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New NASA Spacesuit Looks Like Buzz Lightyear's
SternisheFan sends this excerpt from Space.com:
It might make the astronaut wearing it look like a real-life Buzz Lightyear, but a new prototype spacesuit that NASA just finished testing represents the first major overhaul in spacesuit technology since 1998. Flexible, white, and lime green accented, the suit — known as the Z-1 — is designed not only to help astronauts comfortably maneuver during spacewalks in microgravity, but also to deftly move about when walking on the surface of a planet or other smaller heavenly body, like an asteroid. [Engineer Amy Ross] said, 'the shuttle EMU splits at the waist and you put pants on and you put the top on separately and they connect in the middle. Whereas with this suit, the subject crawls in through the back, and then we just shut the door.' Creating a back-entry suit solves a few of the problems spacewalkers often face during trips to the International Space Station. Using airlocks to depressurize is a time consuming, exhausting process. By using a back-entry design, the astronauts won't need to go through an airlock at all. The suit hooks up to the outside of the spacecraft using the "space port" opening, and the spacewalker simply climbs in and detaches."
Not new news anyway. This is like 6 months old.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
Reminds me of the Wildfire bio suits from the 1971 version of The Andromeda Strain.
www.scifiai.com
"The suit hooks up to the outside of the spacecraft using the "space port" open"
what always worried me about this is leaving the suits out exposed and then needing to trust them.
I hope they atleast use some form of a mud room. unpressurized, but not constantly exposed to radiation and micro metorites.
just my .2061 USD
.....and [Censored by Disney due to copyright infringement]
From July: http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/07/26/2258227/
1. Missing the backpack, which will add a lot of mass and volume and alter balance.
2. It isn't inflated. Spacesuits have a significent pressure inside, which makes moving in them something like trying to shape a balloon animal, or Stay Puft climbing a skyscraper. Even at low-pressure, enriched-oxygen any non-rigid suit is going to inflate.
Now if only they had a man-rated spacecraft to put these "space ports" in. Somehow I don't think this is going to be retro-fittable to Soyuz.
0 1 - just my two bits
...in 5 4 3 2 1 ....
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
Apart from the chartreuse accent colors, I don't see the similarity.
The biggest problem with a space suit is not how to get into it.
The problem that needs solving is how to make a simple, practical zero force bending joint for knees, elbows, and especially fingers.
If they could fix that and it took an extra hour to get into, it would be waaaay worth it.
Wasn't there a movie in which space suits were exactly like this? I can't remember which.
Pun alert:
"Using airlocks to depressurize is a time consuming, exhausting process."
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I noticed your sig and I have a theory.
Your posts are crap and you're getting modded down correctly. Judging by the quality of the post I'm replying to, I'd say I'm right.
I see the Metro interface designers are pursuing other design ventures.
Any word on the purpose of the lime green accents?
The Z-1 spacesuit will potentially be used to explore different planets.
The last suit redesign was just in '98. I don't know of any upcoming plans for planet exploration. By that time there will be many more iterations of design/improvements/new materials. This is not even potentially first mission until '15 at the earliest.
/not the Christmas present I wanted NASA and what about this big announcement you were to make a couple weeks ago?
PPpppst! Are you Buzz Lightyear? I LOVE your movies! Mmmpphmpphmpphmpmhmhmh!!!
The biggest problem with a space suit is not how to get into it.
In fact, the main problem is having a ship to put around it...
First the USAF copies Buzz Lightyear's badge for their new Space Badge and now NASA steals their spacesuit. http://www.snopes.com/disney/wdco/airforce.asp
If they're going with Hollywood inspiration, the helmets need to have lights that shine directly into the face of the wearer. You know it makes sense.
Does it fall with style? Will Disney scribble its name on the underside of the feet in permanent ink? Does it have a laser, or just a little light that blinks?
When you pull the string, instead of saying "To Infinity and Beyond", it says "To the moon and that's enough for another 40 years or more"
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/angler Why did this article remind me of this, I have no idea...
I have a mod stalker who is modding down my past comments and is too much of a cowardly pussy to admit it or face me.
You should test this theory by making another account.
and no place to go.
Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
the upper torso area should be bigger than this, and the tube from shoulders down to the elbows should be of a larger diameter.
That way, you will be able to pull your arms into the torso area and use your hand to access the inside of the suit.
What's the advantage? You can scratch your face or your back. This is very important! Going for long periods without the ability to scratch an itch is very demoralizing psychologically. Plus by having access to your face, you can wipe away tears, blow your nose, and do many other things.
Another plus is in the event of a puncture. With current spacesuits, you're pretty much toast. With the big suit, you can put a finger on the puncture from the inside. This will allow you to hold pressure almost indefinitely.
...as recommended by our consultants on this project Goatse Enterprises.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
I for one welcome our back entry... aww never mind.
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
Seeing as simply stating "no, that space suit doesn't look like Buzz Lightyear" gets modded as flaimbait, I would say I have decent proof. But, as it happens I did just that and found that posting similar or even the same comment got different moderations.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Where are the hardsuits? The seals are still too hard to make work reliably?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"