NASA is running out of spacesuits - and the new ones are nowhere near ready yet
NASA’s spacesuit supply is dwindling and the replacements are still years away from being ready, according to a new report.
Despite having spent $200 million developing next-gen spacesuits, the space agency may not have enough of the existing stock to see it through to the planned retirement of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024.
A variety of design issues are being examined closely as the space agency develops new suits that are safe enough for astronauts to use during spacewalks, NASA’s inspector general reported this week.
“NASA must deal with a dwindling number of flight-ready spacesuits and with mitigating risks related to their design and maintenance,” the report said.
The ageing suits have been the subject of nearly 3,400 problems both in testing and in orbit since they were developed in the ‘70s, says the report.
The suits were only ever to be used for 15 years, making the designed dangerously dated.
[graphiq id=”6wKO2CAfHZH” title=”National Aeronautics and Space Administration Budget: 1976-2021″ width=”600″ height=”620″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/6wKO2CAfHZH” link=”https://www.graphiq.com” link_text=”Visualization by Graphiq” ]
And in more than 200 spacewalk, astronauts have encountered a worrying 27 ‘significant incidents’ with the spacesuits.
In 2013, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano came close to drowning after water from his spacesuit’s cooling system flooded his helmet.
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Of the original 18 spacesuit life support backpacks that were made, only 11 are still in working order.
The reports states that NASA needs a “formal plan for design, production and testing” of new spacesuits, especially if the potential extension is given to maintain the ISS for four extra years until 2028.