This is the new spacesuit Space X has announced for first commercial space walk
Space X has revealed the new spacesuit it will be using for the first commercial space walk, with plans to someday use it for missions to the Moon and Mars.
Space X has presented to the public the new spacesuit it will be using outside a ship, as it prepares to conduct the first-ever commercial space walk this summer on its new private astronaut launch. The suit will be used by crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission.
The unveiling was posted on the website and social media channels of SpaceX, along with a “Spaces” discussion with mission crew members on X, formerly Twitter.
This is the new spacesuit Space X has announced for first commercial space walk
The new Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit is similar in design to the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit used by astronauts and cosmonauts on SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule flights to the International Space Station. The IVA is used by those inside spacecraft when they launch and land.
Unlike the IVA, the new suit is engineered to withstand the demands of the vacuum in space. It’s equipped for both pressurized and unpressurized environments, with new features to enhance its safety and performance when performing a space walk.
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The SpaceX Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit → https://t.co/z2Z9iVpt6x #Maythe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/peETlLCcDP
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 4, 2024
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“There was a lot of work on both the materials of the suit- developing a whole new layer that we needed to add for thermal management- as well as looking at the thermal condition for the crew members themselves, and making sure that they were at a comfortable temperature inside the suit,” said Chris Trigg, manager of SpaceX’s spacesuit team.
“It may look similar to the IVA, but what they did under the hood is extraordinary,” according to Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman, who is also partially bankrolling for the voyage.
The new suits are less bulky than those usually seen used by NASA astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts. Although they are more streamlined, they will not have too much mobility outside a spacecraft, as they will be connected via an umbilical to provide the suits life support.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions for the Polaris Program of Isaacman. The billionaire says studying the performance of the EVA suit will be crucial to future plans for space travel.
“It’s the first time you don’t have government astronauts undertaking such a mission. And that’s important because we are going to get to the moon or Mars someday. We’re going to have to get out of our vehicles, out of the safety of a habitat and explore, and build and repair things.
“That means the knowledge for spacewalks and EVAs has to go beyond just the few that it exists with today,” said Isaacman.
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