Space Suit safety equipment?
Craig Fink
1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
or,
2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
Since no astronaut has ever died during a space walk, I was wondering what
kind of safety equipment is incorporated into the suit. Having
a massive leak in an appendage of the suit should not be fatal. Arms,
legs, hands and feet can be considered somewhat expendable when the
alternative is death.
Does the suit have emergency tourniquets on all appendages?
--
Craig Fink
Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @ WeBe...@GMail.Com
Jim Kingdon
What I want to know is what is that micrometer doing floating around
in space station orbit? I guess I can see how a micrometer is likely
to be too small to be tracked, but it was awfully careless of whoever
was working in space and dropped that thing.
Now, if it was a barometer, and the goal was to measure the height of
a building, that's a solved problem:
http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/barometer.asp
But measuring the size of the space station with a micrometer? Hmm,
could be a whole new field of investigation.
Craig Fink
lol
Craig Fink
1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
or,
2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
Since no astronaut has ever died during a space walk, I was wondering what
kind of safety equipment is incorporated into the suit. Having
a massive leak in an appendage of the suit should not be fatal. Arms,
legs, hands and feet can be considered somewhat expendable when the
alternative is death.
Does the suit have emergency tourniquets on all appendages?
--
Pascal Bourguignon
There's no need: the blood freezes immediately which stops the hemorragy. ;-)
Perhaps we should make mouse suits and slice mices in suits in orbit
to see what happens...
--
__Pascal Bourguignon__ http://www.informatimago.com/
PLEASE NOTE: Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the
consumer is not directly observing this product, it may cease to
exist or will exist only in a vague and undetermined state.
Jeff Findley
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>
> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>
> or,
>
> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a pinhole
in the suit, and his foot. I'm guessing his response would he "Ouch!
Something just put a hole in my suit!", followed by, "I've got to get back
to he airlock." The suits have a reserve of O2, which should allow the
astronaut to get to an airlock before the suit actually loses pressure.
If the shuttle gets a hole in it, the plan is to land as quickly as
possible. Again, the air supply is sized such that a small hole isn't much
of a problem.
> Since no astronaut has ever died during a space walk, I was wondering what
> kind of safety equipment is incorporated into the suit. Having
> a massive leak in an appendage of the suit should not be fatal. Arms,
> legs, hands and feet can be considered somewhat expendable when the
> alternative is death.
>
> Does the suit have emergency tourniquets on all appendages?
It's extremely unlikely that a micrometeorite would cause a "massive" leak.
Such a thing has not occurred in the history of manned spaceflight to any
astronaut, spaceship, or space station.
Even the Progress/Mir collision wasn't that big of a leak. The hatch to the
leaking module was able to be sealed off in time, despite the
astronauts/cosmonauts having to disconnect and/or cut a lot of wires and
hoses that ran through the hatch. The ISS CBM is designed such that you can
immediately close the hatches without disconnecting any of the wires or
hoses that tie the modules together.
Jeff
--
Remove icky phrase from email address to get a valid address.
Craig Fink
Micrometeor is just an example, maybe a pinhole on entry into the suit and
a half dollar on exiting the suit. It could be something else entirely
that causes a massive leak in an appendage of the suit.
Emergency tourniquets would compartmentalize the space suit.
Like your example of the Mir collision, closing the hatch to the
noncritical compartment to save the rest of the space station. Cutting off
blood flow to the foot and more importantly air flow to the foot so
that the astronaut can make it back to the airlock. Appendages are
noncritical, head and torso are.
Craig Fink
> Craig Fink <WeBe...@GMail.Com> writes:
>
>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometeorite, does he:
>>
>> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>>
>> or,
>>
>> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
>>
>> Since no astronaut has ever died during a space walk, I was wondering what
>> kind of safety equipment is incorporated into the suit. Having
>> a massive leak in an appendage of the suit should not be fatal. Arms,
>> legs, hands and feet can be considered somewhat expendable when the
>> alternative is death.
>>
>> Does the suit have emergency tourniquets on all appendages?
>
> There's no need: the blood freezes immediately which stops the hemorragy. ;-)
>
> Perhaps we should make mouse suits and slice mices in suits in orbit
> to see what happens...
Or, just wait for the suit to be redesigned by an Accident Investigation
Board. ;-(
Tater Schuld
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
> On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 11:26:17 -0500, Jeff Findley wrote:
>
>
>> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>> news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>>>
>>> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>>
>> Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a
>> pinhole in the suit, and his foot. I'm guessing his response would he
>
> a half dollar on exiting the suit. It could be something else entirely
> that causes a massive leak in an appendage of the suit.
well, you do realize that the suits are only pressurized to about 4psi?
