What if we live in Space?By Jillian Fialko

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements......................4Overview.......................................6Executive Summary.....................8About Pressure Suits.................10-11History of the suit......................12-29

Wiley Post...............................16Mercury..................................18Gemini...................................20Apollo....................................26

Current suits..............................30-41Soft Suits................................32Hardshell Suits.........................34Hybrid Suits............................ 36Skin Tight Suit......................... 38Accessories..............................40

Figure: 1.1

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The U.S. Space Program has been scaling back expenses in the last year. In response, the textile industry has put time, effort, and cost into materials used for the space suits and this report shows the importance of the textiles that are created and used in space suits.

-Jillian Fialko

5Figure: 1.2

As a society, our brains are wired to problem solve, which includes looking for the next big step. Even with preparation, it does not stop bad things from happening. Humans have known for years that our world has become over polluted, over populated and over exploited world’s resources. When the world is not longer inhabitable we will

look for colonization other places.

So the question is

What if we live in Space?

Figure: 1.36

Figure: 1.3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis report is about the textiles used in pressure suits, specifically those used in the extreme conditions of outer space. The goal is to represent what could be a future suit for the modern astronaut. The study will take into account every day activities that a person would experience in a space

environment while wearing a suit.

The intent of this study is to explore this topic of living in space through pressured suits and textiles. Pressured suits are the main protection for an astronaut in the vastness of space. By looking at the past, present, and future of these garments, this report aims to pinpoint and white space remaining in the process of designing and producing these suits. Afterwords present what could be a possible use for the missing gap of the pressured suit and to

improve it for a modern astronaut.

The goal is to create a product for the missing gap of pressured suits after analyzing research.

Figure: 1.4 9

“Environmental influences have fashioned man in such a manner that he can only survive with-in certain limits of pressure and temperature. “1

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Before going into the more detailed oriented research here is some basic facts of the Pressure Suit:

A pressure suit is a full body suit that keeps a human’s body the same limits as if they were on earth at sea level.

There are two zones for these suits: up and down. They are required for go-ing up into the atmosphere and outer space or down into the depths of the oceans.

The first full pressurized suits were based off of the deep sea diving research.

Suits have to maintain 14.7 psi which is normal pressure at sea level. In space it is 4.3 psi.

After going up to 34,000 ft. 100% oxygen is needed. This zone is called the physiological-deficient zone.

The term spacesuit was coined in the 1962, after scientists recognize the possibility to live and work in space.1,2

Figure: 1.5 11

Wiley Post1934

Mercury Suit1962

G3C Gemini1965

G5C Gemini1965

A&-L Apollo1967-1972

G4C Gemini1965-1966

A history of the U.S. Suit

The Pros, the Cons and the Results

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Wiley Post1934

Mercury Suit1962

G3C Gemini1965

G5C Gemini1965

A&-L Apollo1967-1972

G4C Gemini1965-1966

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After hot air balloons were created, humans understood high altitudes caused problems for breathing and functionality. When technology got better and planes could go higher the need for protection was already known, and began the research and creation for the pressurized suit. 4

Figure: 2.1 early image of the hot air ballon

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The first atmospheric pressure suit was made by the Gorman & Company and designed by Professor John Haldane and Dr. Robert Davis of Seibe. Made in the 1930s, it was based off a deep sea diver suit and tested at extreme altitudes with dry ice.4

Materials: Wool and cotton, with an aluminum foil lining

Pros: “The thermal properties of wool coupled with those of the quilted cotton layer, would have added a known level of protection, and the interior foil layer would have prived reflec-tion to help magnify these qualities. “3

Cons: The suit had no pressurized bladder component so the people at too high of altitudes empty their bladders. It was only good for short term high altitude flights.

Results: Research stopped due to funding. It did not get as much attention as the next suit presented in this time line.

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Figure: 2.216

The Wiley Post Suit

Made by B.F. Goodrich Company and designed by Wiley Post with Russel Colley. Made in 1934 for going in an air plane, it based off of a deep sea diving suit. There were three prototypes of a suit that Wiley Post created and he was considered the most depend-able mechanic.3

Materials: Cotton quilted exterior, Rubber bladder with leather boots and gloves

Pros: The suit kept the passenger warm and maintained pressure. It had a functioning pres-sure bladder and restraint.

Cons: Only two layer construction of the suit would only protect through the earths high altitudes not outerspace.

