SpaceX might have publicized less on its stylish spacesuit, except the fact that famed Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez created its chic look,
But thanks to astronaut Soichi Naguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who serves as Mission Specialist on the ongoing Crew Dragon mission and currently occupies the International Space Station (ISS), we are treated to a guided tour of the futuristic yet fashionable SpaceX gear. And, what's even more scintillating about his video presentation was that it was taken in space.
While it wasn't an official NASA production, Naguchi uploaded the video (see below) on his personal YouTube account, as he spoke mostly in Japanese. While Naguchi would talk about the spacesuit mostly in Japanese, people can understand it from context.
Most Detailed Look on SpaceX Spacesuit
His video offers the most detailed inside look on how astronauts store, wear, and operate the spacesuit, which NASA gave a five-star rating, Space.com reported. Naguchi begins by displaying personalized bags wherein the suits are kept, and he talked about how the one-piece suit would open in the bottom so that the astronaut who would wear it can pull it over the head. Naguchi also noted that the three-layered spacesuit is made of a Teflon-coated outer shell, a fiber-strengthened core, and an inner airtight gear.
Naguchi also showed some hidden details of the suit, including a track built into the heel of the boot that is utilized to have the astronaut's feet restrained to the Crew Dragon seats. Naguchi also offers the very first public glimpse of the suit's umbilical connector. Concealed under a removable cover, the connector provides 14 pins used for data and power, a wide port for air circulation, and a smaller high-pressure port for nitrox that shall be used to inflate the suit if the cabin loses pressure.
The Crew Dragon team had toiled through an immense amount of work before taking the crew of the first commercial spacecraft to the ISS. This detailed look at the spacesuit shows the challenging nature of human spaceflight.
Astronauts Happy with their SpaceX Spacesuits
Previously, Doug Hurley said the spacesuit were fitted to their individual body types. He said in a Space.com interview that the suits "were actually much easier to get in and out of in zero G" or the point of weightlessness, contrasted against the "pumpkin suits" or the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES). However, the SpaceX spacesuit and the ACES are not designed for spacewalks. Only for backup during landings and launches.
The astronauts underscored the suit's helpful features, which they said SpaceX need not add to it but did, and this delighted them.
"These suits didn't have to do that job for us, which was nice. But it was clear that they were ready," NASA astronaut Bob Behnken further said.
Hurley and Benken were the first astronauts to wear the spacesuit in the Demo-2 test flight last year.
They expressed their gratitude to ground crews for developing the spacesuits, which were designed to work seamlessly with the Crew Dragon's functionality. Spacesuit gloves work with the spacecraft touchscreens, while the umbilical connector carries oxygen and cool air from the spacecraft.
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Check out more news and information on the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission on Science Times.