Gemini used 2psi as a "safe level" when de-suiting from spacewalks.
there is a pressure regulator on suits to maintain the pressure.
2-4 psi is not that high a pressure, and vacuum will not suck you inside out
like in the movies.
> Emergency tourniquets would compartmentalize the space suit.
yeah, but tourniquets never worked well, and have been discouraged by
most(if not all) medical officals.
in such an accident, the best thing for the astronaut to do is to first,
stop spinning. second, clamp hands over hole(s), third, call for rescue if
he cant use a hand to pull himself in with his tether.
but what really woul happen is (bang!) "OW!!!(grabs hole in leg) "OH
SHI!!!!!!" and makes the fastest return and reentry to space vehicle in
recorded history.
Craig Fink
>
> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
> news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>> On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 11:26:17 -0500, Jeff Findley wrote:
>>
>>
>>> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>> news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>>>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>>>>
>>>> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>>>> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
>>>
>>> Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a
>>> pinhole in the suit, and his foot. I'm guessing his response would he
>>
>> Micrometeor is just an example, maybe a pinhole on entry into the suit and
>> a half dollar on exiting the suit. It could be something else entirely
>> that causes a massive leak in an appendage of the suit.
>
> well, you do realize that the suits are only pressurized to about 4psi?
>
> Gemini used 2psi as a "safe level" when de-suiting from spacewalks.
>
> there is a pressure regulator on suits to maintain the pressure.
>
> 2-4 psi is not that high a pressure, and vacuum will not suck you inside out
> like in the movies.
Maybe just regulate the air flow rate to the appendages to keep it
below the maximum resupply flow rate from the regulator. Essentially
design in a maximum (kept to a minimum) flow rate to appendages, not
tourniquet.
Maybe they've already designed it into the current suits?
>
>> Emergency tourniquets would compartmentalize the space suit.
>
> yeah, but tourniquets never worked well, and have been discouraged by
> most(if not all) medical officals.
>
> in such an accident, the best thing for the astronaut to do is to first,
> stop spinning. second, clamp hands over hole(s), third, call for rescue
> if he cant use a hand to pull himself in with his tether.
He quickly ran out of hands.
>
> but what really woul happen is (bang!) "OW!!!(grabs hole in leg) "OH
> SHI!!!!!!" and makes the fastest return and reentry to space vehicle in
> recorded history.
15 minutes from one end of the space station to the other? An hour buggy
ride on the moon?
Tater Schuld
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
> On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 11:29:55 -0600, Tater Schuld wrote:
>> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>> On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 11:26:17 -0500, Jeff Findley wrote:
>>>> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>>>>
>>>>> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>>>>> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
>>>>
>>> and
>>> a half dollar on exiting the suit. It could be something else entirely
>>> that causes a massive leak in an appendage of the suit.
>>
>> well, you do realize that the suits are only pressurized to about 4psi?
>> Gemini used 2psi as a "safe level" when de-suiting from spacewalks.
>> there is a pressure regulator on suits to maintain the pressure.
>> 2-4 psi is not that high a pressure, and vacuum will not suck you inside
>> out
>> like in the movies.
>
> Maybe just regulate the air flow rate to the appendages to keep it
> below the maximum resupply flow rate from the regulator. Essentially
> design in a maximum (kept to a minimum) flow rate to appendages, not
> tourniquet.
>
> Maybe they've already designed it into the current suits?
I believe so. how long it would last is another issue.
>> in such an accident, the best thing for the astronaut to do is to first,
>> stop spinning. second, clamp hands over hole(s), third, call for rescue
>> if he cant use a hand to pull himself in with his tether.
>
> He quickly ran out of hands.
yeah, hopefully he has a teamate out with him. standard operating procedure
for spacewalks further than X feet from airlock?
>> but what really woul happen is (bang!) "OW!!!(grabs hole in leg) "OH
>> SHI!!!!!!" and makes the fastest return and reentry to space vehicle in
>> recorded history.
>
> 15 minutes from one end of the space station to the other? An hour buggy
> ride on the moon?
Another thing. didnt the astronauts have a roll of tape with them? a quick
leaky patch (or even a tourniquette) would give them a fighting chance.
Tater Schuld
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>
> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>
life-saving equipment outweighed the risk of such a strike.
while micrometeors are in the thousands, the likelihood of getting struck by
one is abotu equal to getting hit by lightning in bclear skies. twice. while
saying "may lightning strike me if..."
