Space Suits ?

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seth_381

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I've always wondered do they refill the shuttle space suits with air because I remember in Apollo they were fairly limited but they seem to do 8 Hour EVA's 2x or more now.
 
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JonClarke

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seth_381":5pjm4n7k said:
I've always wondered do they refill the shuttle space suits with air because I remember in Apollo they were fairly limited but they seem to do 8 Hour EVA's 2x or more now.

Apollo EVAs were of similar duration to ISS ones, from 2 hours 31 minutes to 7 hours 36 minutes.
 
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CalliArcale

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I believe they only have to periodically recharge the batteries during a spacewalk, but I could be mistaken about that.
 
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MeteorWayne

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Don't think that's right Calli. The Batteries are the limiting factor in the walks; in fact the EVA time starts when they switch to batteries, even before they open the hatch. I have never heard of them being recharged during a walk (And I listen to the walks live as often as I can). They do however occasionally recgarge their O2 supply.
 
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neilsox

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It appears it would be easier to partially recharge the batteries mid space walk than to partially recharge the O2. Do the astronauts breath very cold oxygen, or do the batteries warm the oxygen? The cold oxygen is warmed by circulating though the suit, perhaps? Neil
 
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davp99

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IIRC, the Quest Airlock has external tanks for refilling the Space Suits, but have never heard about the batteries, are they Rechargeable or must they be switched with new ones every time ?
Going to check this out now....

Dave
 
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shuttle_guy

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seth_381":l9rtlqbp said:
I've always wondered do they refill the shuttle space suits with air because I remember in Apollo they were fairly limited but they seem to do 8 Hour EVA's 2x or more now.


Before EVA's the shuttle and ISS space suits are recharged with oxygen (not air since the suits operate at 5.5 psi pressure) and the batteries are recharged. This process is performed before each EVA but not during a EVA.
 
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davp99

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Thanks for the info SG,

It does make sense ( due to the rarity really ) of just using new batts, for every EVA. I never had much faith in Re-Chargeable's, for Durability vs New ...

Dave..
 
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