# New NASA spacesuits **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050 "2020-04-04T12:47:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/1 "2020-04-04T12:47:44Z")
They look very different , much lighter than in the past and the helmet design seems lighter too. NASA is planning the first US manned launch for May > **[Photos: Astronauts train to ride a Dragon into space – Spaceflight Now](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/03/photos-astronauts-train-to-ride-a-dragon-into-space/)** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/2 "2020-04-04T17:23:14Z")
Those are SpaceX’s suits. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/3 "2020-04-04T17:36:12Z")
yes but clearly NASA had to approve them and probably set the specs for what is needed. Also they are going back to the NASA “worm” logo for Spacex launch next month: [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-worm-is-back](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-worm-is-back) NASA used orange suits for a while on the shuttle but maybe Spacex wanted to go back to the old white design. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/4 "2020-04-04T18:29:05Z")
[Here is a picture of three different flight suits.](https://i.redd.it/e1emys3s3xs31.jpg) One designed by SpaceX (Dragon), one by Boeing (Starliner), and one by NASA (Orion). Looks like NASA still likes the orange. Sure, NASA had to approve everything, but each company was generally free to create their own spacecraft and their own environmental control systems. The suits are designed specifically for integration into those systems. They’re not interchangeable. So an astronaut can’t wear a SpaceX suit on a Startliner flight, for instance. The SpaceX suit was actually designed by the Hollywood costume designer responsible for Captain America’s outfit, among others. I think if you want your spacesuit to look cool, that’s the best way to go about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/5 "2020-04-04T18:31:11Z")
maybe the orange is designed to be easy to see if they end up in the water? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/6 "2020-04-04T18:34:39Z")
I still like the idea used in _Destination Moon_, of having each astronaut’s suit be a different bright color to make them more easily identified. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/7 "2020-04-04T19:03:00Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > maybe the orange is designed to be easy to see if they end up in the water? The Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) system is blaze orange for general visibility. They are only worn for ascent and descent (there is a separate Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suit used for extravehicular activities) and have provisions to be easily spotted by rescuers in the unlikely event of an abort and egress that leaves a surviving astronaut. The SpaceX suit looks like…a joke. Unlike the NASA and Boeing suits that have bellows to allow the suit to flex even when pressurized, adjustments to assure that the suit can be individually fitted to different body types, attach ports for conditioned air, and pockets and straps to place small items that would otherwise float away, as well as gauntlets and helmets with positive locking rings. The SpaceX suit looks like a fancy track suit with no functional features whatsoever and helmet borrowed over from a Daft Punk cover band. I guess if you want your spacesuit to look cool you get whatever costume designer is the current Edith Head. If you want to actually survive in the case of loss of pressure, I think I’d go with the NASA suit because they’ve been working with the David Clark Company for decades to develop and improve that suit, and that manufacturer has been providing pressure suits since the X-15 and Gemini programs. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/8 "2020-04-04T19:06:46Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > maybe the orange is designed to be easy to see if they end up in the water? That is exactly why they use it. International Orange stands out against all kinds of terrain, including (and perhaps, especially) the ocean. The fact that the commercial crew flight suits are _not_ orange is indicative that NASA was minimally involved in the SpaceX suit design. Otherwise, I’m sure they would have required that the suit be orange. The orange suits are only for use inside the spacecraft, though. The suits for use outside of the spacecraft are still white. Even the new Artemis suit is mostly white. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/9 "2020-04-04T19:56:14Z")
I assume if NASA wanted orange they would have required SpaceX to use orange. NASA went to orange in 1994. > **[Advanced Crew Escape Suit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Crew_Escape_Suit)** > > The Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES), or "pumpkin suit", is a full pressure suit that Space Shuttle crews began wearing after STS-65, for the ascent and entry portions of flight. The suit is a direct descendant of the U.S. Air Force high-altitude pressure suits worn by the two-man crews of the SR-71 Blackbird, pilots of the U-2 and X-15, and Gemini pilot-astronauts, and the Launch Entry Suits (LES) worn by NASA astronauts starting on the STS-26 flight, the first flight after the Challenger di ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/10 "2020-04-04T20:24:36Z")
The blue suit has Superman-style short shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/11 "2020-04-04T20:26:02Z")
they can also hunt in the orange suits. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/12 "2020-04-04T22:25:11Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I assume if NASA wanted orange they would have required SpaceX to use orange. NASA went to orange in 1994. > > [Advanced Crew Escape Suit - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Crew_Escape_Suit) That’s not true. They’ve used orange since the beginning of the Shuttle program. The first few missions used orange flight suits adopted from the US Air Force’s SR-71 flight suits. After that, it was the orange Launch-Entry Suit (LES), and then, finally, the orange Advanced Crew Escape Suit shown in your link. The ACES came over a decade after NASA had already “went to orange”. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/13 "2020-04-04T22:46:22Z")