Results: “The first full-pressure suit to successfully protect a pilot’s life at extreme altitudes.” This progression allowed for more funding to develop more at higher altitudes. After all his re-search he had to retire from his work because of old age and his physical ability. 4

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“NASA’s first spacesuits were made for the Mercury program. Mercury was the first time

NASA astronauts flew into space. The Mercury suits were only worn inside the spacecraft.”5

The Mercury Suit

Figure: 2.318

First reasons for a suit: -To orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth -To investigate man’s ability to function in space -To recover both man and spacecraft safely 6

Made by the B.F. Goodrich Company for NASA. It was made in April 1962 for the Mercury Program. The suits were essentially silver versions of the Mark IV high-altitude, full-pres-sure suits, and were meant to only be worn within the space craft.3

Materials: Aluminized nylon, rubber, leather, aluminum

Pros: These were the first suits made specifically for space. B.F. Goodrich added an aesthet-ic look to the suits, and provided the safety if anything was going to go wrong while in orbit.

Cons: Aluminized coating wears away, it was only meant to protect them from space until they reach the water.

Results: It provided promotion as doing what “no man has done before” that lead into the Gemini Suit.

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The Gemini Program

The Gemini Program consisted of 12 flights with two men. Goals for the program:

To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked com-bination by using the target vehicle’s propulsion system;To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.7

Some Basic info about the suits,They did not have their own life support.The astronaut breathed oxygen from the space craft.There were three variations of the suits that were used in missions G3C (intra-vehicle use), G4C (EVA and intra-vehicle use) and a special G5C suit worn by the Gemini 7 crew. These suits were made by the David Clark Company in 1965. It was a competition between B.F. Goodrich Company and the David Clark Com-pany for the first “spacewalk”. After vigorous testing David Clark Company was commissioned to create these suits.4

Figure: 2.4 21

Worn on Gemini III the first manned flight on this mission. 3

Materials: Nomex®, rubber, aluminum, Link net

Pros: Flexibility and comfort were taken into consideration with the use of heat resistant and flame-retardant. The suits became softer when the fabric was pressurized.

Cons: They could still only be worn inside the space ship itself. It was extremely heavy.

Results: Gemini III was the only one to use this because it did not allow for Extra-Vechi-cle Activity (EVA). That means they could not go outside the ship.

The G3CG3CGemini III

G4CGemini IV, V, VI-A

G4CGemini VIII

Variant

G4CGemini X

Variant

G4CGemini IX-A

Variant

G4CGemini XII

Variant

G4CGemini XI

Variant

G5CGemini VII

Figure: 2.5

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Worn on Gemini IV, V, V1-A, this suit was the first suit to go outside the ship. Variants were worn on Gemini VIII, IX, X, XI, XII.3

Materials: HT-Nylon, Felt, Mylar, Link Net, Neo-prene-coated nylon, Nylon Oxford

Pros: First suit to have the ability to do space-walks, which was exiting the ship to perform any maintenance.

Cons: They did not have their own life support and had to be connected to the ship at all times.

Results: Since it was able to do the EVA, it lead way into the Apollo program. It created the need to determine how people could survive longer in space with better protective gear.

The G4C

Figure: 2.6 23

Figure: 2.724

The G5CWorn on Gemini VII modified version of the G3C Suit.“Primary object was to conduct 14-day mission and evaluate effects on crew. Second-ary objectives included: Provide target for Gemini VI-A. Station keep with Gemini VI-A and with second stage of GLV. Conduct 20 experiments. Evaluate lightweight pressure suit. Evaluate spacecraft reentry capability. Conduct systems tests. Spacecraft weight: 3663kg.”8

Materials: HT-Nylon, polycarbonate, polyester, aluminum

Pros: Allowed for complete removal of the suit while on the ship. Comfort was of importance which is why there was a large built in helmet to remove some of the dis-comfort in the neck and shoulders.

Cons: The suits were not comfortable to wear for extended periods. This is also a very hevy suit due to it being mostly aluminum.

Results: For the actual launch the suit was made with built in helmet to make it more comfortable. During this time they already were researching for the next project.

Figure: 2.7 25

The Apollo Program

“That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.”- Neil ArmstrongThe Apollo Program consisted of 11 crewed flights. Since the other missions were suc-cessful, this program was meant to push the limits even further of humans in space. Goals for the program:

To establish the technology to meet other national interests in space.To achieve preeminence in space for the United States.To carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.To develop man’s capability to work in the lunar environment.9

There was only one suit throughout these missions called the A7-L. The suit could perform EVA tasks. Each astronaut had 3 suits: one for flight, one for train-ing, and one for flight back-up. ILC won the contest for the suit this time around, because they took into consideration their mistakes when trying to land the Apollo competition. They focused on fit as well as the functionality of the suit.4

Figure: 2.8 27

The A7-L

ILC industries was the main contractors for this suit and Hamilton was in charge of the life support. The suit has 26 layers and its own life support that lasts up to 6 hours.3,4

Materials: Underwear: Cotton knit, Trilok; Middle: Nylon, Polyester, aluminum, plastic; Cooling: Nylon, Polyester, PVC tubing; Gloves: Chrome R®, Beta cloth, silicone, alu-minum; Boots: Chrome R®, Beta cloth, silicone

Pros: Very high level of protection, better movability, can be taken off and stowed away, UV protection with a gold visor helmet, and maintained the astronauts body temperature.

