This is really the rocket Elon needed to be building.

Can you imagine how fast he could make these stage-and-a-half birds with only four engines?
 
As a Mechanical engineer, I would like to (quite) coldly reaffirm that with the right suit, there is absolutely no reasons why disabled individuals (lower half body) would perform less in space than walking Astronauts.

I am glad that this is happening now and soon. It's a great day for both the EU and UK.
Provided they're otherwise equally competent of course. Space is the last place you want to hire someone to check a box.
 
This is really the rocket Elon needed to be building.

Can you imagine how fast he could make these stage-and-a-half birds with only four engines?
I'd wager SpaceX could turn out a super heavy booster FAR more quickly than Boeing and NG can turn out an SLS. It's not just who's building them, it's what's being built.
 
As a Mechanical engineer, I would like to (quite) coldly reaffirm that with the right suit, there is absolutely no reasons why disabled individuals (lower half body) would perform less in space than walking Astronauts.

I am glad that this is happening now and soon. It's a great day for both the EU and UK.
Provided they're otherwise equally competent of course. Space is the last place you want to hire someone to check a box.
This comment sounds rather inappropriate my dear @sferrin. But I am sure that was not the intend.
 
As a Mechanical engineer, I would like to (quite) coldly reaffirm that with the right suit, there is absolutely no reasons why disabled individuals (lower half body) would perform less in space than walking Astronauts.

I am glad that this is happening now and soon. It's a great day for both the EU and UK.
Provided they're otherwise equally competent of course. Space is the last place you want to hire someone to check a box.
This comment sounds rather inappropriate my dear @sferrin. But I am sure that was not the intend.
It's 100% dead on accurate.
 
CNBC aired an article three days ago concerning NASA's new spacesuit for the Artemis Moon landers and their crew:


NASA has been using the current spacesuits on the International Space Station for decades and they are showing their age. The agency has had issues not only with finding the proper sizes to fit its increasingly diverse astronaut corps, but also with degradation of some suit components. Now NASA is turning to two commercial companies: Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, to build and maintain its new generation of spacesuits. Under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services Contract, or xEVAS, NASA is providing Collins and Axiom, along with a number of their industry partners, with up to $3.5 billion through 2034. CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look at the new suit that Collins Aerospace is designing in collaboration with partners ILC Dover and Oceaneering. NASA hopes to use this new suit on the International Space Station by 2026.

Chapters:
02:39 — Dire need
08:00 — The Collins suit
12:48 — Future missions
 
CNBC aired an article three days ago concerning NASA's new spacesuit for the Artemis Moon landers and their crew:


NASA has been using the current spacesuits on the International Space Station for decades and they are showing their age. The agency has had issues not only with finding the proper sizes to fit its increasingly diverse astronaut corps, but also with degradation of some suit components. Now NASA is turning to two commercial companies: Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, to build and maintain its new generation of spacesuits. Under the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services Contract, or xEVAS, NASA is providing Collins and Axiom, along with a number of their industry partners, with up to $3.5 billion through 2034. CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look at the new suit that Collins Aerospace is designing in collaboration with partners ILC Dover and Oceaneering. NASA hopes to use this new suit on the International Space Station by 2026.

Chapters:
02:39 — Dire need
08:00 — The Collins suit
12:48 — Future missions

$3.5 billion dollars for NASA's new Artemis spacesuits? That is a lot of money. I would like to see if they are dust proof as well as the Apollo era mission suits were not.
 
It is a lot of money but there has been a lot technological advances since the Apollo programme's A7L spacesuits were designed and built, I wonder how much the A7Ls cost to design and develop adjusted for inflation?
 
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TheSpaceBucket has a new video out about NASA's concerns for the Orion's heat-shield, launch tower concerns and other things revealed after analysing the Artemis 1 mission results:


Almost four months ago in the middle of November, the Space Launch System lifted off for the first time ever. Over the next few weeks, the rocket, Orion, and various systems would go on to complete over a hundred tests before returning to Earth with a successful splashdown. All this being said, while on the surface the mission went great, not everything went fully according to plan.
The heat shield of Orion for example, an immensely important component, did not perform as expected with reports of excessive material being lost. Something the agency is focusing on with Artemis II scheduled not long from now with humans. They also shared more information on the damage to the ground systems and launch tower. On the other hand, they confirmed that other valuable systems outperformed their expectations.
Right now NASA is trying to prepare for the next mission scheduled to happen in 2024. Based on the results of this initial mission, they confirmed that they are still on track for that launch date. Here I will go more in-depth into Orion’s heat shield concerns, the overall system performance, what to expect in the coming months, and more.
 