they wore blue suits in 1983 [Sally Ride: AMERICA'S FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE -- JUNE 18, 1983 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49eI_IaUlM) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/14 "2020-04-04T22:55:55Z")
a video that shows more of the suits here [Video: Astronauts participate in Crew Dragon launch day dress rehearsal – Spaceflight Now](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/03/video-astronauts-participate-in-crew-dragon-launch-day-dress-rehearsal/) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/15 "2020-04-04T23:45:52Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > they wore blue suits in 1983 > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49eI\_IaUlM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49eI_IaUlM) Those are not pressure suits; those are just Nomex flight suits with an escape hardness\* and a clamshell helmet that can attach to the Personal Egress Air Pack (PEAP). This was prior to the STS-26 “Return to Flight” mission that followed the _Challenger_ disaster when it was assumed that the STS was sufficiently reliable that egress in flight would never be necessary. (And frankly, the Inflight Crew Escape System was so implausible that wearing the pressure suits was really more of a publicity stunt that any practical measure of protection except against a cabin air leak.) > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > a video that shows more of the suits here [Video: Astronauts participate in Crew Dragon launch day dress rehearsal – Spaceflight Now](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/03/video-astronauts-participate-in-crew-dragon-launch-day-dress-rehearsal/) I’m even less impressed. The gloves appear to have a zipper seal and then a backup wrist seal similar to what you would find on a drysuit There is no way that can hold more than a couple PSI of positive internal pressure differential, so either the plan is to freeflow pure oxygen at enough volume to keep the suit inflated or the suit simply cannot tolerate full vacuum and is only good for preventing astronauts from breathing contaminated air, which seems more likely as it has no inlet connectors for either air or coolant. That is a “space suit” in the same way that a t-shirt with a bow-tie printed on it is a tuxedo. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/16 "2020-04-05T00:03:19Z")
I laughed when I saw they were riding to the launch site in a Tesla. Guess that was pretty predictable . Also it was funny that almost everyone had a mask on except the photo guy, I guess he thought it would hinder taking photos. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/17 "2020-04-05T00:13:17Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > That is exactly why they use it. International Orange stands out against all kinds of terrain, including (and perhaps, especially) the ocean. Yes, but if they crash into the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s all over. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/18 "2020-04-05T00:21:22Z")
BTW I saw the first shuttle flight they wore gold/orange suits. I guess sometime before 83 they switched to the blue suits that were not space suits. Another funny thing about the Spacex suits was they seemed to be wearing rain boots. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/19 "2020-04-05T02:39:18Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > which seems more likely as it has no inlet connectors for either air or coolant. Not true, if [Everyday Astronaut](https://everydayastronaut.com/up-close-and-personal-with-spacexs-space-suit/) is to be believed. The life support connections are behind a [panel on the thigh](https://everydayastronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SpaceX-00553.jpg). Unfortunately, the actual port isn’t shown, but these shots were from a couple years ago and they may not have finalized the design then. Really though, NASA isn’t going to approve the suits unless they meet some basic standard of functionality. They’ve been deeply involved in the Crew Dragon development, which is entirely appropriate since they’re putting a lot of money into it and the lives of their own astronauts. The suits are obviously capable of handling a depressurization event. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050/20 "2020-04-05T03:13:54Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Not true, if [Everyday Astronaut](https://everydayastronaut.com/up-close-and-personal-with-spacexs-space-suit/) is to be believed. The life support connections are behind a [panel on the thigh](https://everydayastronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SpaceX-00553.jpg). Unfortunately, the actual port isn’t shown, but these shots were from a couple years ago and they may not have finalized the design then. Well, this gets better and better. Ports concealed behind on a panel behind a panel on the thigh? Why not just stick it in the small of the back? How are astronauts supposed to move around in the event of a depressurization event or toxic fume leak with a pair of hoses sticking out of their leg? > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Really though, NASA isn’t going to approve the suits unless they meet some basic standard of functionality. They’ve been deeply involved in the Crew Dragon development, which is entirely appropriate since they’re putting a lot of money into it and the lives of their own astronauts. The suits are obviously capable of handling a depressurization event. I have had far less confidence in NASA’s Human Space Flight program over the past few years and especially after the Boeing Starliner failure where it is clear they did little oversight and left it up to their contractor to assure that all critical integration and software testing was performed. I am less than sanguine about your pronouncement of the ability of these ‘fashion’ suits to protect astronauts in a depress or toxic environment. Things that are functional look functional. That is why existing space suits have pockets and bellows and air and coolant ports in easy to access locations, even if they aren’t sexy and streamlined. This suit looks like something out of an animation made by somebody who has never actually worked in any kind of protective gear, much less an environment suit. Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nasa-spacesuits/851050.md?page=2)