Craig Fink
>
> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
> news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>>
>> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
>> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
>>
> after reading through the thread, I think that the cost of lifting the extra
> life-saving equipment outweighed the risk of such a strike.
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.space.station/msg/33b4f9abc570efc8
> while micrometeors are in the thousands, the likelihood of getting struck by
> one is abotu equal to getting hit by lightning in bclear skies. twice. while
> saying "may lightning strike me if..."
Ok, something a little more probable.
The astronaut accidentally rips his glove in half.
Does the suit have some safety equipment to keep the oxygen leak rate from
the arm of the suit below the replenishment rate of the oxygen regulator?
Or, http://groups.google.com/group/sci.space.station/msg/4e002ab945e0730b
Dr John Stockton
Feb 2006 11:26:17 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Jeff Findley
<jeff.f...@ugs.nojunk.com> posted :
>"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a pinhole
>in the suit, and his foot.
A micrometer is not the same thing as a micrometeor.
--
© John Stockton, Surrey, UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v4.00 MIME. ©
Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links;
Astro stuff via astron-1.htm, gravity0.htm ; quotings.htm, pascal.htm, etc.
No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News.
Tater Schuld
"Dr John Stockton" <j...@merlyn.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:CUt8J1B6...@merlyn.demon.co.uk...
> JRS: In article <37839$43e3843f$927a2ce9$32...@FUSE.NET>, dated Fri, 3
> Feb 2006 11:26:17 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Jeff Findley
> <jeff.f...@ugs.nojunk.com> posted :
>>"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>
>>Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a
>>pinhole
>>in the suit, and his foot.
>
> A micrometer is not the same thing as a micrometeor.
but we are assuming he was getting hit by a small chunk of rock, and not a
precision electronic measuring device
Tater Schuld
"Tater Schuld" <Tate...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:AIbFf.86$Hr4...@fe03.lga...
Dr John Stockton
18:32:37 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Tater Schuld
<Tate...@yahoo.com> posted :
You are; but Craig Fink evidently wrote "micrometer", and that's a
precision measuring device not necessarily electronic. I've never owned
one, but I used to use them; they're just the sort of thing that an
advanced astronaut might "drop".
--
© John Stockton, Surrey, UK. ?@merlyn.demon.co.uk Turnpike v4.00 IE 4 ©
<URL:http://www.jibbering.com/faq/> JL/RC: FAQ of news:comp.lang.javascript
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/js-index.htm> jscr maths, dates, sources.
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> TP/BP/Delphi/jscr/&c, FAQ items, links.
André, PE1PQX
> 18:32:37 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Tater Schuld
> <Tate...@yahoo.com> posted :
>>
>> "Dr John Stockton" <j...@merlyn.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:CUt8J1B6...@merlyn.demon.co.uk...
>>> JRS: In article <37839$43e3843f$927a2ce9$32...@FUSE.NET>, dated Fri, 3
>>> Feb 2006 11:26:17 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Jeff Findley
>>> <jeff.f...@ugs.nojunk.com> posted :
>>>> "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>>> news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>>>>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>>>> Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a
>>>> pinhole
>>>> in the suit, and his foot.
>>>
>>> A micrometer is not the same thing as a micrometeor.
>>
>> but we are assuming he was getting hit by a small chunk of rock, and not a
>> precision electronic measuring device
>
> You are; but Craig Fink evidently wrote "micrometer", and that's a
> precision measuring device not necessarily electronic. I've never owned
> one, but I used to use them; they're just the sort of thing that an
> advanced astronaut might "drop".
A Micrometer is also 1/1000th of a milimeter, a milimeter is 1/1000th
of a meter, thus: 1 micrometer is 1/1.000.000th of a meter.
1 meter is a little over 3 feet (also a bit more than 1 yard)
1 meter = 100 cm = 1000 milimeter = 1.000.000 micrometer.
1 inch = 25.4 milimeter
André
--
73' André, PE1PQX
Mijn site: http://pe1pqx.dyndns.org
Neil Gerace
> You are; but Craig Fink evidently wrote "micrometer", and that's a
> precision measuring device not necessarily electronic. I've never owned
> one, but I used to use them; they're just the sort of thing that an
> advanced astronaut might "drop".
And, for the benefit of our norteamericano friends, it's not a unit of
measurement :-)
Tater Schuld
> JRS: In article <AIbFf.86$Hr4...@fe03.lga>, dated Sat, 4 Feb 2006
> 18:32:37 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Tater Schuld
> <Tate...@yahoo.com> posted :
>>
>>"Dr John Stockton" <j...@merlyn.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>>news:CUt8J1B6...@merlyn.demon.co.uk...
