Space shuttles & Spacesuits

Past, Present, & Future

By Cole DeYoung

Apollo 11

• The first space flight was Apollo 11• It contained a lunar module, a service module,

& a command module• The lunar module was used to allow an

Astronaut to land on the moon

Apollo 11

Apollo 11 Spacesuit• The suit weighed approximately 180 pounds here on earth.

Of course it weighed zero in space• It was also capable of being worn for 14 days in an

unpressurized mode• The front of the suit had basic environmental controls and

life-support attachments. The hoses went to the support system on the back of the suit

• The helmet was a clear bubble designed to attach to the spacesuit neck ring

Apollo 11

Space Shuttle Columbia• The first of NASA's orbiter fleet• It proved the operational concept of a winged, reusable

spaceship by successfully completing the Orbital Flight Test Program

• Columbia was named after a small sailing vessel that operated out of Boston in 1792 and explored the mouth of the Columbia River

• In a later mission, the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed over east Texas on its landing descent to Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 1, 2003, at 8:59 a.m. EST at the conclusion of a microgravity research mission, STS-107

Space Shuttle ColumbiaBEFORE AFTER

Spacesuits Columbia• The Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) or "pumpkin suit", was

a full pressure suit that began to be worn by Space Shuttle crews after STS—65 for the ascent and entry portions of flight

• The suit is a direct descendant of the U.S. Air Force high-altitude pressure suits

• It is a one-piece pressure garment assembly with integrated pressure bladders and ventilation system

• It has a full pressure helmet with a locking clear visor and a black sunshade worn to reduce any glare from reflected sunlight, especially during the approach and landing phases of the mission

Spacesuits Columbia

Space Shuttle Atlantis• Atlantis was the only orbiter which lacked the ability to draw

power from the International Space Station while docked there; it had to continue to provide its own power through fuel cells

• Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, a two-Masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966

• The last mission of Atlantis was STS-135, the last flight before the Shuttle program ended. This final flight, authorized in October 2010, brought additional supplies to the International Space Station

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Spacesuits Atlantis• An Orlan space suit is a one-piece space suit• The Orlan space suit is semi-rigid, that is, it has a solid torso

and helmet but flexible arms• It was designed with a rear hatch entry through the attached

backpack that allows it to be donned relatively quickly (taking approximately five minutes)

• The Orlan-DM, and all models since, were designed to be self-sustaining

Space Suits Atlantis

Space Shuttle of the Future• Now that the U.S. space shuttle program has ended, NASA is turning to the

private sector for the next generation of reusable manned spacecraft—including the Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser

• The proposed new shuttle's primary mission is to transport cargo and up to seven astronauts to the International Space Station, and to return crews safely to Earth

• Among Dream Chaser's advantages: It's designed to launch on top of Atlas rockets, which have been reliably used by NASA since 1957

Spacesuits of the Future• The Mark III Hard Suit is modeled by a spacesuit engineer• The current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and all its associated EVA

systems are the result of many years of research and development • Advanced versions of the EMU are being studied, including spacesuits that

operate at higher pressures than the current EMU. The advantage of higher operating pressures is that virtually no time will be lost to rebreathing in preparation for EVA

Space Shuttles & SpacesuitsPast, Present & Future

There have been many Space Shuttle launches. Some were successful & some unfortunately were not. NASA has learned and adapted the Space Shuttles & Suits through the years. It will be exciting to see what develops next in space technology.