SpaceX is preparing to send a private crew of astronauts on a five-day journey through Earth’s orbit, and they will be the first to try on the company’s latest spacesuit design in a first-of-its-kind spacewalk.
In one (n To update On May 4, SpaceX released the design of its long-awaited Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suit. The new spacesuits will be worn by the Polaris Dawn crew during a series of private astronaut missions supported by billionaire Jared Isaacman. The first of the program’s three missions is scheduled to launch this summer at the earliest.
The five-day mission will place SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around Earth, from where the private astronauts will collect data and conduct various research and experiments. One of the key highlights of the upcoming mission is the plan to conduct the first commercial astronaut spacewalk, which will also be the first to be conducted from the Dragon spacecraft.
SpaceX may have had problems with the design process of the new EVA suits, according to reports. Polaris Dawn was originally scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, but there were numerous delays. The delays were likely due in large part to the design of the new spacesuits; sources told SpaceNews in February that SpaceX had significantly underestimated the amount of work required to convert its pressure suit design to an EVA suit.
In early January, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said said in a presentation: “We need to redesign the suit so that you can actually move around in it. “It’s pretty difficult to still be mobile in an inflated suit.” Maybe the company has finally figured it out.
SpaceX’s new spacesuits are an evolution of the company’s astronaut suits currently worn by Dragon crews, with additional features to support activities outside the spacecraft. “Developing with mobility in mind, SpaceX teams incorporated new materials, manufacturing processes and novel connection designs to provide astronauts greater flexibility in pressurized scenarios while maintaining comfort for unpressurized scenarios,” SpaceX wrote.
The EVA suit’s 3D printed helmet now features a visor to reduce glare from the sun while astronauts are outside the space station, as well as a new heads-up display (HUD) and camera that provides information via the suit’s pressure and temperature and relative humidity, according to SpaceX. The new suit design also features seals and pressure valves to ensure pressure is maintained throughout the spacewalk.
The new suits also feature a scalable design that can be adapted to different body types, as part of SpaceX’s efforts to increase people’s access to space. SpaceX also built the new suits with the Moon and Mars in mind, hoping to use the new designs as part of the company’s larger vision (and the SpaceX CEO’s obsession) of colonizing the Red Planet in the future.
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