This summer, with a delay of about two years, the first mission of SpaceX’s Polaris program, called Polaris Dawn. It will be a special mission since, for the first time, an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) will be carried out during a private expedition.
To do this, SpaceX had to develop special suits, as those used so far on board the Dragon only serve to ensure the survival of the astronauts inside the capsule. Yesterday, May 4, SpaceX showed these new suits for the first time. Here’s what we know so far.
The Polaris program will consist of a total of three missions, the last of which will take place aboard a human transport Starship. This new program aims to test the technologies that will be used for the development of Starship.
The suits are therefore part of the instrumentation necessary for the future exploration of the Moon and Mars and SpaceX, to independently explore space, has decided to develop its own version. The suits used for Polaris Dawn are indeed only a first versionsince they are not totally autonomous: they depend on Dragon’s life support systems.
The Polaris Dawn spacewalk
The development of these suits is what caused the major delays, leading to several delays in the mission’s departure. The suits will be worn by all four astronauts from the start, thus avoiding having to carry two versions.
During one Spaces held on X, the four astronauts announced that one of their future plans is to have only one suit for the Dragon. Already from the Crew-6 mission, the company has implemented some improvements to the IVA (IntraVehicular Activity) suits, following the studies conducted on those for EVA.
The Polaris Dawn mission is expected to last about five days and will be divided into several phases. Dragon will be released into an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 140 km and apogee of 1200 km. Using the capsule’s Draco engines, they will reach amaximum height of 1400 km, which they will maintain for about seven orbits. It will be the moment when Human Beings will be furthest from Earth since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
During this first phase the objective of the mission is to obtain data on the behavior of the capsule and all the different infrastructures following exposure to radiation. Subsequently, Dragon will lower its altitude, to move into a circular orbit at 700 km altitude, where the EVA will take place.
The extravehicular activity will last a total of approximately two hours, also considering the times to depressurize and subsequently repressurize the Dragon. In fact, not having an airlock, the entire capsule will be depressurized, exposing the entire crew to the space environment. However, only two astronauts will leave Dragon, thanks to a device called Skywalker placed on the front door. Here they will have the opportunity to collect data on the behavior of the suit in real conditions.
SpaceX has already carried out ground tests, simulating the different phases in a huge vacuum chamber in which they placed the Dragon with mannequins wearing the suits.
A look at the suits
The design of the new EVA suits is very similar to that of the IVA suits, but the internal structure has many differences. They had to develop new materials for temperature management, so that the suit is resistant but also comfortable. For this purpose, they have developed gods joints to facilitate movement even while the suit is pressurized.
The main difficulties in developing a space suit for use in outer space concern movements, made more complex by internal pressure, which tends to stiffen it. For the boots of the new suit, SpaceX also used the same materials present in theinterstage of the Falcon 9 and in the non-pressurized section of the Dragon.
The helmet, whose components are 3D printed, also features several modifications. They added a camera, to record what the astronauts see, and a Heads-Up Display. This will provide the main suit parameters that the crew will need to have under control: pressure, temperature, humidity and EVA durability. SpaceX also modified the visor, coating it externally with copper and indium-tin oxide. This will have to provide thermal insulation, protect from radiation and also act as “sunglasses”.
The air that will circulate inside the suit comes directly from the Dragon, as the new suits are not autonomous. They will therefore have an “umbilical cord” connected to the capsule, which for subsequent versions SpaceX has said will no longer be necessary.
Do you like what you’re reading? You can contribute to the growth of the platform through our subscription. You will have access to insights, detailed analyses, research, newsletters, discounts on our Shop and much more. Access all the exclusive benefits of the Astrospace community.
Join Astrospace.it Orbit too.
Don’t miss the latest news and insights on the space sector:
Subscribe to our channel Telegram and follow us on Instagram
© 2024 Astrospace.it All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced or distributed in full only with the written authorization of Astrospace.it or partially with the obligation to cite the source.