TheSpaceBucket has a new video out about NASA's concerns for the Orion's heat-shield
I made the mistake of looking at news articles today on my email provider's website.
I made the second mistake of looking at a news media item about the heat shield which the provider had shared.
I made the third mistake, and by far the greatest mistake, of looking at the public's comments on the article. :rolleyes:o_O
 
TheSpaceBucket has a new video out about NASA's concerns for the Orion's heat-shield, launch tower concerns and other things revealed after analysing the Artemis 1 mission results:


Almost four months ago in the middle of November, the Space Launch System lifted off for the first time ever. Over the next few weeks, the rocket, Orion, and various systems would go on to complete over a hundred tests before returning to Earth with a successful splashdown. All this being said, while on the surface the mission went great, not everything went fully according to plan.
The heat shield of Orion for example, an immensely important component, did not perform as expected with reports of excessive material being lost. Something the agency is focusing on with Artemis II scheduled not long from now with humans. They also shared more information on the damage to the ground systems and launch tower. On the other hand, they confirmed that other valuable systems outperformed their expectations.
Right now NASA is trying to prepare for the next mission scheduled to happen in 2024. Based on the results of this initial mission, they confirmed that they are still on track for that launch date. Here I will go more in-depth into Orion’s heat shield concerns, the overall system performance, what to expect in the coming months, and more.

NASA should put on a new heat shield onto Orion if they are concerned about it, they have plenty of time between launch day in 2024 and now to get a new one fitted. I do not want to see another accident like Challenger or Columbia.
 
Being a capsule, that isn't a problem. This thing came in faster than most capsules. Starship tiles on a Mars return? That's more concerning.
 
NASA should put on a new heat shield onto Orion if they are concerned about it, they have plenty of time between launch day in 2024 and now to get a new one fitted.

Is that possible? As far as I know the heat-shield is a long-lead item that assembly needs to start on long before the capsule is built.
 
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As far as I know the heat-shield long-lead item that assembly needs to start on long before the capsule is built.
This doesn't specifically directly answer that, but is related,
The heat shield’s TPS still features the same ablative material called AVCOAT used in Apollo missions, but the building process has changed. Instead of having workers fill 300,000 honeycomb cells one by one with ablative material, then heat-cure the material and machine it to the proper shape, the team now manufactures AVCOAT blocks – just fewer than 200 – that are pre-machined to fit into their positions and bonded in place on the heat shield’s carbon fiber skin.

“It’s a huge improvement that lets us build the heat shield structure and the TPS blocks in parallel, instead of waiting for the structure to arrive and start building the TPS,” explains Damon Erb, Lockheed Martin’s heat shield certified principal engineer who oversees design, development, fabrication, testing and installation of the Orion heat shields. “And it makes the process of putting on the AVCOAT substantially quicker – about a quarter of the time.”
...
So far, the team has built three Orion heat shields and is working on two more. For the future, the team plans to move into a steady production rate for future missions. They have already started on the heat shield for Artemis IV.

With the design improvements and the use of digital tools such as augmented reality in manufacturing, “we get better at building every single one,”
 
I wonder how much the A7Ls cost to design and develop adjusted for inflation?
Partial answer to that,

Note this point in the Smithsonian article, "once helmet, gloves and an oxygen-supplying backpack were added, it was a wearable spacecraft."

Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit Was Made by a Bra Manufacturer
This wearable spacecraft let humans take one giant leap away from Earth
Andrew Chaikin
November 2013
No one knows what Columbus was wearing when he set foot in the New World, but on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took his “one giant leap” onto the Moon, he was clad in this custom-made spacesuit, model A7L, serial number 056. Its cost, estimated at the time as $100,000 (more than $670,000 today), sounds high only if you think of it as couture. In reality, once helmet, gloves and an oxygen-supplying backpack were added, it was a wearable spacecraft. Cocooned within 21 layers of synthetics, neoprene rubber and metalized polyester films, Armstrong was protected from the airless Moon’s extremes of heat and cold (plus 240 Fahrenheit degrees in sunlight to minus 280 in shadow), deadly solar ultraviolet radiation and even the potential hazard of micrometeorites hurtling through the void at 10 miles per second.

