Current and future issues in USAF full pressure suit research and development
Although the full pressure suits currently in the USAF operational inventory provide acceptable performance and crew protection for these missions, there is considerable room for improvement, especially in the areas of comfort, mobility, glove and helmet performance, and maintenance/supportability. As future aircraft push the envelope towards operations at higher and higher altitudes and transatmospheric flight, advances in full pressure suit technology will be needed. Also, enhanced pressure suit technology will be required to meet NASA's need for protection during future EVA operations for both on-orbit and planetary surface missions. This presentation will review the results of efforts at the Armstrong Laboratory to develop and demonstrate advanced full pressure suit technology for use in future high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and transatmospheric vehicle operations. For those readers who may not be familiar with this area of life support equipment, a brief review of the important physiological and operational requirements for full pressure suits used in these applications will be addressed first, followed by a summary of the current state-of-the-art in USAF pressure suit technology. Ongoing and recently completed work on enhanced mobility pressure suit joints and improved pressure suit gloves will then be reviewed. The presentation will conclude with discussion of the technical challenges for successful development of an advanced full pressure suit for aerospace operations in the 21st century.