Spacesuits: Fashion of the Future!

Ever fancied yourself in a spacesuit? Whether in fact you believe that a spacesuit makes desirable fancy dress, it is undoubtedly, more so than any other profession in which a high-profile uniform is worn, iconic. However compared to those occupations in which uniforms are primarily worn to draw attention, spacesuits represent far more. So exactly to what extent are spacesuits the product of fashion or function? LetòÀÙs take a look at a few designs to find out…

Just as the colour and style of a police officeròÀÙs uniform may vary depending on their nationality or current circumstances, so the same can be said of the different spacesuits that men and women have worn to head into space.

February 20th 1962: John H. Glenn Jr., first man from the US to orbit the Earth three times in the Friendship 7 spacecraft, as pictured in the reflective Mercury Program spacesuit. (Image credit:NASA)

Silver in appearance, the Mercury Program òÀØspacesuitòÀÙ was a partial-pressure suit that could temporarily countermeasure any unintentional drop in atmospheric pressure within the spacecraft at high altitude. It was however known for being difficult to bend at limb joints when pressurised. Besides the suitòÀÙs reflective aluminized outer nylon skin possibly being considered an aesthetic improvement from its olive green Navy aircraft flight suit cousin, it was thought at the time that it would offer an added degree of protection from radiation, the deep cold of space, and the heat build-up on re-entry to whatever extent this could be felt from inside the spacecraft. Slung-shot far above the 100km mark, Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut to enter space wore the Mercury Program spacesuit in May 1961.

Since the last days of the Shuttle OrbiteròÀÙs operations a more relaxed attitude has enabled men and women to wear either blue astronaut overalls or more casual tee-shirts and shorts on-board the ISS. (Image: NASA)

Decades later we see Space Shuttle and International Space Station crews kitted up in blue. Primarily designed for safety and comfort on-board ship, cobalt blue flight suits have pleats to allow room for the height extension of 2-5cm most human bodies undergo when moving into a microgravity environment. Closely fitting to avoid the fabric catching on switches and causing accidents, the soft cotton zip jacket and trousers are treated to be fire retardant. Designed to suit the practical nature of the work on-board, these smart-looking yet comfortable overalls also have multiple pockets built into the suits. Many of the garment pockets are zipped and any open pockets have velcro to prevent the velcroed sunglasses, notebooks, small tools etc. from floating out while the astronauts are moving in any possible direction on board.

When astronauts arrive at the NASA training centre they also collect: a navy short-sleeved cotton-knit shirt, sleep shorts, slippers, socks, underwear. Providing no additional protection, the blue astronaut outfits differ from their orange, silver, and white counterparts in that they are completely unpressurised and therefore can only be worn within the controlled environment of the spacecraft/ISS. So where do the orange spacesuits fit in? There have been a number of iterations of this brightly coloured spacesuit in the story of the Space Age. The very first uniform that could officially take the title òÀØspacesuitòÀÙ preceded even the USAòÀÙs Mercury Program. Bright orange in colour this partially-pressurised flight suit was worn by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in April 1961.

Sk-1 (in Russian, short for òÀÜdiving suit for spaceòÀÝ), as displayed in the Memorial Museum for Space Exploration in Moscow. Effectively an advanced flight suit for that time, and lacking in the life support systems that would follow in later spacesuit designs, the 20kg Sk-1 was designed for the first man in space, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and was worn on the Vostok 1 spacecraft as he performed an Earth orbit. (Image credit: Mikhail Shcherbakov via Wikimedia Commons)

Dyed in òÀØInternational OrangeòÀÙ, these òÀØlaunch and entry suitsòÀÙ (LESs) were worn until 1998 by astronauts commencing or concluding a Space Shuttle mission. Designed to be spotted against any landscape, the high-visibility outfit guaranteed the crewòÀÙs safety on the launch-pad and ensured their being found in the shortest period of time, should some unforeseen flight incident have required a search and rescue team be deployed to the desert, jungle, or sea to locate them.

: Spot the similarity: urban workmen vs astronauts in their orange LESs before the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. (Image composite: NASA, Joe Mabel, Basher Eyre, Bill Nicholls )

Although unable to protect them from the full harshness of space, these partially-pressurised suits would prolong the astronautsòÀÙ survival should their spacecraft be leaking air and they at the time happen to be within EarthòÀÙs atmosphere. Also known as òÀØemergency pressure suitsòÀÙ during Shuttle missions built-in òÀØbladdersòÀÙ would fill with air on detecting reduced cabin pressure. By applying pressure to the lower body the bladders help prevent blood leaving the brain, pooling in the lower body, and the crew member from blacking out.

Members of STS-130 crew on pad 39A, Cape Canaveral, Florida, wearing their helmet assemblies and Advanced Crew Escape Suits. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

As of 1994 a still more advanced suit came into service for the remaining Shuttle missions. Produced by the David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, the ACES (Advanced Crew Escape Suit) was designed to further improve the mission crewòÀÙs chances of survival in the event of a mid-flight incident. Fully-pressurised, with another layer of insulation, improved ventilation, and including a survival backpack, a very similar white version of the spacesuit called Sokol, is worn by astronauts and cosmonauts travelling to and from the ISS today.