And from the following article, NOTE: "Cathleen Lewis: Spacesuits are so expensive because they're complex, human-shaped spacecraft. Think about them in terms of spacecraft, not as work clothes."

What makes NASA spacesuits so expensive?
Andy Ash
Updated
Jul 20, 2021, 1:19 PM
Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: This spacesuit, built in 1974, was reported to cost between $15 million and $22 million. Today, that would be about $150 million. Having not delivered any new mission-ready extravehicular suits since then, NASA is running out of spacesuits. In fact, NASA are down to just four flight-ready EVA suits.

Since 2009, NASA has invested more than $200 million in spacesuit development, recently unveiling the xEMU prototype. But NASA still does not have a new fleet of spacesuits.

So why has it taken so long for new spacesuits to be built? And what makes them so expensive?


Cathleen Lewis: Spacesuits are so expensive because they're complex, human-shaped spacecraft. Think about them in terms of spacecraft, not as work clothes. A spacesuit has to protect an astronaut from the vacuum of space, from radiation coming from the sun and other bodies, and it has to protect against fast-traveling particles that are traveling up to 18,000 miles an hour that could penetrate the suit. They provide oxygen, communications, telemetry, and everything else that a human needs to survive, all rolled into one tiny, human-formed spacecraft.
 
I wonder how much the A7Ls cost to design and develop adjusted for inflation?
Partial answer Part 2:

Following web page gives nice details of suit construction.
And a comprehensive timeline.
With dollar amounts where appropriate and available.


ILC Dover spacesuit used for the Apollo and Skylab programs, operational 1968. Hamilton Standard had overall development responsibility for the Apollo suit and associated portable life support system. A subcontract was awarded to International Latex Corporation for development of this suit.

...

1962 October 5 - .

Contract to Hamilton Standard for development of a space suit for Apollo - . Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: A7L.

NASA signed a $l.55-million contract with Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation and International Latex Corporation for the development of a space suit for the Apollo crewmen. As the prime contractor, Hamilton Standard would have management responsibility for the overall program and would develop a life-support, backpack system to be worn by crewmen during lunar expeditions. International Latex Corporation as subcontractor would fabricate the suit, with Republic Aviation Corporation furnishing human factors information and environmental testing. The suit would allow a crewman greater mobility than previous space suits, enabling him to walk, climb, and bend with relative ease.

...

1964 April 1 - .

Contract for 27 prototype Apollo space suits - . Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: A7L. MSC negotiated a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, valued at $1.65 million, with Hamilton Standard for 27 prototype Apollo space suits and 12 pairs of gloves.

...

1964 November 18 - .

Unmanned testing of Gemini and Apollo space suits - . Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: A1C, A7L, Gemini. Ling-Temco-Vought received a contract from MSC, valued at $365,000, for unmanned testing of Gemini and Apollo space suits in the firm's space environment simulator..

...

1965 February 25 - .

David Clark contracted for Apollo Block I space suits - . Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: A7L. MSC and the David Clark Company reached an agreement on a contract for Apollo Block I space suits. The first suits, expected by July 1, would go to North American for testing..

...

1965 November 5 - .

International Latex to build Apollo space suit, and Hamilton Standard portable life support system - . Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: A7L.

NASA announced that it would negotiate with International Latex Corporation for an estimated $10 million contract to fabricate the Apollo space suit consisting of the liquid-cooled undergarment, constant wear garment, pressure garment assembly, and thermo-micrometeoroid protective overgarment. At the same time an estimated $20 million contract was negotiated with Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation for continued development and manufacture of the portable life support system with a four-hour main power supply subjected to a maximum stowage soak temperature of 328K (130 degrees F).

It all adds up over time.
 
I think it's to prevent a pocket of gas to accumulate before detonating violently.
TomcatVIP has it right. Those are designed to burn off any excess hydrogen that flow through the RS-25s during the start sequence to prevent any fireball occurring at ignition. If you watch video of Delta IV launches, you can see the consequences of large volumes of hydrogen accumulating in the flame trench prior to ignition. There is a significant fireball that envelopes the lower portion of the first stage and in some cases ignites the external insulation of the CBCs. NASA does not want something similar to occur near the base of SLS prior to ignition of the Boosters. Since the RS-25s are significantly closer to the flame trench than their location on the Shuttle stack, it was thought that the upward firing igniters would eliminate the possibility of accumulating hydrogen near the base of the vehicle with the restricted airflow of the launch configuration.
 
