
The Launch Entry Suit (LES), known as the "pumpkin suit", is a
partial-pressure suit that was worn by all
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight from
STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...
(1988) to
STS-65 (1994). It was completely phased out by
STS-88
STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'', and took the first American module, the ''Unity'' node, to the station.
The seven-day mission was highlighted by ...
(late 1998)
[Video evidence of suit's use being discontinued]
/ref>[Photographic evidence of suit's use being discontinued]
/ref> and replaced by the ACES suit. The suit was manufactured by the David Clark Company
David Clark Company, Inc. is an American manufacturing company. DCC designs and manufactures a wide variety of aerospace and industrial protective equipment, including pressure-space suit systems, anti-G suits, headsets, and several medical/safet ...
of Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...
.
History
The LES was first worn by U.S. Air Force pilots in the mid-1990s, replacing a similar suit worn by SR-71 and U-2 pilots, and was identical to the suits worn by X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed ...
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 diaphragm around the wearer's face.
With the development of the Space Shuttle, and the inclusion of ejection seat
In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocke ...
s 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.
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 flights from STS-5
STS-5 was the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. It launched on November 11, 1982, and landed five days later on November 16, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle mission to deploy comm ...
to STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''.
Planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing ...
(the ''Challenger'' disaster) 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. The initial eight suits were navy blue, similar in color to the previous flight suits, the rest of the suits were bright orange to contrast against the dark blue ocean water they'd most likely be used in. The blue suits were never used on an actual mission.
For the first "Return to Flight" STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...
, the five-man astronaut crew wore, for the first time, new Launch & Entry Pressure Suits (LES). Resembling the Gemini spacesuit in appearance, but identical in function to the SR-71 partial-pressure suits, the new LES suits featured a one-piece torso-limb suit with a Nomex
Nomex is a flame-resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.
Properties
Nomex and related aramid polymers are related to nylon, but have aromatic backbones, and hence are more rigid and m ...
outer layer (which NASA was able to use on the Shuttle due to the mixed nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seve ...
/oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...
sea-level atmosphere), closed with a rear-entry zipper, and featuring a full-pressure helmet with a polycarbonate
Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...
clear faceplate, mechanical seal, and black sunshade, zippered-on gloves (resembling the gloves used by astronaut Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel int ...
on his Mercury space suit), heavy black "paratrooper" style safety boots, and a survival backpack, which is donned prior to entering the Orbiter and contains a parachute, life raft, survival gear, and a 30-minute supply of breathing oxygen and a water tank.
Because of the helmet design, which rested on the astronaut's shoulders and allowed them to move their head around freely, astronauts were now required to wear a communications cap similar to those worn by Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
astronauts, and because they were white (later changed to brown), the suit resembled the Vostok pressure suit
A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pr ...
worn by Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
. The suits were designed to withstand pressures up to 40,000 feet (12 kilometers), and immersion in the ocean for up to 24 hours at 5 °C (40 °F).
Because of the limitations of protection the LES could offer, NASA and the David Clark Company introduced the current ACES design in 1995, which thereafter was the only suit used for Shuttle missions. Based on the LES, but being a full-pressure suit, the ACES suit now incorporates gloves on disconnecting lock rings on the wrists, liquid cooling and improved ventilation, and an extra layer of insulation.
The ACES suit is analogous to the Sokol
The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...
suits used for Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социали� ...
missions and its functions are virtually the same, the only differences being the ACES suit having a detachable helmet and survival backpack, while the Russian suit has an integrated helmet and no backpack, due to the limitations in space aboard the Soyuz, and that the spacecraft is an entry capsule, not a winged spacecraft or lifting body.
Specifications
Each suit was sized individually, although most suits could be worn by astronauts of different heights. It included a parachute and flotation device.
Name: Launch Entry Suit (S1032)
Derived from: USAF Model S1031
Manufacturer: David Clark Company
Missions: STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...
to STS-79, STS-81
STS-81 was a January 1997 Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' mission to the Mir space station.
Crew
Mission highlights
STS-81 was the fifth of nine planned missions to Mir and the second one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut John ...
to STS-83
STS-83 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission flown by ''Columbia''. It was a science research mission that achieved orbit successfully, but the planned duration was a failure due to a technical problem with a fuel cell that resulted in the abort of t ...
, STS-94
STS-94 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', launched on 1 July 1997.
Crew
Mission highlights
This was a reflight of the STS-83 Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. MSL was originally launched on 4 April ...
to STS-85
STS-85 was a Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission to perform multiple space science packages. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 7 August 1997.
A major experiment was the CRISTA-SPAS free-flyer which had various telescopes on ...
, STS-87
STS-87 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center on 19 November 1997. It was the 88th flight of the Space Shuttle and the 24th flight of ''Columbia''. The mission goals were to conduct experiments us ...
to STS-90, STS-88
STS-88 was the first Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was flown by Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'', and took the first American module, the ''Unity'' node, to the station.
The seven-day mission was highlighted by ...
Function: Intra-vehicular activity (IVA)
Pressure type: Partial
Operating pressure: 2.7 psi (18.6 kPa)
Suit weight: 30 lb (13.6 kg)
Parachute and survival systems weight: 64 lb (29 kg)
Total weight: 94 lb (42.6 kg)
Primary life support: Vehicle Provided
Backup life support: 10 minutes
File:S94-32205.jpg, A navy blue suit being used in training.
File:KSC-95EC-1291.jpg, STS-69 mission commander David Walker
File:Mae Carol Jemison.jpg, STS-47
STS-47 was the 50th NASA Space Shuttle mission of the program, as well as the second mission of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission mainly involved conducting experiments in life and material sciences inside Spacelab-J, a collaborativ ...
mission specialist Mae Jemison
Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. Je ...
References
External links
News, links, mission schedules, and NASA for kids
{{Space suits, state=expanded
American spacesuits