Cons: The materials used on the space suits are very fragile, and now stored in spe-cialized cases to preserve them. The suit is very heavy for the astronaut to wear.

Results: This became a core suit for EVA in the next 20 years, there was a major slow down in production but there is still progress on these suits.

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Figure: 2.9, 2.10 29

Today space suits are broken down into 4 categories:

What is happening since then with suits?

Soft suit

Hard Shell suit

Hybrid Suit

Skin tight suit

Figure: 3.130

Figure: 3.1

The Soft Suit

Soft suits are any pressured suits made from textiles fabrics, it includes woven, knit, and non-wovens. The textiles individu-ally are usually flexible, but most suits are layered, and making them more difficult to move. Overall these multiple layers protect from the extreme conditions of space.

Figure: 3.232

Current suits

Launch Entry Suit (LES) made in 1987 to expand shuttle crew protection. It was for astronauts going to the shuttle but not doing space walks or working on the exterior of the shuttle. 10

Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) is another suit to advance shuttle crew protection, which is fully pressurized. Made in 1990 it was to make the LES more comfortable, less bulky, and improved overall proformance. 11

Redbull Stratos pressured suit was worn by Felix Baumgartner in 2012 while skydiving from the Stratosphere. This was funded by Red Bull and developed by the David Clark company (This company did all the Gemini Project Suits). He fell from 120,000 feet to the ground, in a fully pressur-ized suit. The unique thing about this suit is that it was made of only four layers: “an innermost comfort liner; a bladder, or gas container, fitted to his body; netting to keep the bladder in place; and an insulating exterior.” This made the suit more flexible and still able to keep Felix safe until he landed on the ground. 12

Redbull Stratos Figure: 3.3

ACES Suit Figure: 3.4 33

The Hardshell Suit

Hard suits are pressured suits made from hard materials, such as plastics, metals, and fiberglass.Usually the suits contain a few softer textiles in the inner layers because of the concern for comfort of the astronauts. The out-er layer is for extreme protection of space as well as the ability to keep all monitoring and life support connected to the shell.

34 Figure: 3.5

Current suits

Ames AX5 was developed at NASA Ames Research Center in the 1980s. “Although this (the shoulders and multi-joint) minimized the torque required to bend the joints, it made the suits heavy and potentially uncomfortable to wear.” 13 This suit was ultimately made to use when dealing with toxic waste in outerspace. 14

35Figure: 3.6

The Hybrid Suit

The hybrid suits are a mix between hardshell and soft suits. It’s purpose is to solve the ability to keep the extreme protec-tion and allow flexibility of the suit while keeping in mind the comfort of the Astronauts.

36 Figure: 3.7

Current suits

I-suit was first created in 1997 by ILC Dover and then continued in 2001. The idea of this suit is to be mostly a soft suit that only has harder bearings when necessary. The shape of the I-suit was intended to increase user vision and make it easier to hold the life support.15

Mk III is a hybrid suit with a hard upper torso. It was created in the 1990’s by ILC Dover, and is planned for the use in 2020 flight to go back onto the moon. It has lighter weight struc-tural materials as well as easier adjusting on the sides. It has only been tested on Earth so far. 16

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MK III Figure: 3.8

I-suit Figure: 3.9

The Skin Tight Suit

Skin tight suits are just what they sound they look like the wearers skin, similar to a body suits look. These are not gas pressurized and have fewer layers overall.

38 Figure: 3.10

Space Activity Suit, though this is an older suit, it is mainly to show where the idea of the Bio Suit came from. This suit was created by Paul Webb in 1971. “The goal was to improve the range of activity and decrease the energy cost of work associated with wearing conven-tional gas filled pressure suits.” There were two problems with this suit: the first was swelling in certain areas and the second was each suit had to form fit to each subject individually.17

Bio Suit ™ is one of the more remarkable current suits created by MIT’s Dava Newman. The suit, created in 2007, looked at the space suit as it’s own space craft. This suit is the attempt to allow the most movement of a person in space. Instead of using gas to regulate the body’s pressure, it uses structure and elasticity of the fabric do the work. This suit is still in the works but is meant to be a prototype for furture adventures into space such as to Mars.18

