Astronauts’ Spacesuits

The first astronauts wore spacesuits throughout their missions. These suits were developed from the pressure suits worn by high-altitude fliers to combat the effects of altitude. The first astronaut to test a spacesuit outside a spacecraft was Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. In 1965, he stepped outside his Voskhod 2 orbiter and spent 24 minutes of extra­vehicular activity (EVA), linked to his spacecraft by two lines.

Today, Space Shuttle astronauts and Space Station crews are either tethered by a line to their spacecraft or have their boots locked into place on a robotic arm. They can also use a jetpack system called a simplified aid for EVA rescue (SAFER). First tested in 1994, the unit

can propel astronauts back to safety in emergencies—if they became untethered, for example.

Modern spacesuits have interchange­able parts in different sizes so suits can be adjusted to fit each astronaut. The Moon suits used by the Apollo astro­nauts were more comfortable than the first spacesuits because the Moon suits introduced rubberized joints that made walking and bending easier. The modern spacesuit, designed for floating rather than walking, is made of layers of syn­thetic materials—such as Kevlar, Teflon, and Dacron—with an outer skin of Teflon-coated glass fiber. The layers shield out harmful radiation and protect against the risk of puncture by dust par­ticles flying in space.

Temperatures in space are extreme: 250°F (121°C) in sun, and a freezing -250°F (-157°C) in shadow. An internal cooling system circulates water through tubes inside the spacesuit, while the suit’s heating elements prevent the astronaut from freezing when working in shadow. A gold-coated sun visor in the helmet shields the astronaut’s eyes from the sun’s glare, and flashlights on the helmet can be switched on to give extra light when working outside the spacecraft.

■i^r^

NOTABLE ASTRONAUTS

John H. Glenn was the first American in orbit (1962) and, at age seventy-seven, the oldest person to go into space (1998).

Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first people to set foot on the Moon (1969).

John W. Young and Robert L.

Crippen made the first Space Shuttle flight (1981).

Guion S. Bluford was the first African American astronaut (1983).

Sally Ride was the first female U. S. astronaut (1983).

Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to make an EVA (1984).

Jake Garn, U. S. senator, was the first politician in space (1985).

Valeriy Poliyarkov stayed in space a record 437 days (1986-1987).

Mae Jemison was the first female African American astronaut (1992).

Bill Shepherd was the first U. S. astronaut to crew the International Space Station (2000).

________________________ .____________________ J

——————————————————————–

SEE ALSO:

• Apollo Program • Armstrong,

Neil • Challenger and Columbia

• Gagarin, Yuri • Glenn, John

• International Space Station

• Ride, Sally • Spaceflight

_____________________________________________ /