There have been 3 distinct types of NASA space suit since the early 1960s: the Mercury, the Gemini and the Apollo, which was worn on the moon and which has been in use for decades. But NASA's remit is changing, and therefore the suit. Rather than focusing on space walks and working around the stations in orbit, it now wants to concentrate on exploration. It has set a new target of landing on the moon again by 2020, and is contemplating visiting other asteroids and Mars. Space suits today use a variety of structural and non-structural components: soft goods for the arm segments comprised of nylon, Gore-Tex and Spectra, among others. Composites are often used for structural elements like the upper torso or brief while metallics are used for rotating bearings, sizing rings, brackets and places where hard components interface with soft components. The engineers are working on the Z-2 space suit. The Z-2 space suit marks several milestones for NASA: the first surface-specific planetary mobility suit to be tested in a vacuum; the first use of 3D human laser scans and 3D-printed hardware; the most advanced use of impact-resistant composite structures; the first integration of the suit-port concept with a hard upper torso suit structure; and the most resizeable hard upper torso suit built to date. In Europe, Germany-based testing firm the Hohenstein Institute, university hospital Charité, German Aerospace Station DLR and Swiss textile group Schoeller have embarked on a mission of their own: sending textiles into space to boost understanding on earth. German astronaut Alexander Gerst will be responsible for 40 experiments including the Spacetex project, the first clothing physiology experiments to be carried out in a weightless environment.
One giant leap for textile innovation
NASA - die Entwicklung der Raumanzüge, der neue Raumanzug Z-2. Spacetex Projekt - Bekleidungsphysiologie-Experimente des deutschen Astronauten Alexander Gerst
WSA International Magazine for Performance & Sports Materials ; 20 , 4 ; 46-51
2014
4 Seiten, Bilder
Article (Journal)
English
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