What Are Space Suits Made Of

Nasa astronauts first flew into space during the mercury program.

What are space suits made of. However nasa added a material called mylar which gave the suit strength and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. Another part covers the arms and connects to the gloves. When nasa s mercury p rogram began the spacesuits kept the designs of earlier pressurized flight suits used in high altitude aircraft.

The suits are basically made by sewing and cementing various materials together and then attaching metal parts that let you join the different components together. The lower torso has d rings to attach tethers. Also called extravehicular mobility units spacesuits are pressurized garments made of various soft and hard tailor made components such as synthetic polymers nylon spandex dacron urethane coated nylon neoprene coated nylon and polyester.

Skintight suits also known as mechanical counterpressure suits or space activity suits are a proposed design which would use a heavy elastic body stocking to compress the body. Nasa s first spacewalks took place during its second space program gemini. A piece called the waist bearing helps the astronaut move and turn.

Each layer does something different. The head is in a pressurized helmet but the rest of the body is pressurized only by the elastic effect of the suit. Just before a shuttle mission the suits designated for flight are tested cleaned and packed at nasa s johnson space center in houston.

The mercury suits were only worn inside the spacecraft. Nasa s first spacesuits were made for mercury. The layers of a spacesuit are sewn and cemented together.

The helmet protects the head. Shuttle spacesuit materials include ortho fabric aluminized mylar neoprene coated nylon dacron urethane coated nylon tricot nylon spandex stainless steel and high strength composite materials. These suits were made up of five layers.