: Essentially a preparatory program preceding the Apollo missions, space is visited by mankindòÀÙs first white spacesuit in the American Gemini Program. Serving NASA from 1962-1966 the next generation of spacesuit after Mercury (including the A7L) was built with the express aim of a human achieving a òÀØspacewalkòÀÙ or tactile activity in the void of space, yet without risking life or limb. Also used for EVAs on Skylab and the Apollo Soyuz Test Project, astronauts that wore these spacesuits were, for the first time taking their environment with them into space. For these first steps of the spacewalk story however the astronauts had to remain connected to the spacecraft via an umbilical cord to receive their oxygen supply. (Image credit: NASA)

Best known of all spacesuits are of course the white. Made famous by numerous spacewalks and the Apollo Moon landings, the bulkiest of all the astronautsòÀÙ uniforms adopt a puffy appearance as they are fully-pressurised with 100% oxygen to protect their occupantsòÀÙ bodily fluids boiling into gas in the hard vacuum of space. The mission crew sent into space had three spacesuits each, the training suit, the actual mission suit, and the backup mission suit. The backup crew had the same wardrobe, minus the backup suit. During the Apollo program the spacesuits were tailor-made to accommodate the physiques of the flight commander, command module pilot, and lunar module pilot respectively.

Last man on the Moon: the red suit stripes identify Apollo 17 Mission Commander Eugene Cernan, while the classic òÀØfish-bowlòÀÙ visor make this once-white Apollo spacesuit instantly recognisable. (Image credit:NASA)

Officially called EMUòÀÙs (Extra-Vehicular Mobility Units) and manufactured to the lightest achievable weight on Earth of 127kg (20 stone) before anyone climbs inside, the two-part suits donned by astronauts intending to perform any kind of EVA (extra-vehicular activity) outside of the Skylab, Shuttle, or ISS are entered and connected at the waist. Composed of up to 14 layers of materials, all of which selected for their resistance to fungal or bacterial growth, EMUs are famous for their tough shells and have a life expectancy of 8 years. The International Latex Corporation (now ILC Dover, Inc.), the same manufacturer contracted to make the cushioning lander airbags for the Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity Mars exploration rovers was responsible for their production. At every stage of the process the well-being and comfort of the astronauts was given top priority.

The multi-system, multi-layered EMU spacesuit takes at least an hour to don and similar to òÀØdoffòÀÙ (take off) as the body needs time to adapt to the differing pressures of the internal spacecraft environment and the operating pressure of the sealed spacesuit. (Image credit: NASA)

A composite of materials throughout the suit had to, on the side of the astronaut facing away from the Sun, insulate his/her body from temperatures as low as -129 degrees C (touch temperature), while alternately protecting his or her other side from raw solar radiation and temperatures of up to 120 degrees C. Not only were these engineering challenges met within the confines of a one-man spacesuit, but to reduce the chances of metabolic overheating underneath the many layers of insulation while performing an EVA, a warm and cold water circulation system with an intricate layer of tubing was to be worn just above the astronautòÀÙs skin. Supported by the tight-fitting spandex full-pressure suit, it was altogether known as the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment. Over the top of the polyurethane-coated nylon and the polyester structural restraint layer, is a woven Kevlar, Teflon, and Dacron anti-abrasion layer. Also called the Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment this final barrier to space shields the crew-member, their suit integrity, and essential spacesuit survival systems from space debris that could be moving at up to 8000m/s.

A spacecraft-independent EVA is performed in an EMU suit by astronaut Bruce McCandless in 1984. To control his/her movement independent of the ISS or Space Shuttle, the EMU is attached to an MMU (Manned Manoeuvring Unit) thus providing the astronaut with directional control in the form of nitrogen propulsion. ((image credit: NASA)

Subsequent Space Shuttle Missions in contrast benefited from the availability of multiple suit components in a wide range of sizes which could be mixed and matched, then locked together section by section until a perfect kit-up was achieved for each astronaut prior to the mission. So why the spacesuitòÀÙs neutral colour? Well youòÀÙve probably guessed the two-part answer. Firstly as the design antithesis of camouflage uniforms, these white suits are considered to be the easiest òÀØcolouròÀÙ to spot in the astronautsòÀÙ work environment, against the black backdrop of space. The other health and safety reason behind the suitòÀÙs monotone colour scheme is that as the poorest absorber but greatest reflector of the SunòÀÙs invisible infra-red radiation, the potential for an astronaut to gradually overheat as he/she works in direct sunlight for anything up to nine hours during an EVA, is reduced to a minimum. The greatest deviation from the EMUòÀÙs uniformly stark colour scheme, has remained the red astronaut identification stripes marked in four places on one of the two spacesuits crewmembers are sent out in to perform a spacewalk or EVA.

So finally to return to our opening question, spacesuits, fashion or function? A: EMUòÀÙs, the aesthetically unique white spacesuits worn by astronauts in the dark void of space are much more than costly attention-grabbing occupational fashion symbols, or even purely functional work uniforms, they are in effect the smallest life-sustaining one-man spaceships in existence.

(Article by Nick Parke, Education Support Officer)