>>> JRS: In article <37839$43e3843f$927a2ce9$32...@FUSE.NET>, dated Fri, 3
>>> Feb 2006 11:26:17 remote, seen in news:sci.space.station, Jeff Findley
>>> <jeff.f...@ugs.nojunk.com> posted :
>>>>"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
>>>>news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
>>>>> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
>>>
>>>>Since the micrometeor is likely to be very small, he'd end up with a
>>>>pinhole
>>>>in the suit, and his foot.
>>>
>>> A micrometer is not the same thing as a micrometeor.
>>
>>but we are assuming he was getting hit by a small chunk of rock, and not a
>>precision electronic measuring device
>
> You are; but Craig Fink evidently wrote "micrometer", and that's a
> precision measuring device not necessarily electronic. I've never owned
> one, but I used to use them; they're just the sort of thing that an
> advanced astronaut might "drop".
so in other words.....
in space, do you get a pinhole when you drop your micrometer?
Craig Fink
If the micrometer fell out of the astronauts toolbox six months before, it
would take his whole foot off. Here on earth, having a severed foot won't
kill you, and it shouldn't in space if the suit is designed to maintain
pressure in critical areas of the suit. A space walking astronaut minus
one foot should need prosthetic foot when he gets home, not a casket.
Something as simple as an inflatable tourniquet, or maybe emergency
inflatable bladders in the limbs, torso and possibly helmet of the suit
seems like a fairly simple way to reduce the probability of death from
such an accident.
What is the weakest link in the pressure vessel of current space suits?
Jarkko Hakkarainen
--
- Jarkko -
"André, PE1PQX" <pe1...@planet.nl> wrote in message
news:mn.305b7d626...@planet.nl...
Excuse me, but milimeter (single l) is not correct. In US it is millimeter
(with double l), and in UK it is millimetre (with double l).
Else, than this slight spelling mistake, André's definition of the metric
length measurement units is excellently clear and correct.
- Jarkko -
Tater Schuld
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
anyway, I believe that the astronauts have (as standard equipment) a roll of
tape with their suits. no need for inflatable tourniquets, as tape would do
the same job. plus others
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
"Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
Not that I'm aware of.
There's at least one case I recall reading about where a suit appears to
have developed a hole.
The astronaut had a "hickey" at that spot on his skin.
Greg D. Moore (Strider)
>
> yeah, but tourniquets never worked well, and have been discouraged by
> most(if not all) medical officals.
Technically they work all TOO well. That's the problem. If you properly
apply one, you've written off everything below it and most likely need to
amputate.
Tater Schuld
"Greg D. Moore (Strider)" <mooregr_d...@greenms.com> wrote in message
news:aZ1Gf.11941$rH5....@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
for suits to patch the hole
Craig Fink
And technically, there are two issues.
1) Cutting off the oxygen flow out of the wounded suit.
2) Cutting off the blood flow out of the wounded limb.
The first one being the most important.
The US suit already has an emergency oxygen supply that automatically
kicks in when the pressure drops below a certain value. Seems to me the
best way to activate the atmospheric tourniquets would be to have an
automated system. If the pressure continued to drop below a second lower
value, some of the replenishment flow is routed to the limb tourniquets.
It would be easiest to design the uninflated limb tourniquets into the
cooling garment, as it is already around the astronaut and inside the air
bladder and pressure hull. So the cooling garment would have one more
connection to the tourniquet bladders, as well as the cooling water.
Four of five bladders per limb, that automatically inflate when the
pressure drop is critical, creating air dams to all the none critical
areas of the suit. But still allowing blood flow and movement. Giving the
astronaut the best chance for survival and getting back to the air lock.
Manual activation would probably be a good idea too.
I wouldn't think taping the outer layer of the suit would do much good, as
the oxygen would flow around the tape in the many layers between it and
the air bladder/pressure hull.
Chris Jones
> > "Craig Fink" <WeBe...@GMail.Com> wrote in message
> > news:pan.2006.02.03....@GMail.Com...
> >> If an astronaut gets hit in the foot by a micrometer, does he:
> >>
> >> 1) Inflate the emergency tourniquet to cut off leakage from the foot?
> >>
> >> or,
> >>
> >> 2) Use the few seconds he has left to say goodbye to his family?
> >
or,
3) Call out, "Hey! Someone lost a micrometer. Gotta be more careful
with a tool, fool!"