A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extravehicular activity (EVA), work done outside spacecraft. Space suits have been worn for such work in Earth orbit, on the surface of the Moon, and en route back to Earth from the Moon. Modern space suits augment the basic pressure garment with a complex system of equipment and environmental systems designed to keep the wearer comfortable, and to minimize the effort required to bend the limbs, resisting a soft pressure garment's natural tendency to stiffen against the vacuum. A self-contained oxygen supply and environmental control system is frequently employed to allow complete freedom of movement, independent of the spacecraft.
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was part of the United States Air Force (USAF) human spaceflight program in the 1960s. The project was developed from early USAF concepts of crewed space stations as reconnaissance satellites, and was a successor to the canceled Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar military reconnaissance space plane. Plans for the MOL evolved into a single-use laboratory, for which crews would be launched on 30-day missions, and return to Earth using a Gemini B spacecraft derived from NASA's Gemini spacecraft and launched with the laboratory.
The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is an independent anthropomorphic spacesuit that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for astronauts performing extravehicular activity (EVA) in Earth orbit. Introduced in 1981, it is a two-piece semi-rigid suit, and is currently one of two types of EVA spacesuits used by crew members on the International Space Station (ISS), the other being the Russian Orlan space suit. It was used by NASA's Space Shuttle astronauts prior to the end of the Shuttle program in 2011.
A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other satellites by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surface from orbit. Capsule-based crewed spacecraft such as Soyuz or Orion are often supported by a service or adapter module, and sometimes augmented with an extra module for extended space operations. Capsules make up the majority of crewed spacecraft designs, although one crewed spaceplane, the Space Shuttle, has flown in orbit.
A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule. It is used in the event of a critical emergency to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, such as an impending explosion. The LES is typically controlled by a combination of automatic rocket failure detection, and a manual activation for the crew commander's use. The LES may be used while the launch vehicle is still on the launch pad, or during its ascent. Such systems are usually of three types:
The Apollo/Skylab space suit is a class of space suits used in Apollo and Skylab missions. The names for both the Apollo and Skylab space suits were Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). The Apollo EMUs consisted of a Pressure Suit Assembly (PSA) aka "suit" and a Portable Life Support System (PLSS) that was more commonly called the "backpack". The A7L was the PSA model used on the Apollo 7 through 14 missions.
The Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES), or "pumpkin suit", is a full pressure suit that Space Shuttle crews began wearing 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 worn by the two-man crews of the SR-71 Blackbird, pilots of the U-2 and X-15, and Gemini pilot-astronauts, and the Launch Entry Suits (LES) worn by NASA astronauts starting on the STS-26 flight, the first flight after the Challenger disaster. The suit is manufactured by the David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts. Cosmetically the suit is very similar to the LES. ACES was first used in 1994.
Yastreb is a Russian space suit that was specially developed for early Soyuz space vehicle missions and for EVA. This model of space suit allowed the cosmonaut to spacewalk from the orbital module of Soyuz.
Strizh is a space suit that was originally developed for the crew of the Soviet/Russian Buran-class orbiters. It resembled the Sokol space suit worn by Soyuz crew members. It was designed to protect cosmonauts during a possible ejection from the spacecraft at altitudes of up to 30 km and speeds of up to Mach 3; the Buran-class orbiters were designed to incorporate ejection seats similar to those found on the Space ShuttleEnterprise and Columbia.
Space Shuttle abort modes were procedures by which the nominal launch of the NASA Space Shuttle could be terminated. A pad abort occurred after ignition of the shuttle's main engines but prior to liftoff. An abort during ascent that would result in the orbiter returning to a runway or to an orbit lower than planned was called an "intact abort", while an abort in which the orbiter would be unable to reach a runway, or any abort involving the failure of more than one main engine, was called a "contingency abort". Crew bailout was still possible in some situations in which the orbiter could not land on a runway.
The Mercury space suit was a full-body, high-altitude pressure suit originally developed by the B.F. Goodrich Company and the U.S. Navy for pilots of high-altitude fighter aircraft. It is best known for its role as the spacesuit worn by the astronauts of the Project Mercury spaceflights.
The Gemini spacesuit is a spacesuit worn by American astronauts for launch, in-flight activities and landing. It was designed by NASA based on the X-15 high-altitude pressure suit. All Gemini spacesuits were developed and manufactured by the David Clark Company in Worcester, Massachusetts.
A Maximum Absorbency Garment (MAG) is an adult-sized diaper with extra absorption material that NASA astronauts wear during liftoff, landing, and extra-vehicular activity (EVA) to absorb urine and feces. It is worn by both male and female astronauts. Astronauts can urinate into the MAG, and usually wait to defecate when they return to the spacecraft. However, the MAG is rarely used for this purpose, since the astronauts use the facilities of the station before EVA and also time the consumption of the in-suit water. Nonetheless, the garment provides peace of mind for the astronauts.
The Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit (HHMU), also known as the maneuvering gun, or informally as "the zip gun", was the first astronaut propulsion unit. It was first used by astronaut Ed White during the first American "spacewalk", on Gemini 4, June 3, 1965. Different models of HHMU were present on Gemini 4, 8, 10, and 11, but were only used on Gemini 4 and 10. It was also used aboard Skylab.
The Constellation Space Suit was a planned full pressure suit system that would have served as an intra-vehicular activity (IVA) and extra-vehicular activity (EVA) garment for the proposed Project Constellation flights. The design of the suit was announced by NASA on June 11, 2008, and it was to be manufactured by Houston, Texas-based Oceaneering International, the 4th company after the David Clark Company, Hamilton Sundstrand, and ILC Dover to produce life-support hardware, as a prime contractor, for in-flight space use.
SK-1 is an initialism of "Skafandr Kosmicheskiy" # 1 is a spacesuit that was developed specially for Yuri Gagarin. As such, it is the first spacesuit ever used. After his successful flight on the Vostok 1 spacecraft, spacesuits of the SK series were used for space flights of other cosmonauts on Vostok spacecraft, in which the cosmonauts would eject and land separately from module.
The Launch Entry Suit (LES), known as the "pumpkin suit", is a partial-pressure suit that was worn by all Space Shuttle crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight from STS-26 (1988) to STS-65 (1994). It was completely phased out by STS-88 and replaced by the ACES suit. The suit was manufactured by the David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.
An astronaut propulsion unit is used to move an astronaut relative to the spaceship during a spacewalk. The first astronaut propulsion unit was the Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit (HHMU) used on Gemini 4.
The Dehner Company is a footwear manufacturer based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company makes equestrian boots as well as boots for military and law enforcement. Dehner custom boots were a favorite of Ronald Reagan. The company is also known as a manufacturer of boots for NASA and crewed spaceflight from Project Mercury through the space shuttle program. After STS-51-L Challenger, NASA, in need of an escape system, required the reintroduction of the wearing of pressure suits during the launch and landing portions of the flight. Dehner's boots were not compatible with this system.
In the event of catastrophic failure, the Soyuz spacecraft has a series of automated and semi-automated abort modes to rescue the crew. The abort systems have been refined since the first piloted flights and all abort scenarios for the Soyuz MS are expected to be survivable for the crew.
