VOICE ONE:
This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English programEXPLORATIONS. Today we tell about the special clothes astronautswear that protect them while they work in space.
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VOICE ONE:
Many questions had to be answered about fifty years ago whenofficials first began to think about placing a human being in space.One of the most important was how to design the special clothingneeded to protect a person from the dangers of the spaceenvironment.
A person can not work in the extremes of space without manydifferent kinds of protection. The cold of space will freeze skin injust moments. The fierce heat of the sun can cause severe burns. Thecomplete lack of atmosphere can cause the blood to boil.
And, with no oxygen to breathe, a human being will die in only afew moments. Any of these extreme conditions would mean a quickdeath for someone who did not wear special protective clothing.
VOICE TWO:
When humans explore and do useful work in space, they must taketheir natural environment with them. The American space agency,NASA, provides astronauts with a number of things that work togetherto create a protective environment. An astronaut who works outsidethe space shuttle usually is wearing more than seventeen pieces ofprotective equipment.
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VOICE ONE:
The atmosphere is about twenty-percent oxygen and eighty percentnitrogen from Earth’s surface to where space begins atone-hundred-twenty kilometers up. Yet up at about five-thousand-fourhundred meters the air pressure is only about half of what it is onthe ground. At about nineteen-thousand meters, the air is so thinand the amount of oxygen so small that a person needs a lot ofspecial equipment to survive.
A well-known American flyer, Wiley Post, designed one of thefirst successful devices to protect a pilot at extreme heights. InNineteen-Thirty-Three, he developed protective clothing that made itpossible for him to fly very high.
VOICE TWO:
Wiley Post made this protective clothing with the help of thePhillips Petroleum Company and the B-F Goodrich Company. It appearedto be something a person would wear to stay underwater for longperiods of time. A large device that looked like a can surroundedthe pilot’s head. A small window in the front permitted him to see.
Wiley Post’s protective clothing was made of rubber. It couldhold oxygen and provide the needed air pressure to protect his bodyfrom the lack of pressure at a high height. This rubber suit lookedsimilar to a large balloon shaped like a human.
The protective rubber suit was only used a few times, but itpermitted Mister Post to fly as high as fifteen-thousand meters.That was higher than any person had ever flown. Mister Post did notknow it, but he had designed the first real spacesuit. You can seehis design at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in WashingtonD-C.
VOICE ONE:
As time passed, airplane designers made it possible for people tofly extremely high without wearing such protection. They did this byproviding almost normal air pressure inside the airplane.
This environment meant people could wear their usual clothing. Apassenger airplane today provides a safe, comfortable atmosphereinside the plane even when it is flying very high.
VOICE TWO:
Astronauts in NASA’s Mercury Program flew the first Americanspace flights in the early Nineteen-Sixties. Each set of protectiveclothing was specially made for each astronaut. The clothing wassimilar to that invented by Wiley Post. And, it presented some ofthe same problems.
When air pressure filled the earlyspacesuit, astronauts found it difficult to move their arms or legs.It was a little like trying to change the shape of a balloon. Thepressure inside the suit provided protection, but made it difficultfor the astronaut to move in a natural way.
Mercury astronauts usually wore the suit without air pressureinside. The Mercury spacecraft had the needed atmospheric pressureto keep the astronauts safe. The astronauts wore the suit as asafety device in case the spacecraft suddenly lost air pressure.
VOICE ONE:
Today, astronauts wear very different protective clothing. Itpermits them to move, do useful tasks, and stay out side theirspacecraft in comfort and safety for several hours.
For the next few minutes, imagineyou are in the space shuttle about to go out to work in space. Wewill tell you how you need to get into your space clothing.
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VOICE TWO:
You will wear a spacesuit to work in the open cargo area of theSpace Shuttle Discovery. The spacesuit is called the shuttleextravehicular mobility unit or E-M-U. It was designed to lastlonger and to permit more movement than earlier spacesuits.
The E-M-U has a number of parts that an astronaut can linktogether by using only one hand. The different parts are indifferent sizes. This makes it possible for each astronaut to selectthe parts that fit correctly.
Wearing the whole E-M-U equipment adds about forty-eightkilograms to your weight. Yet, the lack of gravity in space meansyou will not feel the added weight.
VOICE ONE:
You will be wearing equipment that will send medical informationback to the NASA control center in Houston, Texas. Doctors willobserve your medical condition while you work in space.
You also will wear a device that will collect urine, the body’sliquid waste. You will be working outside the space shuttle forabout five hours. This collection device can become very necessary.
VOICE TWO:
You will also wear something called the Liquid Cooling andVentilation Garment. This piece of clothing is worn next to theskin. It helps keep the body cool by moving water through many smalltubes that cover the device.
The heat from the sun can reach one-hundred-twenty degreesCelsius in orbit. The material of the space suit helps protectagainst this heat. The liquid cooling device also works to keep yourbody from becoming too hot.
Next you put on a container that holds water to drink. Thecontainer is worn near the chest. A small tube stays near your mouthso you can drink water during your stay in space. You place aspecial hat on your head. It is made of soft cloth. It also carriesseveral communications devices including earphones and microphones.
These communication devices will permit you to talk with otherastronauts working outside the shuttle and with crew members insidethe shuttle. You can also talk with the control center in Houston,Texas.
The lower part of the spacesuit is next. It is called the LowerTorso Assembly. It is like putting on a large pair of pants thathave boots built in the bottom of the legs.
VOICE ONE:
Next comes the upper part of the spacesuit. It is made of a hardplastic-like material. To put it on, you must hold your arms overyour head, and rise up into the upper part of the suit. The upperpart of the suit also holds the Primary Life Support System.
The life support system supplies the oxygen needed for breathingand the air pressure necessary to protect your body. The upper partof the spacesuit also carries an emergency oxygen system in case thefirst system fails.
An important part of your spacesuit is the Control Module. Itlets you observe and control your oxygen system. It is also theplace you find the controls for your communications equipment. And,it tells you if you are having a problem with any of the spacesuit’sdevices.
It is time for you to link the many systems together. The oxygenis on so you can breathe. And the air pressure is producing a normalatmosphere to protect you. Now you are ready to enter the work areaof the space shuttle Discovery.
VOICE TWO:
You will need one more piece of equipment. This is the MannedManeuvering Unit, or M-M-U. It connects to your Primary Live SupportSystem. It makes it possible for you to fly from place to place inspace, away from the Discovery.
The M-M-U is worn on the back. It is controlled by a device thatis held in the hand. The jets of nitrogen gas from the M-M-U helpyou move. The pressure of this gas moves you through space.
You are now ready to work in the extreme and dangerous conditionsof space. You will be comfortable and able to move. You can do thework that is needed. Then, best of all, you can return safely intothe space shuttle when your work is done.
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VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson. It wasproduced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Kevin Raiman. Thisis Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for anotherEXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.