China independently develops "flying" space suits

China's "flying sky" extravehicular space suits each have a total weight of 120 kilograms, cost about 30 million yuan, and a reliability factor of 0.997. They can work in a space environment for 4 hours, and have environmental control, life support and cabin communication functions. The technical indicators fully meet the requirements of the "Shenzhou 7" mission. In the “Shenzhou 7” airlock, there are 2 sets of space suits for spacecraft, namely the “flying” extravehicular space suit developed by China and the “Seahawk” extravehicular space suit developed by Russia. Extravehicular space suits are mainly composed of helmet clothing, gloves and boots. Their main functions are: space environment protection, including vacuum pressure protection, space thermal protection, space radiation and dust flow protection; ergonomic protection, including operational ergonomics protection and visual protection Environmental control and life support, including oxygen supply pressure regulation, ventilation purification, active remote control and so on. Technically, the development of space suits outside the cabin mainly includes the following difficulties: active sealing technology, high integration, safety and reliability design techniques, and ground simulation tests. Before, only the United States and Russia had extravehicular space suits.

There is a bright red flag printed on the left arm of the space suit. There are two characters on the right arm: "Flying." "Flying Sky" is the first-generation space suit developed by China. The design and assembly of the overall design and components are all completed by the Chinese themselves. As far as the ability to complete the current task is concerned, it is close to the international level.

From the inside to the outside, the cabin service is divided into 6 layers: a comfort layer woven from a special antistatic treated cotton cloth, a back-up airtight layer of rubber texture, a main airtight layer composed of a composite joint structure, and a restriction layer of polyester fabric Thermal insulation is achieved through heat reflection and the outermost outer protective layer. The outer protective material can tolerate the temperature difference of plus or minus 100 degrees Celsius, which is the most expensive apparel fabric in the country. The length of the upper limb (sleeve) and the lower limb (trouser legs) of the garment can be adjusted according to the length of each astronaut. By adjusting the size, a set of space suits can be used for astronauts of different sizes. People with heights from 1.60 meters to 1.80 meters can wear them.

- The innermost layer is the comfort layer, which is made of specially treated cotton cloth. The biggest feature is that it is absolutely not static electricity, because the inside of the cabin service is pure oxygen and it will ignite when there is static electricity.

- The back-up airtight layer consists of a rubber plate of about 1 mm in size, and is attached to the upper limbs and other related structures to form a matching shape.

- The main airtight layer, the airtightness of the rubber cloth used in this layer is leak-proof. It is a unitary structure that completely covers the main joint structure of the garment including the trunk and backpack. It must be able to inflate and pressurize, but it can't allow the clothing to expand too much. It also allows the joints to move freely and the technical difficulty is very great.

- The confinement layer is made of highly-strength materials, because the pressure is very small whether it is the backup airtight layer or the main airtight layer. It can be said that the restriction layer is the main bearing layer.

——Vacuum shielding heat insulation layer, which is composed of 5-7 layers of aluminum coated polyester film. The films are separated by a network, and they are affixed together to form a strong shield against the harsh environment of vacuum temperature difference and radiation.

——The outer protective layer is a kind of special textile fabric. It is currently the most expensive fabric in China. It can be kept at a temperature of ±100°C. It is wear-resistant, strong in reflection, and reflected when the sun shines up. It absorbs very little.

Helmet: Four layers of window

The materials for the production of "Flying" helmets are provided by a scientific research institute in Heilongjiang. The helmet's face window has 4 layers, in which the two layers of pressurized structure will be filled with high purity nitrogen. There is a protective window on the outside and the filter window on the outside. The refractive index of the filter window to sunlight is very low. Once the astronauts face the high-intensity light, they can pull down the window.

There is also a lamp on both sides of the helmet that illuminates the chest of the garment, which is beneficial for the astronaut to operate on the shady side of the sun.

As with the lights, there are alarm lights on both sides of the helmet. Once an accident occurs in the garment, the alarm light will flash and a language alarm can be issued.

In addition, the "Flying Sky" helmet is also equipped with a camera to capture the scene when the astronaut is out of the cabin.

The advantage of the Flying Helmet is that its field of vision is larger than other similar products. This requires a high level of manufacturing technology. It takes several years for the relevant scientific and technical personnel to take the helmet manufacturing difficulties.

Prothoracic equipment: operation through wrist mirrors

The front of the "flying" space suit is where its "brain" is.

The electronic control desk at the chest of clothing is the core of the electrical system. There are clothing power, pumps, fans, number tubes, lighting, radio switches, OLED displays, and mechanical pressure gauges.

Adjacent to the electronic control console is a gas-liquid console, which controls the core components of the clothing gas and fluid system. There are more than 20 valves in it to ensure normal oxygen supply and emergency oxygen supply, and to switch between the main and auxiliary oxygen cylinders. Gas pressure main and auxiliary facilities.

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There are more than 10 operational switches on the front of the “Flying” costume. The silence button can be used in two ways, including eliminating the alarm sound and switching the monitor between two screens.