Current suits

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Bio Suit Figure: 3.11

Space Activity Suit Figure: 3.12

Advancing in Accessories

This glove was created by Peter Homer in 2007 and made from ripstop Dacron. It was the frst commercial glove for Flag-suit LLC under Nasa’s joint development. “The gloves will be used for integrated suit testing and evaluation, and feature a patent-pending joint design that makes the fingers more flexible under pressure, increasing dexterity while reducing hand fatigue.”19

Elipical helmets such as the ones for Final Frontier by Ted Southern and Nikolay Moiseev, and The I-suit by ILC Dover. Both of these helmets from the shape al-low more visual ability from the wearer. 20, 21

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Figure: 3.13

Figure: 3.14 Figure: 3.15

Oxygen Masks may seem like something that is com-mon now on your airplane ride but because of early helmets and oxygen tanks these were created for air-plains for emergency use. 22

Apollo shirt, is a wrinkel free dress shirt created by MIT student Gihan Amarasiriwardena. “Central to the new shirt is a new knit synthetic blend which makes use of the same kind of phase change material technol-ogy that NASA uses for the regulation of body tem-perature in its space suits.” This shirt keeps the wearer dry and stink free while in wear. 23

DuPont is the master of multiusing their materials. Such as Teflon. Teflon is used as the outer layer of most suits because it is flame resistant as well as pro-tective against all the space debris. They also use this same technology in cookware, eyewear, automotive, and home and garden. By using this research for oth-er markets it helps their own company grow. 24

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Figure: 3.15

Figure: 3.16

Figure: 3.17

Figure: 3.18

Contents:1) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/AirSci/ER-2/pshis.html2) http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/spacesuits/facts/facts-index.html3) (extreme textiles)4) (Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo)5) NASA.gov6) http://web.mit.edu/16.00/www/aec/spacesuit.html7) http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/gemini/gemini-goals.htm8) http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-vii/gemini-vii.html9) http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/flight-summary.htm10) http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA21304711) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1154071712) http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/felix-baumgartners-incredible-high-tech-space-suit/263386/13) http://www.astronautix.com/craft/ax5.htm#14) http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19970005012_1997004846.pdf15) http://history.nasa.gov/spacesuits.pdf16) http://www.astronautix.com/craft/nasrkiii.htm17) http://www.astronautix.com/craft/spaysuit.htm18) http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/ask/issues/45/45s_building_future_spacesuit.html19) http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/partnership_1.html20) spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/design_lib/ICES03-2443.I-Suit_tests.pdf21) http://www.gizmag.com/final-frontier-design-space-suit/23018/22) http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-aviation-oxygen-mask.html23) http://www.gizmag.com/apollo-shirt-uses-nasa-space-suit-tech-to-regulate-body-temp/23217/24) http://www2.dupont.com/Teflon/en_US/

Figures1.1) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/1.2) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/1.3) NASA Ames in the 1970s1.4) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/1.5) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/

2.1) http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/Civil_War_balloons/LTA5G4_hi.jpg2.2) http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9wabhlruL1qf71bqo1_1280.jpg2.3) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/2.4) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/2.5) U.S. Space Gear: Outfitting the Astronaut2.6) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/2.7) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/2.8) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/2.9) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Buzz_Aldrin_Apollo_Spacesuit.jpg2.10) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/

3.1) http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/3.2) Felix-Baumgartner-Redbull-Stratos-High-Jump.jpeg3.3) http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/felix-baumgartners-incredible-high-tech-space-suit/263386/3.4) http://www.decodedstuff.com/nasas-next-space-suit-a-look-back-at-us-space-suits/3.5) http://mfareview.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/hardshell_suit.jpeg3.6) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/AX-5-spacesuit.jpg/220px-AX-5-spacesuit.jpg3.7) http://www.visualphotos.com/3.8) http://strangeblue.iwarp.com/images/MKIII.jpg3.9) http://history.nasa.gov/spacesuits.pdf3.10) http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/science/biosuit-web.jpg3.11) http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/617050main_45s_building_future_spacesuit1_full.jpg3.12) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Space_activity_suit.jpg3.13) http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/partnership_1.html3.14)http://www.gizmag.com/final-frontier-design-space-suit/23018/3.15) http://history.nasa.gov/spacesuits.pdf3.16) http://www.blog.qtoffice.com/Portals/29427/images/mary%20kay%20oxygen%20mask.jpg3.17) http://www.gizmag.com/apollo-shirt-uses-nasa-space-suit-tech-to-regulate-body-temp/23217/3.18) http://www2.dupont.com/Teflon/en_US/