EETimes - Apollo - July 20, 2009 - 27

Te a r d o w n : S p a c e s u i t Three companies entered the competition, and ILC Industries (now ILC Dover) and its original AX5-L soft suit emerged as the prime contractor. The suits flown to the moon were later designated A7-L and A7LB. Subcontractor Hamilton Standard continued to make the life support systems, including the Apollo backpack known as the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). Another subcontractor, AirLock Corp., made the fittings that connected the suit to the PLSS. According to Amanda Young, the Smithsonian Institute curator who for more than two decades has preserved the suits worn on the moon by the Apollo astronauts, the price of each suit jumped from about $100,000, not including R&D costs, for the early suits to as much as $250,000 for later versions as NASA incorporated changes, mostly to improve mobility. Today, the suits that 27 EE Times | Apollo | July 20, 2009 were worn on the moon are considered “priceless,” Young said. The AL-7 suits worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and by the Apollo 12 and 14 astronauts weighed 56 pounds, 189 pounds with the PLSS. The 26-layer suits included Teflon-coated Beta cloth, Mylar, Dacron, Kapton and a woven stainless steel mesh called ChromelR that provided protection against abrasion and micrometeorites. Later suits were slightly lighter. In her book, “Spacesuits,” Young notes that unlike the pressure-sealing zippers used on earlier Gemini suits, the Apollo suit had a much more complex inner restraint system that kept the suit from “ballooning.” This including nylon components and steel cables and neoprene joints designed to make the suits more flexible. The suits also included an inside “restraint” zipper to reduce internal pressure. The suit connections included blue “good air” and red “bad air” connectors and a blue electrical connector, along with a diverter valve. An internal suit pressure gauge was placed on the left wrist. A second set of good/bad air connectors and a water port allowed the astronauts to connect to the lunar module’s life support system during cabin depres-

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576874982?ie=UTF8&tag=collectspace&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1576874982

EETimes - Apollo - July 20, 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EETimes - Apollo - July 20, 2009