Interestingly, because of the limited field of vision, the astronauts could not see the chest and lumbosacral devices and could only be operated by reflections from the two wrists.

Gloves tactile: sensitivity can be penciled

The shoulders, elbows and wrists of the “flying” space suit are airtight bearing devices that are double-sealed but capable of rotating. There are special adjustment belts that can be adjusted to fit different people. Because the extra-lid activities mainly depend on the upper limbs, the knees and ankle joints of the lower extremities do not have high requirements for the upper extremities, but there are many adjustment bands for the lower extremities and the ankles.

The “flying” spacesuit’s gloves have only one airtight layer on the tip of the fingertips to keep the sense of touch. These gloves come in different models. The 14-man hand data was manufactured using three-dimensional scanning technology to create gloves suitable for Asians, which are divided into size and size. Their sensitivity can help astronauts to hold 25 millimeters of pencil-thickness.

Hook double rope: alternate use of extravehicular activities

There are two umbilical cords on the “Flying Space” space suit, of which the No. 01 umbilical cord is 8 meters long and the No. 2 umbilical cord is 4 meters long. This kind of umbilical cord connects the space suit and the spaceship. After the astronaut gets out of the cabin, it does not use the electric cord in the autonomous mode. However, in the event of an accident, the umbilical cord as an emergency oxygen supply tube will function.

The two safety hooks on the space suit are very important for this mission. When the astronaut gets out of the cabin, the hooks can provide security protection so that the astronauts can get out of the cabin without leaving the cabin.

The ropes on these two hooks are one long and one short, one 3 meters and one meter. 1 meter of rope load 1 ton, because it is relatively short to prevent the winding, it was folded, and once launched under the external force, it indicates that the astronauts have left the spacecraft. Another 3m long rope is a spring rope that can be elongated and can tolerate 1 ton.

During specific operations, the astronauts out of the cabin must alternately use two hooks to achieve extravehicular activities like rock climbing.

Dressing procedure: bottom-up

After the heavens, the astronauts will remove the garments hung on the airlock bulkhead from the bracket, place it on the garment rack, unpack it, inspect it, and assemble it.

When dressed, the astronaut sat in the cabin to take the backpack door frame. On both sides of the backpack are oxygen supply parts. The astronauts wear the lower limb first and connect the clothing with the liquid cooling suit. Liquid-cooled garments can dissipate 70%-80% of heat, and are made of elastic mesh fabrics with caps. There are hoses filled with water between the meshes. The hose structure is mainly concentrated on the human head, torso, and thighs. And other parts. Liquid wool garments have special wool felts on the shoulders, elbows and waists where they are cold.

Flying Aeronautics: Available Five Times

Every design of the “Flying Space” space suit is extremely particular, and as small as one buckle must be considered for practical application. According to experts, the "flying" space suit developed by China itself is not equipped with a braking device, so it is different from the US space suit and close to the Russian space suit.

This outfit can be reused about 5 times. However, according to sources, during the mission of Shenqi, the "flying" space suits will remain in the airlock but the gloves must be brought back.

Torso Case: Armor for Life Protection

The torso shell is the main body of the space suit outside the cabin, and is the assembly and integration center of the space suit. All kinds of equipment and instruments must be connected with it. It is the top priority of the development of the space suit outside the cabin.

The outer space suit body shell is an aluminum alloy thin-walled hardware structure. After being assembled with the backpack system, it bears all kinds of loads such as ground transportation and ascending sections. It has functions such as pressure protection, load support, and sealing, and is a real astronaut. Life "armor". Amazingly, this "life armor" torso shell is an aluminum alloy thin-walled hardware structure with a wall thickness of only 1.5 mm.

Respiratory System: Inlet and Outlet

There is a breathing system on the space suit outside the cabin. This is a key system for the astronauts to automatically supply artificial air, discharge exhaust gas, regulate safety air pressure, and purify the odor in the space suit. It is related to astronauts' life safety and breathing comfort.

It is reported that the air quality in the space suit outside the cabin can automatically mix various gases into man-made air, and can also automatically eliminate human exhaust gas in a timely manner. It can also automatically control the air pressure within the safety range and can automatically clean clothes. Odor inside to ensure breathing comfort.

Umbilical Cord: The Path to Life

When the astronauts leave Shenzhou VII and go to the mysterious space, they are connected to the spacecraft by an “electric umbilical cord.” This system, including the space suit cable network, baggage cable network, and space suit air pressure adjustment limit switch, etc. The important mission of powering and transmitting signals to the components of the space suit.

The “Umbilical Cord” is also a “rope” that can pull the astronauts back into the cabin at any time. The umbilical cord data processor on it can transmit real-time information on the collected space suits and inboard equipment to the number subsystem of the spacecraft. And pass its own information back to the ground through monitoring and control communications. In this way, the safety of astronauts in spacewalks is fully protected. The softness of the "Umbilical Cord" is similar to ordinary colloidal water pipes. Good softness guarantees astronauts flexibility in space activities.