What Not to Wear

SPACESUITS AND RESCUE EQUIPMENT 

In the old days, spacesuits were tailor-made for each astronaut, a time-consuming and expensive process. Now only the gloves are custom-fitted. The Shuttle spacesuit is made in small, medium, and large sizes, and can be worn by either men or women. The suit comes with an upper and lower torso, equivalent to a shirt and trousers, and the two pieces snap together with seal rings. A life- support system comes built into the upper torso. All earlier versions had separate support systems that had to be connected to the suits.

The Shuttle spacesuit is lighter, more durable, and easier to move about in than its predecessors. It is only used for an extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the crew cabin. The astronauts wore pressure suits, of the kind worn by military jet pilots, during early test flights. Now they wear regular clothing.

Only two spacesuits are normally carried on a flight. If a transfer from one vehicle to another should be necessary in the future, personal rescue enclosures are available for the remaining crew members. These are 83.36 centimeter (34-inch) diameter (when pressurized) spheres, each containing life support and communications gear.

In an emergency in space that required abandoning the orbiter, two astronauts would don the spacesuits and, if needed, the Manned Maneuvering Units (MMUs). The latter have built-in propulsion systems. The rest would enter the personal rescue enclosures. The two suited astronauts would transfer their crewmates to the rescue ship. This could be accomplished by rigging a pulley and clothesline device between the two vessels, using the Canadarm Remote Manipulator System, or physically towing the enclosures through space with the power of the MMUs.