Next-gen NASA spacesuit contract mothballed
By Ryan Block 
posted August 16th 2008 1:17AM
posted August 16th 2008 1:17AM
posted August 16th 2008 1:17AM
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I don't blame NASA, those spacesuits look grotesque.
those werent the actual suits. they were just concepts.
Come on, NASA!
We went to the moon in 1969 with no more technology than a pocket calculator and a little human ingenuity.
This should be easy right now. We can put tons of robotic probes on mars and yet none on the moon. The moon should be our testing ground for new robotic technology. We're close enough so that the signal delay isn't that big of a deal.
Jeez! Let's get up and go already!
Aww man. I was hoping that they would have those convex breast holder things for the female astronauts like in the movies.
"We went to the moon in 1969 with no more technology than a pocket calculator and a little human ingenuity."
Actually, they used slide rules back then; the pocket calculator didn't appear until the late 70s, and even then they weren't all THAT small to begin with. Come to think of it, they were more like coat pocket-sized initially rather than jeans pocket size... ;)
Astro-Prom cracked me up!
Bring plenty of astroglide to the astro-prom ladies, if you know what I mean.
What ever happened to http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/biosuit1-enlarged.jpg
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/biosuit-0716.html
If they are going to design a new suit at least make it teh sexy.
That helmet makes her look like a fly. Boner turn-off.
Shouldn't we be more worried about building the actual shiop to carry the next generation of astronauts?
well that's already a problem, NASA is wasting its time and money building the Ares I when current gen rockets can do it's job fine
Nope, just need to worry about using spell check before posting a comment >> SHIOP!!!!!
lol-- just ribbin' ya!
What rocket would your propose we send to the moon? Shuttle can't go past 250~ miles up. Aries is good! Also the old space suits were only meant for a few hours on the moon these are supposed to last a month or so.
looks like someone didn't know that all the Ares I does is takes the astronauts in to orbit. the Ares V actually caries the lunar payload, they deserve to take your money
i better get a tax refund or something
All these delays are getting boring why not just pop open the old records and rebuild everything as they were with a little modern flare (like a real computer)
the Spacesuits worked fine, the Saturn V had a perfect launch history all that's needed is maybe a better Apollo spacecraft
And Michael Phelps to swim in the sea of tranquility...
Their funding keeps getting cut, so this is no surprise.
"why not just pop open the old records and rebuild everything "
because they destroyed all of the plans...
go NASA!
They need wings and rockets so the astronauts can fly back to Earth on their own in the event that the ship leaves them.. or alien attack!
I'm glad they have lost the contract. They are an awful company.
Based on what?
Based on that Jim works for either Hamilton Sundstrand or ILC Dover.
They destroyed all their original plans because they didn't work (read: we didn't go to the moon) and didn't want anyone to find out
Okay, that's my conspiracy theory for the day.
wait so another company bitched because they didnt get the contract, and then it was taken away from the company that got it? WTF
is that a throw away camera taped to the suit
Where all the astrosluts at?
That camera looks lame :A
The may look ugly but they are designed to be a hell of a lot more maneuverable that the current set of suits.
It looks like the basic design is based on the deep sea diving suits, with sliding joints making it easier to move around.
just wait though 2 months down the line the "established" firms will show up with a design that looks JUST like this one and they will say they can get it done cheaper, either that or they will simply buy the design from the new company
camera looks like Ricoh. I believe that it's this one: http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/caplio/500se/ . those who are not familiar with the brand - Ricoh makes one of the best compact cameras in this planet with the decent price tag. but right now should be there Sigma DP1 as it has the best form factor / picture quality balance and full metal body on market. on the second place is Leica M8 and third Ricoh GR II.
so when are they gonna start taking iPhones into space!
Hey, if you thought getting 3G reception was hard now...
the guys in right wear nice looking underwears.
but will it blend?!
Is it just me or do the new space suits make the astronauts look like the Hunch-Back of Notredame.
What!? I work at Oceaneering and was seriously considering switching to the Space Systems department to work on this. We were just discussing how Hamilton was getting all pissy last week, and now this? This is really irritating and incredibly disappointing.
I can tell you right now based upon some of the work I've done in the Advanced Technologies department, there are few companies that would be better at developing NASA's new Constellation Space Suit. I can only pray that we get this one back.
Personally I think the old ones still look pretty badass...
But alas, we need to incorporate better, lighter technologies into some newer iterations.
just one more reason to believe the last moon landing was a bunch of fake crap. if they were able to get their crap together back then, why is it taking so much effort to do it these days when we are so much more advanced in the field. FAKE
Paul, knock it off with that crap. Not only are you a moron if you believe the moon landing was faked, you are threatening to deny future generations their heritage. Your opinion, like Holocaust denial in Germany, should be illegal.
wait, you think Paul's opinion should be illegal. Hmmm, making opinions illegal....
Weren't they funding a couple of different companies to see which approach worked best? These look like traditional pressure-filled suits. The competing concept--using fabrics to maintain pressure on the limbs, like a tight turtleneck and long johns--seemed much more promising. No atmosphere to leak out of the limbs so less potential for that catastrophe, and much more flexible (the old models are like trying to bend a stiff balloon from the inside).
Karl, don't feed the trolls. The best way to discourage them is to simply ignore them.