The Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Project in conjunction with the NASA Extravehicular Activity (EVA) team has identified a need for a hybrid inflatable and hard shell suitlock that can be used for planetary surface and deep space human exploration missions. Through ongoing analog studies at NASA Desert Research and Technologies Studies (D-RATS) and in NASA's Prototyping Testbed Facility, it has been determined that a compactly stowed, deployable suitlock unit is needed to accommodate advanced EVA egress and ingress operations for various environments with only minor modification.The Dual-Chamber Inflatable Suitlock (DCIS) consists of three hard in-line bulkheads, separating two cylindrical membrane-walled compartments. A dual-compartment suitlock will allow for dust and contaminant control, suit maintenance, and efficient egress / ingress; and the inflatable aspect of the design will allow the unit to stow in a compact package for transport. This paper describes the DCIS functionality, subsystems, and operational scenarios.The novel concepts included in the DCIS are the triple bulkhead, dual-chamber that has one compartment that is continuously pressurized (either at cabin pressure, or may be used for transitional pressure from high-pressure habitats), and a nominal unpressurized second compartment where the suits will be kept for normal operations. The advantages include quicker egress / ingress, capacity for 'shirt sleeve' suit maintenance, and portability of the entire unit.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    A Dual-Chamber Hybrid Inflatable Suitlock (DCIS) for Planetary Surfaces or Deep Space


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    International Conference on Environmental Systems ; 2011 ; Portland, OR, United States


    Publication date :

    2011-07-18


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    A Dual-Chamber Hybrid Inflatable Suitlock (DCIS) for Planetary Surfaces or Deep Space

    Howe, A. Scott / Kennedy, Kriss / Guirgis, Peggy et al. | AIAA | 2011


    2011-5064 A Dual-Chamber Hybrid Inflatable Suitlock (DCIS) for Planetary Surfaces or Deep Space

    Howe, A. / Kennedy, K. / Guirgis, P. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2011



    Lunar Habitat Airlock/Suitlock

    Griffin, Brand Norman | NTRS | 2008


    Inflatable robotics for planetary applications

    Jones, J. A. / Wu, J. J. | NTRS | 2001