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Destination Tomorrow - DT9 - Spacesuits

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Subido el 28 de mayo de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment describing spacesuit design and how modern suits have adapted with time.

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There is no doubt that spacesuit design has come a long way. 00:00:00
Early U.S. spacesuits were adapted from pressure suits designed for pilots 00:00:02
of high-altitude military and experimental aircraft. 00:00:06
Today, modern suits are a reliable and mobile unit 00:00:08
that astronauts depend on during spaceflight. 00:00:11
Our own Johnny Alonzo found out more about spacesuits and how they work. 00:00:14
Space is an incredibly brutal environment. 00:00:19
Not only is there no atmospheric pressure or oxygen to sustain life, 00:00:26
but human explorers must also deal with intense radiation and extreme temperatures 00:00:29
in order to perform even the most basic tasks. 00:00:33
Inside a spacecraft, the atmosphere can be controlled 00:00:36
so that special clothing isn't needed. 00:00:38
But when outside, humans need the protection of a spacesuit. 00:00:40
In 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard wore one of the first suits designed 00:00:44
for spaceflight aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft. 00:00:48
This suit was actually a modified version 00:00:51
of a Navy high-altitude jet aircraft pressure suit. 00:00:53
Spacesuits have come a long way since then. 00:00:56
The current Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, is the result of many years of research 00:00:59
and development and is also a powerful tool for operations outside the International Space Station 00:01:04
and the shuttle. 00:01:09
I spoke with engineer Phil West to find out how it works. 00:01:10
Most people have this preconceived idea that a spacesuit is pretty simple, 00:01:15
heavy cloth and things, but it's really a mini-spacecraft that lets you step 00:01:18
out into this very harsh environment. 00:01:22
What are the consequences of not wearing a spacesuit? 00:01:24
Well, it's a bad day if you don't wear your spacesuit. 00:01:26
First of all, there's a vacuum in space, right? 00:01:28
So just like when you open a soda bottle, it's going to fizz, right? 00:01:29
Sure. 00:01:33
Your body will do the same thing, and literally what's happening is your body fluids, 00:01:33
your blood and everything are going to boil, all right? 00:01:36
And it's not because of temperature, it's because of pressure. 00:01:38
Remove the pressure and that stuff wants to come out. 00:01:40
So then you've got temperature extremes, and I don't mean temperature of space. 00:01:42
You need molecules to have temperature, but your temperature, 00:01:46
the spacecraft's temperature could get very cold or very hot depending on whether you're 00:01:48
in the sun or in the shade or the things around you. 00:01:51
Sure. Okay? 00:01:53
And then there's little particles of natural or human-made stuff that fly 00:01:54
around space at high speeds and could literally hit you, yeah, 00:01:57
or micrometeoroids, natural stuff that comes in from elsewhere. 00:02:01
What are modern spacesuits made out of? 00:02:03
Think of the spacesuit as a balloon shaped like your body, all right? 00:02:05
And we've got to have a layer to make that balloon. 00:02:08
So we use this urethane-coated nylon, okay? 00:02:10
That's like camping tent material, but it's got a coating on it to seal it up, 00:02:12
and that's the basic layer that holds all the gas in. 00:02:16
We put that and we make it the shape of your body. 00:02:18
We call it the bladder. 00:02:20
Now, what would happen to a balloon if you inflated it too much? 00:02:21
It'll pop. 00:02:24
Right, pop, which is bad. 00:02:25
So in a spacesuit world, anyway. 00:02:26
So we've got to constrain it. 00:02:27
We've got to make sure it's the right shape. 00:02:28
So we use this polyester layer to give it structure and strength 00:02:30
and make sure it's the right shape of your body, the right size, arm length, et cetera. 00:02:33
So that's the first two key layers of the spacesuit. 00:02:37
Then remember temperature extremes we talked about? 00:02:39
Yes. Okay, we have five layers of aluminized mylar. 00:02:41
So now think of the spacesuit as a thermos bottle. 00:02:43
You know how a thermos bottle works? 00:02:46
