Spacesuits don’t usually have rigid joints, likely for weight reasons. It’s typically a rubber garment strapped together with something called the restraint layer (prevents it from ballooning outwards) this makes it difficult to move in, like inflating a surgical glove before doing surgery, but it’s industry standard for now
In the future we might see a switch to mechanical counter pressure garments, which exert the needed pressure without using an atmosphere (like a tight compression garment), but the tech isn’t quite there yet
Yea the shielding is for ionizing radiation, but also thermal radiation (insulation), but the thin layers stacked on top of each other function as a rudimentary whipple shield to halt micrometeors
I'm pretty sure the new suits (that were being developed by collins I think?) have rigid joints.
where do you get your info from? have you worked with spacesuits?
also, I don't expect suits to provide any protection from ionizing radiation, I don't think it's possible to meet both mobility and shielding requirements; the physics don't allow it
Yeah, the more modern ones have more in the way of joints, but all current operational emus have none
You don’t ever need to block ALL radiation, but even then, a few layers of Mylar do a decent job at reducing it
I haven’t worked directly with spacesuits (yet), but have more of a hobby with them, but have had a chance to view several up close and speak with those who work on them
That being said, I don’t specialize in the older style of pressure bladders or even rigid jointing, I’m mainly interested in mechanical counterpressure as an option
Sorry for the rambling, I just think spacesuits are neat:)
I haven’t, most of my knowledge actually comes from some VERY old nasa papers on the subject, and the few modern projects attempting it. Still plenty of issues left to solve, but certainly the move for most future suits.
Currently, the single hardest issue is donning/doffing the damn thing, since by necessity it MUST be tight, and must never fail in a way that prevents it from being tight. Once I stop procrastinating I’ll talk to the memory metal guy at NASA (I’m sure there’s multiple but I’ve only met one), to see if there’s anything that fits the profile I need
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u/Street-Conclusion-99 20h ago
Spacesuits don’t usually have rigid joints, likely for weight reasons. It’s typically a rubber garment strapped together with something called the restraint layer (prevents it from ballooning outwards) this makes it difficult to move in, like inflating a surgical glove before doing surgery, but it’s industry standard for now
In the future we might see a switch to mechanical counter pressure garments, which exert the needed pressure without using an atmosphere (like a tight compression garment), but the tech isn’t quite there yet
Yea the shielding is for ionizing radiation, but also thermal radiation (insulation), but the thin layers stacked on top of each other function as a rudimentary whipple shield to halt micrometeors