SpaceX Is Working On A Spacesuit Meant For Spacewalks
A spacesuit is a complex and necessary piece of equipment for astronauts. There are many different types of spacesuits that each serve a specific purpose. SpaceX’s current suit is very popular thanks to its use in unique missions and its stylish design. However, this spacesuit is not meant for the harsh conditions of space. This is why the company is working on a new spacesuit that can be used for future spacewalks and more.
Recently SpaceX announced the Polaris Program and the upcoming mission into orbit once again on the Dragon capsule. Among many interesting aspects of the mission, one that stood out was the goal to have the first commercial spacewalk. To make this a reality SpaceX is developing an EVA spacesuit that can safely and conveniently protect the astronauts inside.
Spacesuits have a lot of different jobs. This includes not only providing oxygen for the astronaut, but also protecting them from the long list of dangers that space exposes them to. Some examples are radiation, heat, cold, pressure, just to name a few. SpaceX will need to consider each one of these factors along with the goal of upcoming missions when working on their next-generation spacesuit.
Spacesuit Needs
As I mentioned prior, a spacesuit is an immensely complex, expensive, and vital piece of equipment. There are different types with arguably the most challenging being an EVA suit, which stands for extravehicular activity. In this case, the spacesuit is practically a small spaceship designed specifically for each astronaut. Some of the dangers an astronaut faces when doing a spacewalk include radiation, dust, debris, and extreme temperatures. Temperatures on spacewalks may vary from as cold as minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit to as hot as 250 degrees in the sunlight. The suits provide the proper pressure for the body and supply astronauts with water to drink and oxygen to breathe. NASA points out that “The two main parts of a spacewalk spacesuit are the pressure garment and the life support system. The pressure garment is the human-shaped portion of the spacesuit that protects the body and enables mobility.” This is a very important aspect because as you pressurize the suit it can have a big impact on mobility. For this reason among others, EVA spacesuits are specially designed to ensure that astronauts have enough mobility to complete general tasks.
Looking at SpaceX’s case, they plan to make an EVA spacesuit that will safely allow multiple astronauts to complete the first commercial spacewalk. While this goal entails different challenges and requirements to NASA for example, we can compare the two and get a good idea of some of the necessities the SpaceX developed suit will have. It’s also important to point out that SpaceX when mentioning the new suit has also pointed out the future need for similar spacesuits for the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This would encourage the company to work towards a design that could be built upon and used for daily operations in the future. Specifically, SpaceX said, “Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require thousands of spacesuits; the development of this suit and the execution of the EVA will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions.” This suggests that despite the mission requirements of the upcoming commercial spacewalk, SpaceX will be working towards a fully operational and high-quality EVA spacesuit for future widespread use.
What SpaceX Has Told Us
There are a few graphics and information that SpaceX provided that give us a good idea of the future of a SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuit. The first is a quote where SpaceX mentioned that the “crew will attempt the first-ever commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) with SpaceX-designed extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits, upgraded from the current intravehicular (IVA) suit.” The most important piece from this quote revolves around the EVA suit being the result of an upgrade of the current intravehicular suit. A lot of people are well aware of SpaceX’s current suit. This is worn by any astronauts during any mission involving the Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9. While not meant for spacewalks, it provides cooling along with multiple safety features in case of an emergency or something going wrong.
We have seen this suit used countless times and it has become quite popular due to its sleek design and unique look. Because SpaceX is upgraded the current suit rather than starting from scratch, we can make some assumptions regarding the future design and features. The other piece provided by SpaceX which helps give us an idea of the future EVA suit is from a graphic. Specifically, a graphic provided by SpaceX shows the Dragon capsule in orbit, with an astronaut floating next to the spacecraft. Here you can see some unique features including a gold visor, and an umbilical connection to the astronaut and the interior of the Dragon spacecraft. These two differences are practically the only ones visible from the current IVA suit that SpaceX has designed and uses. Describing NASA’s spacesuit they mention, “On top of the protective visor are the sun visor and sun shades. The sun visor has a special gold coating that works like the astronaut’s sunglasses. Together, the movable sun visor and sun shades protect the astronaut from the sun’s strong rays, while still allowing a clear visual field.” This will be very likely on a future SpaceX EVA suit. The next major difference is the umbilical and lack of a life support system.
Once again looking at NASA’s EVA suit, a large life support system is present at the back of the suit. This backpack contains the oxygen that astronauts breathe and that pressurizes the suit. A regulator in the backpack keeps the suit at the correct pressure. A fan circulates oxygen through the suit and life support system where the carbon dioxide that astronauts exhale is removed from the suit. The backpack provides electricity for the suit and holds a two-way radio for communication. The backpack also contains water for the cooling garment, a chiller to cool the water, and a pump that circulates the chilled water. It’s possible for SpaceX’s initial commercial spacewalk mission they work to try and provide some of these necessities through an umbilical rather than multiple life support systems attached to the suit itself. The current Intravehicular suit already has a lot of key features such as communication. On this specific Polaris Dawn mission, one of the key objectives is in-space communications. The Polaris Dawn crew will be the first crew to test Starlink laser-based communications in space, providing valuable data for future space communications systems necessary for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Communication is an invaluable asset during different missions in space. Even for a commercial spacewalk, the astronauts will need to have constant communication with each other and Earth.
Conclusion
With the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, SpaceX has announced it will be working towards the first commercial spacewalk. This will consist of multiple astronauts leaving the Dragon capsule and being exposed to the space environment. Aiming for no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2022, SpaceX has a lot of work. They are working to upgrade the current IVA suit into an EVA suit that can withstand all the danger of space. We have an idea of some of the changes and designs SpaceX will use, but we are not certain. We will have to wait and see exactly what SpaceX comes up with and the impact this suit has on future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.