NASA portrait of Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov, wearing an ACES suit.

The Advanced Crew Escape Suit or ACES suit, is a full pressure suit currently worn by all Space Shuttle crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight. The suit is a direct descendent of the U.S. Air Force high-altitude pressure suits worn by SR-71 Blackbird and U-2 spy plane pilots, X-15 and Gemini pilot-astronauts, and the Launch-Entry Suits worn by NASA astronauts starting on the STS-26 flight, the first flight after the Challenger Disaster. The suit is manufactured by the David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts. Image File history File links Lonchakov. ... Image File history File links Lonchakov. ... Yuri Lonchakov Yuri Valentinovich Lonchakov (Kazakh: Юрий Валентинович Лончаков; born 4 March 1965) is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of two space missions. ... A pressure suit is a pressurized suit worn by men such as high-altitude fighter pilots who may fly so high that breathing pure oxygen at surrounding pressure would not provide enough oxygen for him to function: see hypoxia. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... Seal of the Air Force. ... The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird and by its crews as the Habu, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works (also responsible for the U-2). ... The Lockheed U-2R/TR-1 in flight The U-2, nicknamed Dragon Lady, is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude surveillance aircraft flown by the United States Air Force. ... Description Role: Research Aircraft Crew: one, pilot Dimensions Length: 50. ... Project Gemini insignia Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... STS-26 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Discovery. ... STS-51-L was the 25th launch of a Space Shuttle and the tenth launch of the Challenger. ... Nickname: The Heart of the Commonwealth, The City of the Seven Hills, Wormtown, Woo-town, Wortown (war-town), The City of Diners, Paris of the Eighties Settled: 1673 â€“ Incorporated: 1684 Zip Code(s): 01608 â€“ Area Code(s): 508 / 774 Official website: http://www. ...

History

The ACES suit was first worn by U.S. Air Force pilots in the mid-1970's, replacing a similar suit worn by SR-71 and U-2 pilots, and was identical to the suits worn by X-15 pilots and Gemini astronauts. Unlike the ACES suit, which is a full-pressure suit, the high-altitude suits were partial pressure suits, thus requiring a rubber diaphram around the wearer's face. With the development of the Space Shuttle, and the inclusion of ejection seats on the Space Shuttle Columbia on the first four flights (STS-1 to STS-4), NASA decided to adopt modified versions of the suit; the modifications being the attachments to the parachute harness, and the adoption of inflatable bladders in the legs to prevent the crew from passing out during reentry. One other modification, a mount for prescription glasses, was incorporated for astronaut John W. Young, who wore modified bifocal reading glasses (resembling aviator sunglasses, but with the top portion, usually for distance seeing, being of regular glass, and the bottom, for reading, of the wearer's prescription) during the flight. Description Role: Research Aircraft Crew: one, pilot Dimensions Length: 50. ... Project Gemini insignia Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. ... US Air Force F/A-22 Raptor ejection seat test using a mannequin. ... Space Shuttle Columbia (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space shuttle in NASAs orbital fleet. ... The first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, launched April 12, 1981, returned April 14. ... STS-4 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Columbia, launched June 27, 1982. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... John W. Young in 1986 John Watts Young (born September 24, 1930) is a former NASA astronaut who walked on the Moon on Apollo 16, April 21, 1972. ...

The four test flights, between April 1981 and July 1982, went without incident, and the pressure suits performed without any problems. With the termination of the test flight program, all crews from STS-5 to Challenger (STS 51-L) saw the crew wearing one-piece light blue flight suits, escape harnesses, and helmets similar to the pressure suit helmets, but fitted around the head with a clamshell-like closure. After Challenger, NASA, in need of an escape system, also required the reintroduction of the wearing of pressure suits during the launch and landing portions of the flight. STS-5 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Columbia, launched November 11, 1982. ... STS-51-L was the 25th launch of a Space Shuttle and the tenth launch of the Challenger. ...

For STS-26, the astronaut crew wore the new launch-entry suits (LES), which resembled the SR-71 suits, but with most of the padding and survival gear removed, the addition to pressure bladders in the legs, and the absence of locking rings on the wrists—gloves were zippered on similar to Alan Shepard's Mercury 3 suit, and a new helmet, which has no padding, allowing free movement of the head, was incorporated. A survival backpack, containing a parachute, escape pole ring (similar to a parachute static line), 30 minutes of oxygen, and a life raft, was worn prior to entering the orbiter. Because of the new helmet design, astronauts were required to wear a communications cap similar to those worn by Apollo astronauts, and because they were white (later changed to brown), the suit resembled the Vostok pressure suit, called SK-1, worn by Yuri Gagarin, but without the "CCCP" letters on the helmet. The suits were designed to withstand pressures up to 40,000 feet (12 kilometers), and submersion in the ocean for up to 24 hours at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). STS-26 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Discovery. ... Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. ... Crew Alan Shepard Backup Crew John Glenn Mission parameters Mass: 1,295 kg (apogee) Maximum Altitude: 187. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... For the 1944 movie, see Lifeboat (movie). ... Apollo Program insignia Apollo CSM in lunar orbit. ... The Vostok program (Восто́к, translated as East) was a Soviet human spaceflight project that succeeded in putting a person into Earth orbit for the first time. ... SK-1 is an acronym of SKafander # 1 is a space suit that was developed special for Yuri Gagarin. ... Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Russian: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин; March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968), was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first human to orbit the Earth. ...

