits" require that you bring back to Earth the heavy shell, dust, germs and that Alien attached to your suit.

For these reasons and others, this technology is the best way to meet NASA requirements. It may be the only way. We owe our crews the safest and best equipment possible. Many tests lie ahead. The spacesuit is beginning a long and challenging journey.

Other interesting Space news in the new Carnival Of Space!

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

Happy July 4! This is a prototype, the most advanced spacesuit design ever built. Compared to present-day suits it is inherently lighter, safer, more flexible and comfortable. The proven principle of mechanical counter-pressure, rather than the tenuous pressure of air, protects wearers from the vacuum of Space. 60 years ago Chuck Yeager and pilots of the X-1 wore primitive suits based upon this same principle. During the 1960's more suits were built which unfortunately no longer exist. After years of experiments and enough funding to build an aircraft, this system is decades more advanced.

The skintight inner garment is a sandwich of stretchable materiels that zip on like a flightsuit. It is suitable for suborbital and Low Earth Orbit Access, like the "pumpkin suits" used today. Upon exposure to vacuum, the proprietary materiel automatically tightens to compensate. Unlike present-day soft suits, there is no loss of flexibility. The prototype is covered in silver rubber for visibility.

The helmet is adapted from a Russian design. A neck seal isolates the pressurised helmet from the rest of the suit. There are integral heating and defogging elements, and an interface with existing aircraft oxygen systems. The boots and gloves can have independent oxygen lines. A counter-pressure glove is under development. LED readouts are built directly into the forearms, which are reconfigurable to various functions and controls.

For EVA and planetary exploration, the suit can be armoured. The outer pieces on the chest and arms are made of composite materiels that are stronger than steel. The manufacturer guarantees the materiel to 250 degrees fahrenheit, or the highest likely to be encountered in Space. As on present spacecraft, multiple aluminised layers insulate the wearer from extreme cold. The outer armour can be quickly changed to adapt for different environments. When lunar explorers are ready to return home, the outer layers and all that yucky lunar regolith can be left behind on the Moon.

The torso also interfaces with a Portable Life Support System. Because the suit is easy to move in, the wearer consumes barely half the oxygen used in a present-day suit. The cooling requirements are minimal, removing the need for a Liquid Cooling Garment. This can result in reducing the volume of a PLSS by at least 50%, with the same capabilities. (The old PLSS has controls on the chest, with labels printed in reverse because the spacewalker needs a mirror on his arm to see them.)

Even if you managed to make a hole in this suit, there would be no decompression because pressure comes directly from the materiel. In the case of small holes, there would be swelling of the skin directly beneath the hole until blood clotting filled the gap. The wearer just gets a small zit. In addition to being lighter and more comfortable, suits built to this design will be inherently safer than old-fashioned suits.

This system is a force-multiplier for all aspects of human spaceflight. Orion missions will require up to 6 EVA suits. Because there will be no airlock, if one needs to go out the entire crew must suit up and depressurise the ship. Using 10-pound rather than 310-pound suits can save thousand of pounds and million of dollars. Since old Moon suits weigh 165 pounds, this system doubles the weight of people that can be landed. Hatchways and interior spaces can be made smaller. A wearable spacecraft opens new possibilities for travel to and from orbit, eventually removing the need for pressurised hulls.

NASA has issued requirements for a next-generation suit system. They want a single suit system for LEA, EVA and planetary EVA's. In case of an Apollo 13, they want crew to survive 120 hours in the suit with the visor down. They want crewmembers able to dress themselves. Current suits can not fulfill these requirements. You're Going Out In That? It may be unrealistic to expect NASA to buy this suit, but hopefully contractors will take interest in the technology.

The primary purpose of this project is safety of crews. The suit is not yet ready for Space, but is worn to investigate comfort and flexibility. Individual parts need to be tested in vacuum conditions before the suit is worn in flight. No doubt changes will be made as a result of testing, and you will hear more on this blog. After wearing the suit continuously for 12 hours, one can report that it is very comfortable and really cool!