SPace Outfits
 

How much have space suits changed in the last 40 years? They seem bulky and cumbersome, like no-one has thought to fix what 'ain't broke' , surely there's been some fabric advances that can be utilised to make the whole outfit more wearable.

Saw a documentary on things that go into space and one of the items was regarding space suits and how much work was going into them. The big thing I remember is that they are not very cheap...

> How much have space suits changed in the last 40 years? They seem bulky and cumbersome, like no-one has thought to fix what 'ain't broke' , surely there's been some fabric advances that can be utilised to make the whole outfit more wearable.

I'm well known for wanting them to be totally different in design, designed like scuba gear.

Part of the problem is that space agencies insist on the whole body being encased in a cocoon of air, like diving a hundred years ago. This is neither necessary nor desirable for a short space walk.

There have been developments in space suits since the original days. For instance, there was recently a competition open to everyone for the design of a new space glove. The original gloves were awful, more flexibility was needed while retaining (as I said above) a pressure difference of one atmosphere between inside and outside. For more on the gloves see:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ands-down.html

... gloves in the competition did not have to have features like the ability to withstand micrometeorite impacts, which the NASA gloves have.

There has been an incredible change in pressure / EVA suits. They have become far more comfortable to wear, extended life support, and give the wearer more flexibility. You have to remember that an EVA suit meant for use in open space is different from those required for EVA on a planet or satellite. Those designs have focused on hard shells, multi-facet joints and in the lunar environment, greater resistance to lunar dust.

Here is what the company that built the Apollo A7L and A7LB suits is doing:

http://www.ilcdover.com/Space-Suits/

This is one of the books in my library; you can preview some of it online:

http://books.google.com.au/books/abo...pacesuits.html