Apollo/Skylab spacesuit: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:15, 26 November 2006

Revision as of 18:32, 7 January 2007

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The basic design of the A7L suit was a one piece, five-layer "torso-limb" suit with convoluted joints made of synthetic rubber at the elbow and knee joints, "link-net" meshing to prevent the suit from ballooning, and a shoulder "cable block" assembly to allow the shoulder to be extended and retracted by its wearer. Metal rings at the neck and forearms allowed for the connection of the pressure gloves and the famous Apollo "fishbowl helmet" (adopted by NASA as it allowed an unrestricted view, as well as eliminating the need for a visor seal required in the [[Mercury program]] and [[Gemini program]] spacesuit helmets). A "cover layer," which was designed to be fireproof after the [[Apollo 1]] launchpad fire, was attached to the pressure suit assembly with [[Velcro]], and was removable for repairs.

Between [[Apollo 7|Apollos 7]] and [[Apollo 14|14]], the two astronauts who would perform the [[Walking on the moon|moonwalk]]s, the Commander (CDR) and [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module pilot]] (LMP), had suits with six [[life support]] connections, placed in two parallel rows at the chest and waist, while the [[Apollo Command Module|Command Module pilot]] (CMP) had a suit with only three – as he would remain in the spacecraft during the entire mission, and his suit had to only protect him if the spacecraft would either depressurize or catch on fire (similar in nature to [[Apollo 1]], but on a somewhat lesser scale due to a change in atmospheric makeup and pressure on the launchpad – 60% oxygen and 40% nitrogen at 14.7 psi). Another difference, besides the number of connectors, were the number of layers. Lunar crews wore suits with a total of 21 layers, including the five-layer pressure suit assembly, and a three-layer specialized[[Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment]] or "union suit" with plastic tubing which circulated cooling water to cool the astronaut down, minimizing sweating and fogging of the suit helmet, (see:and a [[LiquidThermal CoolingMicrometeoroid Garment]], which insulated the suit and Ventilationprotected Garmentthe astronaut from harmful [[solar radiation]]) and [[micrometeoroid]]s which could puncture the suit. Command module pilots wore a three-layer cover layer for fire protection and a simpler union suit without the plastic tubing; his cooling coming directly from the flow of oxygen in his suit.

All A7L suits featured a vertical zipper that went from the shoulder assembly of the suit down to the crotch. It too was covered by a flap, with the suits for the commander and lunar module pilots featuring a patch of "Chromel-R" woven steel (the familiar silver-colored patch seen especially on the suits worn by the [[Apollo 11]] crew) for abrasion protection from the life support backpack. Chromel-R is also used on the uppers of the lunar boots and on the EVA gloves.