The next generation of spacesuits for astronauts just went parabolic.
Collins Aerospace tested its new spacesuit design, built for International Space Station spacewalks, on a parabolic flight that simulated microgravity conditions. The goal was to fulfill requirements for a NASA contract aimed at replacing the long-standing extravehicular mobility units (EMUs) now used on the orbiting complex.
Following the news release on Feb. 1, Collins chief test astronaut John “Danny” Olivas — a retired NASA astronaut — spoke with Space.com about the company’s plans for the floating suit. He also discussed exciting possibilities for moon exploration. Read on to learn more about how Olivas is using his past spacewalking experience to pave the way for future spacewalkers.
Collins received a 2022 task order from NASA to develop a next-generation EMU to be lighter and more flexible than current spacesuits. These suits are also under consideration to become moonwalking outfits for the agency’s Artemis program; the design team received a separate task order in July 2023 to modify the floating-style spacesuits for surface excursions.
Related: Watch next-generation lightweight spacesuit tested on Zero-G flight (photos, video)
Space.com: What sorts of experiences were you able to port from your time at NASA to Collins, to help with the development?
Danny Olivas: I’ve been an engineer for over 35 years. I’ve always been fascinated about space. It is very much like coming home and being part of an engineering family where we toil away to produce things that are safe, efficient and effective for our clients.
The intent is basically, “right design” this suit. It should be a suit that is intuitive to the astronauts. So I feel like what I’m bringing to the table is essentially helping the engineers understand what is important, where do things need to be placed, what are the things that you need to be considering. For example, in December of last year, we completed an exercise called the “concept of operations.” That essentially is evaluating the suit in an environment like you’re integrated onto a spacewalk and then coming back from doing a spacewalk.
I was able to bring to the table: when we do our prep and post, here’s what we do. Here’s what we did on orbit. Here’s how we work to this particular issue. Through that exercise, it provided feedback directly to the engineers on how to move forward. It’s not a one and done thing. It’s a collaboration: we’ve gone, and taken a look…
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