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| EMU (space suit) | |
|---|---|
| Name | EMU |
| Country | United States |
| Manufacturer | ILC Dover / NASA |
| Applications | Extravehicular activity |
| Status | Active / retired components |
| Firstflight | 1983 |
EMU (space suit)
The Extravehicular Mobility Unit is a United States extravehicular activity pressure suit developed for operations on Space Shuttle missions, Mir logistics, and the International Space Station, integrating modular components for long-duration EVA tasks on Hubble Space Telescope servicing and ISS Expedition construction. The suit evolved through collaborative programs involving NASA, ILC Dover, Hamilton Sundstrand, and contractors supporting missions such as STS-41C, STS-61, and STS-88 to provide protection against vacuum, micrometeoroids, thermal extremes, and orbital debris.
The Extravehicular Mobility Unit originated as a successor to the Apollo A7L and Skylab suits, designed for microgravity operations during Space Shuttle flights and later adapted for long-duration work on the International Space Station and servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope, enabling astronauts from NASA Astronaut Corps, Roscosmos cosmonauts in joint operations, and international partners aboard Expedition 1 and subsequent expeditions to perform construction, maintenance, and scientific tasks. The EMU architecture emphasizes modularity influenced by predecessors like the Soviet Orlan suit and concurrent research at institutions such as the Johnson Space Center and Marshall Space Flight Center.
The EMU comprises a hard upper torso derived from industrial composite work by ILC Dover and service subsystems from Hamilton Sundstrand with interfaces standardized by NASA engineering teams at the Johnson Space Center. Primary components include the Hard Upper Torso, Lower Torso Assembly, Portable Life Support System backpack, Display and Control Module, pressure garment layers constructed with fabrics supplied by firms working with Lockheed Martin programs, and gloves tailored for dexterity tested with tools used on Hubble Space Telescope servicing and ISS assembly tasks. Redundant systems and connectors are traceable to standards developed during cooperation with contractors who supported STS mission integration at Kennedy Space Center and JSC test facilities.
The Portable Life Support System uses regenerative oxygen, carbon dioxide removal with lithium hydroxide and molecular sieve technologies evaluated in programs at Ames Research Center and thermal control architectures informed by research from Goddard Space Flight Center and Langley Research Center. Cooling is achieved with a sublimator and a liquid cooling garment developed with specialist suppliers working with NASA Glenn Research Center concepts; pressure regulation, telemetry, and power systems interface with avionics standards from Johnson Space Center operations and mission control communication links with Mission Control Center in Houston. Suit environmental monitoring, suit telemetry, and contingency protocols were coordinated with Flight Crew Operations Directorate procedures for EVA timelines used on STS-61 and Expedition missions.
Development traces to post-Apollo program initiatives and lessons from Skylab and Salyut collaborations, with prime manufacturing by ILC Dover and subsystem contracts to Hamilton Sundstrand under NASA procurement overseen by the Johnson Space Center flight hardware branch. Major milestones include qualification tests at National Institute of Standards and Technology-level facilities, first operational use on STS-41C, adaptations for long-duration ISS operations during STS-88 activation, and iterative upgrades driven by experiences from servicing missions such as STS-61 to repair the Hubble Space Telescope optics and later STS-125.
EMU suits supported critical operations including construction of the International Space Station, logistics on Mir during Shuttle-Mir programs, and multiple Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions involving astronauts from the NASA Astronaut Corps and international partners from agencies like ESA and JAXA. EMU use was scheduled and controlled through timelines coordinated by Mission Control Center teams during STS missions and long-duration Expedition EVAs, with checklist-driven procedures developed by the Flight Crew Operations Directorate and tested at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and other facilities.
Astronaut training for EMU operations took place at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Johnson Space Center, with procedures refined through simulations at the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, mission rehearsals at Kennedy Space Center, and coordination with flight surgeons from JSC Medical Office and operational planners at Mission Control Center. Crews from the NASA Astronaut Corps, international partners from ESA Astronaut Corps, and visiting JAXA and Roscosmos personnel practiced tool usage, contingency response, tether management, and suit donning/doffing procedures with checklists from Flight Crew Operations Directorate and lessons learned from historic EVAs such as those during STS-61 and Expedition 5.
Operational incidents prompted investigations led by NASA and engineering teams at Johnson Space Center and contractors including ILC Dover and Hamilton Sundstrand; notable events during servicing missions and ISS EVAs led to glove redesigns, life-support modifications, and procedural changes informed by anomaly reports stored in NASA Technical Reports Server archives. Modifications implemented across EMU inventories addressed wear from micrometeoroid impacts observed in ISS imagery, contamination concerns noted after joint operations with Mir, and hardware life-extension efforts aligned with mission-approval processes at Mission Control Center and Flight Crew Operations Directorate.
Category:Space suit