NASA’s current batch of International Space Station spacesuits have been in service for more than 40 years and are already very old. The space agency is keen to acquire spacesuits suitable for the 21st century, and Collins Aerospace’s recent zero-gravity tests are a step in the right direction.
North Carolina-based Collins Aerospace, in partnership with ILC Dover and Oceaneering, has completed a major milestone in the development of a new generation of spacesuits for use on the International Space Station.This development comes from NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract, worth $97.2 million Awarded to Collins December 2022.
This important step, known as the Crew Capability Assessment Test, involves the suit’s use in a simulated space environment on Earth. Or more specifically, in a plane flying above the Earth. Now that this goal has been achieved, NASA can extend the contract to conduct spacesuit demonstrations outside the International Space Station through April 2026. During the demonstration, the crew will don spacesuits outside the orbiting laboratory.
Unfortunately, the newer set has expired. The urgent need stems from challenges posed by NASA’s current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), which has been in use for more than 40 years. Problems such as water leakage, Size and fit restrictionsand aging technology underscore the urgency of upgrading spacesuits. Current EMUs are increasingly difficult to maintain, inflexible, have limited maneuverability, and are unsuitable for future missions to the moon and Mars.
Take 2013 as an example event Astronaut Luca Parmitano experienced water in his helmet, highlighting the urgent need for improvements. In 2022, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer noticed water and moisture on his mask during a spacewalk, an incident that resulted in NASA suspends EVA flights Awaiting investigation.
RTX business Collins Aerospace is looking to address these challenges with its next-generation spacesuit, which is lighter and smaller than current NASA suits and has an open-architecture design that is easily modified. Its team worked with current and former astronauts to create a spacesuit that meets the diverse needs of space explorers.
Recent tests to evaluate the capabilities of the new suit were conducted aboard a zero-gravity aircraft under simulated microgravity conditions.as space flight now ReportFormer NASA astronauts John “Danny” Olivas and Dan Burbank and the support team experienced 40 parabolic weight loss episodes during the flight to evaluate the suit’s Capabilities of pressure garment systems, ISS tools and interfaces, and performance for current EMU designs.
“This test allows us to examine the specific goals of the design that can support a variety of crew sizes and crew missions in a controlled environment,” said Peggy Guirgis, general manager of Collins Space Systems. explain in a press release.
Before a critical design review, Collins plans to conduct additional evaluations, including underwater testing and thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Texas. These tests are critical to ensuring the suit’s functionality in a variety of space-like conditions.
Collins’ efforts are part of a broader plan to advance space exploration. In July 2023, the company Received an additional $5 million As part of its xEVAS contract, the contract is to develop specialized EVA suits for lunar surface missions under NASA’s Artemis program. The company says its spacesuits are close to 90% compatible with lunar missions.Meanwhile, Houston-based Axiom Space is currently focusing on Lunar suit to be used on NASA’s upcoming Artemis 3 mission to the lunar surface.
To get more spaceflight in your life, follow us X (formerly Twitter) and dedicated bookmarks for Gizmodo Aerospace page.