Multidisciplinary spacesuit modeling and optimization : requirement changes and recommendations for the next-generation spacesuit design

摘要

The ability for crew members to perform spacewalks is an essential component of human spaceflight. Spacewalks are absolutely crucial for planetary exploration because they enable astronauts to explore their environment, conduct scientific experiments on the planetary surface, construct space-based infrastructure, and perform maintenance activities. The spacesuit is the primary piece of enabling hardware for spacewalks. Given that the United States is embarking on an ambitious mission to return to the Moon and eventually travel to Mars (as mandated by the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration), a new spacesuit will be built. The objective of this thesis is to aid the designers of the next generation spacesuit through critical analysis of existing spacesuits and quantitative optimization of future spacesuit architectures. Spacesuits change substantially over their design lifetimes; for example, the American spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) has undergone over five hundred changes in its twenty-five year operational life. These design changes have been triggered by requirement changes, which in turn were mandated by political and technological changes in the system's environment.