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Next-gen space suit revealed for Red Bull Stratos mission

05 Apr '10

6 min read

Reduced tactile sensation: Felix's hands must be enclosed in pressurized gloves. In his full-pressure suit, Felix will find it more difficult not only to see critical components of his equipment -- like parachute handles or tangled lines -- but also to even feel them.

Thanks to its pioneering work in air and space crew protective equipment design, David Clark Company was able to model the Red Bull Stratos full-pressure suit and helmet on suits already in use by pilots of high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. However, Felix's PPA was custom made to his measurements and special modifications, including enhanced flexibility, have been incorporated to accommodate freefall demands. Felix's suit will serve as the prototype for next-generation pressure suits.

Mike Todd, the Red Bull Stratos Life Support Engineer, describes Felix's PPA as "an artificial atmosphere." The suit's exterior is made of a material that is both fire-retardant and an insulator against extreme cold. Inside, the "bladder" (which will be filled with gases to provide pressurization before Felix exits the capsule), is composed of a selectively permeable material surrounded by link netting. When the bladder is inflated, it will provide pressure at 3.5 pounds per square inch -- sufficient to prevent the expansion caused by ebullism. An integrated control valve, the "brain" of the suit, maintains pressure automatically at various altitudes.

The shell of the helmet is molded from composite materials. Its visor, which is distortion free in the critical vision area, has an integrated heating circuit that must warm it enough to avert fogging and icing, yet not melt it -- a function doubly challenged by (1) a stratospheric environment that lacks air to draw away heat and (2) a potentially supersonic freefall that will encounter rapid changes in temperature. The helmet will also supply Felix with 100 percent oxygen (from cylinders he'll wear), and it includes a microphone and earphones for communication with the Mission Control Center.

"Every time someone jumps a system like this, there's something to learn," says Daniel R. McCarter, Program Manager for David Clark Company. Initial tests conducted in wind tunnels, low-pressure chambers and 25,000-foot skydives indicate that while it's important to assess the pressure suit itself, the key to optimizing its functionality lies in seeing how the suit works with the other mission components, including the parachute rig.

Low-pressure chamber: The integrity of the personal life support system was confirmed; but, like many astronauts and aviators, Felix found the near sensory deprivation of the suit unsettling and had to accustom himself to a feeling of isolation.

Wind-tunnel tests: The team was strongly encouraged to learn that when Felix maneuvered to the streamlined "delta" position he will use in his stratospheric freefall, instability minimized and airflow smoothed, despite the unaccustomed bulk of the suit.

25,000-foot helicopter jumps: It was found that, due to the suit's sensory limitations, Felix couldn't easily distinguish the handles of his parachutes -- a potentially dangerous situation. The parachute rig has since been modified to make the handles distinguishable by touch even through the pressure suit fabric, and mirrors have been added to Felix's gloves to enable him to see his equipment despite restricted vision in the helmet.

"This is why test jumps are so valuable, because you are always discovering new things," Felix notes. "On the ground, everything looks cool, but the picture changes when you're in freefall. Especially when you're the one in the pressure suit."

David Clark Company