It's got a vacuum between an insulator and a glass jar with a silvery coating on it. 00:02:48
So that's for thermal protection. 00:02:52
And then a real tough layer of Nomex with Teflon coating on it. 00:02:54
I feel that's kind of slick, right? 00:02:58
Yeah. 00:02:59
And it's got Kevlar woven into it, a very strong fiber. 00:03:00
Okay. 00:03:02
And that's so you don't get tears and you protect all these other layers very well, right? 00:03:03
You don't want to get a hole in here because you don't want to get a hole back here in your bladder. 00:03:06
Right. 00:03:09
Phil, how do these spacesuits operate? 00:03:10
Well, you've got a control pack on the front and a life support system on the back, all right? 00:03:11
And that life support system is more than just oxygen. 00:03:15
It's got batteries for power, a radio for communications, a computer. 00:03:17
And a bunch of plumbing and things to keep you alive. 00:03:22
Okay. 00:03:24
And that's all controlled up in the front here with this control pack. 00:03:25
And so we've got some places for the astronaut control like their communications equipment. 00:03:28
You can open that valve if you're suit or pressurizes. 00:03:31
There's a little dial there to change your communications mode. 00:03:34
And a little display to tell you, hey, you know, Johnny, you've only got 3% battery power left. 00:03:36
Time to go back. 00:03:41
Pack up your toys and bring it on in. 00:03:41
And then controls in the front here for volume and your position whether you're inside 00:03:44
or outside the spacecraft is up here on the front. 00:03:47
And what's this dial? 00:03:50
Well, that's for temperature. 00:03:51
Remember, we're inside a thermos bottle, okay? 00:03:52
And you're a heat engine. 00:03:54
You're actually producing heat. 00:03:55
You're not just like hot chocolate. 00:03:56
Okay. 00:03:57
Hot chocolate in a thermos bottle stays warm but doesn't get any hotter. 00:03:58
You would get hotter, right? 00:04:01
You'd overheat. 00:04:02
Literally, your own body heat would be your downfall 00:04:03
because your body heat is going to have nowhere to go. 00:04:05
It can be trapped in there with you. 00:04:07
Right. 00:04:09
That's what happens in a space suit. 00:04:09
So literally, what we'll do is pump cold water all over your body through long underwear like this. 00:04:10
Check that out. 00:04:16
All right? 00:04:17
And so that is plumbed. 00:04:17
This connects inside the suit. 00:04:19
And then this dial controls the temperature of the water that flows 00:04:20
over your body through all these tubes. 00:04:23
There's enough tube in there to stretch the length of a football field. 00:04:25
Really? 00:04:27
And you can actually see the water. 00:04:27
See the air bubbles in there? 00:04:29
There's a few air bubbles. 00:04:29
Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. 00:04:30
It's all charged right now. 00:04:31
So Phil, off the record. 00:04:32
Yeah. 00:04:34
How do you relieve yourself from one of these? 00:04:36
Good question. 00:04:39
You know, well, you've got a drink bag so you're going to want to drink some water. 00:04:40
And eventually, that's got a place to go. 00:04:42
Well, it's pretty technical. 00:04:44
It's a diaper. 00:04:46
Lovely. 00:04:47
The whole idea was let's save money. 00:04:48
Let's use adult off-the-shelf diapers. 00:04:49
We sew extra material into them. 00:04:52
They work great if you can get past the idea that your mom told you not to go 00:04:54
in your pants. 00:04:58
Hey, Phil, thanks a lot. 00:04:58
Yeah. 00:04:59
Giving us all the info about our spaces. 00:05:00
Sure. 00:05:01
Listen, I was wondering, can I get like a souvenir off this? 00:05:02
I mean, I wish I could, but there's no way. 00:05:05
You know, it's pretty nice stuff. 00:05:07
We really can't wait. 00:05:09
Let me think. 00:05:09
Well, you know what? 00:05:10
Actually, this is used. 00:05:11
We don't need the diaper anymore. 00:05:13
You can have that. 00:05:14
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
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Autor/es:
NASA LaRC Office of Education
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
414
Fecha:
28 de mayo de 2007 - 17:04
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
NASAs center for distance learning
Duración:
05′ 17″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
480x360 píxeles
Tamaño:
30.71 MBytes

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