Axiom has revealed its suit design.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvIhTZpsERM


NYT:
It’s not a coincidence that along with the Axiom engineers, seamstresses and technology specialists, Esther Marquis, the costume designer for the Apple TV+ series “For All Mankind,” which imagines an alternate narrative for America’s first moon colonies, was also involved in creating the new suit.

A notable feature is that it has a hatch in the back, like the Russian Orlan and a number of recent NASA designs. The black is just a stylistic decision for the presentation. The actual suits will be white.


Screenshot 2023-03-16 at 2.46.57 PM.png
 
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I was wondering.... Black on Black would not have eased spotting any runaway astronauts (if any).

IMOHO, the rotational plan for the arms are too close to the chest to be really comfortable for all body shapes and too far from the torax for all sizes. I am pretty sure that it fits perfectly the average body shape of any male nerds in their office, but I fear that a bodybuilder or a woman with a bit of breast would not be at ease inside.
 
The arms akimbo posture struck me as uncomfortable at first but then I realised that it's close to the equilibrium found in ergonomic studies of astronauts. At 1g it might be a strain, but it's good for microgravity and would probably not be tiresome at 1/6g.

In terms of thorax dimensions and volume, I gather it's meant to be a lot more customisable than existing gear.

 

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Meet the four astronauts who will orbit the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft on their approximately 10-day Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight test and a critical step toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.


NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will reveal the three NASA astronauts and one CSA astronaut during an event at 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT) (15:00 UTC) on Monday, April 3, from NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston.
 
TheSpaceBucket has just posted a new video about the new Artemis spacesuit:


Over half a century ago, multiple manned missions saw astronauts walking, running, jumping, and working on the Moon’s surface. While the spacesuits of that time kept them safe, it’s obvious from the footage alone that they were far from perfect. In Apollo’s case, these suits did what was needed of them, for Artemis however, NASA requires something modern and capable of a sustained lunar presence.
This is why late last year NASA awarded Axiom Space a $228 million task order under an even bigger contract. Just over one week ago, Axiom Space unveiled its design for the future of human exploration in space. Specifically, the new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit prototype was revealed, with a full fleet of training spacesuits to be delivered to NASA by late this summer.
As far as upgrades, the new suit offers a host of features meant to facilitate a safe and efficient future on the Moon. Here I will go more in-depth into exactly what this spacesuit has to offer, the problem with past models, its application on the Moon, and more.
 
NASA has just uploaded a mini-documentary about Artemis-1:


On Nov. 16, 2022, NASA made history with the launch of our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft – our newest transportation system that will return humans to the Moon. Relive the powerful moment SLS rumbled away from Earth, beginning Orion’s three-week test flight around the Moon, and watch as we document Orion’s splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, closing the first chapter in America’s next deep space exploration story.
 
TheSpaceBucket has just posted a video about NASA's upcoming Gateway space-station to orbit the Moon:


The last time humans went to the Moon during the Apollo missions, they were very limited technology and a lack of systems in place to support the expeditions. This affected where they could land, how long they could stay, what equipment would be brought with them, etc. On Artemis however, for the first time, we will see a dedicated Moon space station named Gateway.
Much smaller than the International Space Station, this Moon orbiting outpost will provide core functions to keep astronauts healthy and thriving. Taking a look at the inside of Gateway, and you will find some unique systems and a small area, especially at the beginning. Over time, NASA and its partners plan to expand this station with more segments and technology.
For the first missions, astronauts are expected to be exposed to somewhat of a cramped area with only so much room for movement and tasks. Here I will go more in-depth into what life inside the station will be like, how it compares to other space stations, its importance for humans’ return to the Moon, and more.
 
PBS America has put out a documentary about the return of people to the Moon:


Fifty years after humans first set foot on the Moon, new scientific discoveries are fueling excitement for a return to the lunar surface - this time, to stay. Join the scientists and engineers working to make life on the Moon a reality.
About PBS America: Welcome to PBS America, a British TV channel from America’s public service broadcaster, PBS, showcasing award-winning American history, science, current affairs, plus arts and culture shows alongside the works of living legend Ken Burns, output is all hand-picked by a British team.
 

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