NASA's First New Spacesuit In 20 Years Is Its Own Airlock 164
Zothecula writes "The current U.S. space suit used by NASA is a dinosaur. Designed in 1992, it was only ever intended to be used by crews aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). That may have been good enough in the days of 14 kps modems, but with eyes turning increasingly toward missions to the Moon, Mars and the asteroids, space explorers need something better. That's why NASA is designing its first new suit in twenty years. Developed by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES), the Z-1 prototype space suit currently undergoing vacuum testing at the Johnson Space Center is a wearable laboratory of new technology. And it's a hatchback."
Soviets (Score:5, Informative)
Re:To infinity.... (Score:5, Informative)
* Green on the chest piece
* Green at the elbows
* Green around the crotch
* Green around the hands
* Bubble dome
It's just missing the decals and wings.
Just for comparison:
NASA [gizmag.com]
Pixar [wikimedia.org]
Re:Only suit fabric protecting crew from hard vacu (Score:5, Informative)
It doesn't seem that way. These suits can act a higher pressure which allows them to dock to the spacecraft in the first place. So they must be sturdier.
Also, it's not like when the suit leaves that the ship is exposed to space. There must be an additional "hatch" that is closed around the suit opening to allow it to leave.
So when docked you have the structural integrity of the suit itself (life support backpack plus suit plus helmet) and the structural integrity of the "hatch" that is not mentioned.
It's not a full blown traditional airlock because there is not a separate space that has to have the pressure equalized before you can enter the space craft. In a way it is a mini-airlock because you will still need to equalize that small space in between the hatch and the suit.
The greatest advantage to this is speed. No pre-breathing and cycle time in a big airlock. You could be out in space in minutes it sounds like, or less.
Re:Soviets (Score:2, Informative)
Yes, Orlan is rear entry (and doesn't require pre-breathing) but there is none of the docking capability. They don't emphasize it that much, but that is actually a pretty big deal for planetary operation where it's just about the perfect solution to dust issues.
Re:Only suit fabric protecting crew from hard vacu (Score:2, Informative)
That's a common myth, the crew cabin was considerably sturdier since it was a pressure vessel keeping the atmosphere inside the crew cabin. What was "tinfoil" were the mylar thermal covers on the outside of the descent stage.
Re:Only suit fabric protecting crew from hard vacu (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Only suit fabric protecting crew from hard vacu (Score:5, Informative)
The atmosphere inside was pure oxygen at 0.2 bar, allowing the walls of the LEM to be very thin. Still, more like an oil drum than like tinfoil.