The scramble to be the first to put ordinary tourists in space is on. While private space pioneers paid $20-million for the privilege of spending a week at the International Space Station, those who have a mere $200 000 to spare can set their sights on an hour or so in sub-orbital space as soon as next year. But what to wear for the occasion when you walk up, or down, the gantry and have the eyes — and perhaps cameras — of the world upon you?
Orbital Outfitters has the answer: the IS3C, the first commercially available sub-orbital space suit. The suit was designed by Chris Gilman, a Hollywood special effects guru who has designed spacesuits for movies such as Space Cowboys and Deep Impact. Gilman is backed by a team of aeronautical engineers and space-medicine experts.
Orbital Outfitters (OO) is one of a slew of small companies in the ”New Space” movement, often staffed by ex-Nasa scientists determined to see many people in space in the next decade. The first suits go out to customers soon and will be worn by test pilots flying trials of the first rocket-powered vehicles for private space tourism.
This is not a suit you can take a spacewalk in, but is designed to save the wearer in the event of an emergency decompression in the spacecraft cabin. Its weight — a mere 20kg — is under half that of the equivalent Nasa suit. OO is justifiably proud of its innovative use of modern composite materials. ”Our entire helmet weighs less than the neck ring of the Nasa suit,” says Gilman. ”Obviously safety is paramount, but people paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to take a trip to space also want to look cool in the photographs.”
The suit has socks instead of standard boots, so you can customise your choice of footwear from Armani to Doc Martins. The suit also has an audio system that integrates with the crew and other passengers while cancelling out cabin noise.
During your space flight, the suit will be plugged in via an umbilical cord into the vehicle’s life-support system, with additional backup oxygen in the suit itself to last up to 15 minutes in an emergency.
The suit is customisable and is likely to include point-of-view cameras mounted on the helmet so wearers can record the experience. The suit is made up of three layers: one inner, breathable layer to wick sweat away from the body, then a restraining layer to help protect the body from G forces — acceleration expressed as multiples of Earth’s gravity. The average space traveller will have to endure between four and seven Gs, so will feel like they weigh many times their Earth weight — this is enough to kill the unprotected if it lasts for more than a minute or two.
The outer, stitched layer of the suit has stretch panels under the arms for increased manoeuvrability, is more body-fitting than Nasa designs and is available in any colour.
But looking cool is not everything. Keeping cool when cabin temperatures could reach over 60°C is essential. The coolant design is secret, but will be similar to those used by Formula 1 drivers in hot climates, where very fine capillary tubes filled with chilled gels run around the torso. Wearers of heavy costumes in Hollywood films, like the Wookie in Star Wars, have also used cooling suits and the US military is testing similar suits that plug into the air conditioning units of tanks and Humvees in Iraq to keep their crews cool under the desert sun.
Real-time biometrics such as blood pressure will be monitored by sensors built into the suit, and displayed for the crew to see. There will also be a heads-up display so you can check how well you’re coping. However, the suit will not be plumbed to accommodate other bodily functions — these space flights will last less than an hour.
The suit even features an integrated parachute, although bailing out at 150 000m — the peak of the first sub-orbital flights — isn’t to be recommended. (The highest ever freefall was a jump carried out by pilot Captain Joseph Kittinger from 25 700m in 1960 from a balloon. His hand endured temperatures of minus-70°C, when his experimental suit ripped and he reached 1 142kph during freefall. His record still stands.) — Â