Talk:Z series space suits

Info
"The Z-1 suit weighs 154 pounds with the suitport interface plate (SIP) and 126 pounds without the SIP. It is designed for operation at 8.3 psid."

The Z-1 is part of the Advanced Exploration Systems' Advance Extravehicular Mobility Unit suit project.(Suitport Feasibility, Page.6) The "Advanced EMU" is sometimes referred to as the "Exploration Suit". "The Z-1 Suit is the first in a series of iteratively developed space suits, referred to as the Z-series."(Suitport Feasibility, Page.5)

"AEMU is an EVA specific design, not a combined LEA and EVA system like the Apollo EMU but more like the Shuttle/ISS EMU. This assumption holds greater impact for the SSA than the PLSS, but does have implications for the PLSS enabling for optimizations of the system package because the Secondary Oxygen Assembly (SOA) does not need to be modular to support a LEA configuration EVA suit as it did in the initial Operations Concepts(8) for the Constellation Program (CxP).

AEMU is capable of performing for 8hrs in fully autonomous mode. This is longer than the original configurations of the Apollo EMU prior to the -7 PLSS which was extended to this length in capability for Apollo 15-17. It is also longer than the original Shuttle EMU capability of 7hrs which was extended to 8hrs as the Shuttle/ISS EMU.

AEMU is capable of performing 100 EVAs during mission operations. This number was originally driven by the CxP Lunar scenarios which assumed as many as 100 EVAs over a 6 month period on the Lunar surface. The number has remained but is not considered a driving requirement given the current phase of AEMU development; the hardware capabilities will be assessed and the 100 EVA may be reduced at some point in the future. The 100 EVA goal, is challenging and significantly higher than the current Shuttle/ISS EMU certification of 25 EVAs between invasive maintenance on the ground."

http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120009158

ISS demo is now listed as 2019.--Craigboy (talk) 07:18, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

Technology Development Efforts For An Exploration Spacesuit(Pg.23)--Craigboy (talk) 10:55, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d__xlXqYFZc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH93FSS8ZOQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tDuwIu_b9g

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151367799238999

--Craigboy (talk) 07:46, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Z-2
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nasa-awards-z-2-spacesuit-163500282.html

http://www.ilcdover.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=trees.treePage&p=20006-292-20007

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnfull/20130425/PH01942

--Craigboy (talk) 13:12, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

The Z-2 prototype suit is expected to be delivered in November 2014. In 2015 it's expected to be tested in a human-rated vacuum chamber (Space Environment Simulation Laboratory?) and the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. This is leading to a human-rated thermal/vacuum chamber test of a full suit (pressure garment and portable life support system) in 2020. AMA seems to hint that the ISS test may be off.--Craigboy (talk) 09:59, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

"There are many key advances to be found in the Z-2 suit. The most significant is that the Z-1 had a soft upper torso while the Z-2 has a hard composite upper torso. This composite hard upper torso provides the much-needed long-term durability that a planetary EVA suit will require. The shoulder and hip designs are significantly different based on extensive evaluations we have performed over the last two years with the Z-1 to look at different ways of optimizing mobility of these complex joints. Lastly, the boots are much closer in nature to those that would be found on a flight ready model, and the materials used on the Z-2 are compatible with a full vacuum environment." "The Z-2 has the following mobility features in the lower torso: --waist bearing --waist flexion/extension joint (sit up motion) --Hip bearing --soft hip joint --upper leg arms --ankle bearing --walking boot. We are also improving upper body mobility by placing the suit shoulders closer to the human shoulder and reducing don/doff (putting the suit on and taking it off) injury potential by having a rear-entry configuration."

"The biggest factor that plays into the weight of the suit is the metal components such as bearings. Z-2 will have more bearings (like hip and leg bearings) than the EMU but we’re currently testing the compatibility of titanium in oxygen systems which provides significant weight reduction compared to stainless steel bearings used in the EMU. We’ve also tested composite bearings in the past but additional development is needed."

It's expected to weight less than the current EMU. Computer analyses estimate the Z-2 pressure garment will weigh approximately 135 lbs.

"Well, we were in our office trying to decide what to call the new suit we were building. My mentor had suits in the "Mark" series. Other heritage prototype suits were called "RX", "AX", "Litton", and more. 'X' is often used for 'exploration'. We wanted a new designation and were throwing out ideas. "What about 'Z'?" said our intern. We liked it and, hence, the Z-1 was born. Zaida, our intern, was pleased."

"We are working on design for the display and controls right now. We've done some preliminary testing with different hardware configurations. Glenn Research Center (GRC) is the lead on that hardware. It will likely be mounted on the chest of the suit, because there really isn't any other place to put them. In field testing of the suit, we have tried out voice command, arm mounted controls, mouse based systems, soft (fabric) switches and several other concepts."

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140004810.pdf

"As of March 2014 following completion of the Z-2 pre-fabrication review contractual milestone, the Z-2 design was approved for fabrication. Component fabrication is to occur from March through July, with a dependency on the White Sands Test Facility titanium bearing test results. Component level assembly is planned to occur in August and suit assembly takes place in September. The suit is delivered in 2014 after the successful completion of requirement verification testing. A success-oriented schedule places 11’ foot chamber tests, ambient and vacuum, in April and May of 2015, respectively. Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory testing will be performed in August 2015. Subsequent ICES papers will discuss the Z-2 prototype performance and the major conclusions from testing."

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140003571.pdf

"The operational goal for the AEMU is for 100 EVAs at 8 hours each amounting to 800 hours of TCS use. The useful life of the AEMU PLSS is set at 10 years without refurbishment." http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140009382.pdf

Z-2 Prototype Space Suit Development (July 2014)

Pictures of the Z-2
| Suit at daylight

| Suit at night

| Description of some technical aspects

Sources:

--JanB1605 (talk) 19:36, 28 February 2015 (UTC)

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