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An Open Source, DIY Spacesuit Is About To Get Its First Life Or Death Test (reddit.com)
dmoberhaus writes: Pacific Spaceflight is a small group of volunteers that has spent the last decade developing an open source, DIY spacesuit in their members' living rooms. This fall its creator will fly to over 60,000 feet in a hot air balloon, known as the Armstrong Limit, the point at which exposed body fluids will boil away if not protected in a pressured vessel. [A post on Medium provides a] deep dive into the story of Pacific Spaceflight and how to build your own spacesuit. Here is an excerpt from the report: There are two main types of spacesuits: Intravehicular activity (IVA) suits worn inside spacecraft, and those worn outside for extravehicular activities (EVA). IVA spacesuits are mostly there as a backup in case of an emergency, like the sudden loss of pressure in a spacecraft. This makes them inherently simpler since they don't have to account for things like radiation exposure and the gloves can just be rubber gloves similar to those you might use to wash your dishes. [...] Smith's first suits were made by modifying old scuba diving suits to fit his needs. Yet as he became more familiar with pressure suit design and his own requirements, he started to assemble everything from scratch. These days, he and the other Pacific Spaceflight volunteers cut their own fabric and pretty much make everything on their own or repurpose common household items as necessary (Smith said one of the few things the group can't make on its own is the suit's zippers). Smith will release the designs of the spacesuit as an open source blueprint once the suit is perfected and properly tested. The final version will reportedly cost less than $1,000 of materials to build.
Publicity. The relevant aspects of the suit as a pressure vessel can be tested on the ground using standard compressors, vacuum pumps, and heat exchangers. Add in particle sources and you should have most of your ambient environmental conditions covered. Then you take it to pieces in the lab and see what broke down.
On the other hand, cost for a flight might actually be cheaper than the analytical instruments. You still need to take apart the suit in the lab afterward.
Do you give that to Tesla* drivers too? Because no matter how many tests have been done on any safety critical equipment in the end there will always be a "life or death" test.
The most dangerous part of a Tesla is the loose nut behind the steering wheel.
(* selected for impact, replace with whatever brand of car you want.
ditto.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!