Although the LES suit was a functional suit, it was a partial pressure suit, and NASA astronauts and engineers were looking for a more durable suit, thus in 1995, the ACES suit was introduced. Resembling the LES, the ACES suit differs with the inclusion of detachable gloves locked onto locking rings, and changes to incorporate liquid cooling and ventilation. The ACES suit is currently the only suit worn by NASA for all Shuttle flights, and may be used when the new Crew Exploration Vehicle is introduced after the 2010 retirement of the Shuttle fleet, although NASA may look into alternatives. CEV with lunar lander CEV during a landing on earth CEV rocket, the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) (right) along side the heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) rocket. ...

Current specifications

The ACES suit used by Shuttle astronauts is similar in design to the Gemini spacesuit worn by the astronauts between 1965-1966 and by the three Apollo 1 astronauts in 1967. The components of the ACES consists of the following: Apollo One is the official name given retroactively to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ...

• A one-piece pressure garment assembly with integrated pressure bladders and ventilation system. Oxygen is fed through a connector at the wearer's left thigh and is transmitted to the helmet, via a special connector at the base of the neckring. The helmet and gloves are connected to the suit, via locking rings in a metallic gray in color (Gemini suits featured a gray neck ring and red and blue anodized glove rings). The suit has a Nomex cover layer in international orange color, instead of silver or white as in previous David Clark suits.
• A full pressure helmet with a locking clear visor and a black sunshade worn to reduce any glare from reflected sunlight, especially during the approach and landing phases of the mission. A communications cap (originally white, but since changed to dark brown and are identical to those worn by the Russian cosmonauts with the Sokol space suits worn aboard Soyuz missions), is worn underneath the helmet, and connected to a special plug inside the helmet, in which is then connected to the intercom system in the Orbiter, similar to the communications "pigtail" on the old Mercury helmets. An anti-suffocation valve at the back of the helmet allows for the passing of carbon dioxide from the helmet. The helmet's clear pressure faceplace is locked into place with a "lockdown" bar which can be easily reached with gloved hands.
• The gloves are also attached via a locking ring and are likewise in international orange color. When the suit pressurizes, the gloves are also pressurized. The palm of the gloves are textured to allow crews to throw switches, push buttons, turn knobs (especially the "ABORT MODE" knob on the commander's panel), and for the Commander and Pilot, operate the flight control stick during the final approach during landing.
• Heavy black leather "paratrooper" boots with zippers instead of laces—no cloth is used in the case of fire, and to reduce ankle and foot injuries.
• Survival backpack, which is donned before entering the orbiter.

Each suit weighs a total of 80 lb (35 kg), and is sized individually, although most suits can be worn by astronauts of different heights. No ACES suit has failed during normal flight situations, although the Columbia Accident Investigation Board said that the suit, if fully pressurized, would have been useless in the Columbia accident, as the Columbia's crew cabin broke apart at the extreme altitude of over 170,000 feet (32 miles or 52 kilometers) above the Earth—the ACES suit can function, outside of the orbiter, below 50,000 feet (9.5 mi./15 km.), which is the upper limit of controlled bailout procedures. Investigations on parts of several suit components that were recovered showed that some crew members did not have their gloves on, and that one astronaut was not wearing their pressure helmet. The infamous photograph of the space suit helmet found after the accident revealed that the recovered helmet was attached to the suit and the visor was down--indicated by the "lockdown" bar going across the bottom of the helmet, where it connects to the ring. Both the pressure faceplate and the sunshade were missing, indicating that they were destroyed either by the hypersonic wind blast when the pressure module was destroyed or by the intense heat. NOMEX® is the brand name of a flame retardant meta-aramid material marketed and first discovered by DuPont in the 1970s. ... International Orange was a band featuring the talents of Snuzz (Bus Stop, Ben Folds) guitar/vox, Django Haskins on guitar/vox, and Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) on vox/bass and anchored by the drumming of Jason Faggotron. ... Crew of the International Space Station Expedition 7. ... Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station Soyuz (Soyus, Союз, union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Unions space program. ... Memorial emblem for the three U.S. human space flight accidents. ... Shuttle debris falling over Texas, on Time cover The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas on February 1, 2003, during reentry into the Earths atmosphere on its 28th mission, STS-107. ...