OCSS (Orion Crew Survival System) Suit Build - Getting Started...

[S1RDAG0N3T]

Hi All, I'm planning a new suit build for 2024, This one is a significant leap in complexity compared to my last spacesuit, hence why I've come here. I've been a long-time lurker on this site, I only recently made an account. Originally I planned this year's suit to be a replica of the xEMU currently being developed by Axiom and Collins, but I figure this might be an easier first step for a relative novice like myself.

I'm looking for resources on this suit, materials, references, diagrams, models, patterns, etc; an hour of googling can only get you so far. I have found (almost) every single 3d model of the suit currently available online, I've found the same sort of development articles as when I was researching the xEMU, it has some insightful technical info, but very little of practical use. From what I can tell, the OCSS is very similar to the shuttle era ACES suit, similar hardware and materials.

I can link the files and papers I've found thus far if anyone is interested, I hope to finish the suit sometime in August.
Thanks for reading.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

Here's a quick Civilian nametag I worked up in Google Drawings, I couldn't figure out the exact font, It's probably Helvetica but I just used Arial. I made gold and silver variants, though I don't quite understand the distinction.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

Sourcing the patches is one of the easier steps, i've found many examples of the meatball patches, I'm guessing that the logo on the suit is about 4" and has a well defined blue border, same as the ACES.

The patches are all held on with velcro, I found a similar reel on amazon.


The flag is very simple, it just has a white border as opposed to the traditional gold one.

Orange Velcro
Meatball Patch 4"
Artemis Program Patch
USA Flag w/ white border

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

-continued from previous-

From what I can tell, the blue straps are just web straps, I'm sure they're much fancier and high tech, but off the shelf works for my purposes.

The buckle on the front looks exactly like this one

Blue Straps
Tactical Buckle

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

The shoes present another interesting issue with this project, I cannot find any evidence of these shoes outside of some 3d models and the 2019 demo pictures.

Of course, searching for "Reebok nasa shoes" yields nothing of relevance.

Has anyone here seen any news about these shoes?
heh, that rhymes.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

far as I can tell, the hose connectors are more or less identical to those on the Apollo A7L.

this makes sourcing files and reference a little easier, MakeTwo on Thingiverse has really high quality PLSS and O2/CO2 connectors.

PLSS
Alt PLSS
Water Hose

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

I modelled the right-side valve in TinkerCAD, I'll see about making them available on Thingiverse if people are interested, it's mostly built from MakeTwo's files I just added the side valve, fixed the screw-holes and reoriented the model to better match the OCSS.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

in a post from Jeremy Hansen, he's wearing the shoes. I have genuinely no idea where to look, these shoes don't exist outside of these photos and $40 3d models.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

made some patterns, they're... rough... to say the least.

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

shot in the dark, since it seems that nobody has actually seen this thread, but I can't for the life of me find the company responsible for building the Orion Suits. The A7L's were made by ILC Dover, the constellation and ACES suits were made by David Clark Company, the EMU was developed (in part) by Hamilton Sunstrand, and the newer xEMU has had versions from Oceaneering, Axiom, Collins Aerospace and ILC Dover.
this is all plainly available, but the Orion suit remains a mystery to me.

 

[joberg]

Your research looks very good and making suits like these is not easy to say the least. One pro in the film industry and a member here (imgill) has built a lot of those for major Hollywood feature films over the years; PM him, I'm sure he'll offer some tricks of the trade with you.
Keep up the great work

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

Your research looks very good and making suits like these is not easy to say the least. One pro in the film industry and a member here (imgill) has built a lot of those for major Hollywood feature films over the years; PM him, I'm sure he'll offer some tricks of the trade with you.
Keep up the great work

thanks for your kind words, these suits are ludicrously complex, I might try and reach out to imgill, I like the work that Global Effects has done.

 

[pengbuzz]

Hi All, I'm planning a new suit build for 2024, This one is a significant leap in complexity compared to my last spacesuit, hence why I've come here. I've been a long-time lurker on this site, I only recently made an account. Originally I planned this year's suit to be a replica of the xEMU currently being developed by Axiom and Collins, but I figure this might be an easier first step for a relative novice like myself.

I'm looking for resources on this suit, materials, references, diagrams, models, patterns, etc; an hour of googling can only get you so far. I have found (almost) every single 3d model of the suit currently available online, I've found the same sort of development articles as when I was researching the xEMU, it has some insightful technical info, but very little of practical use. From what I can tell, the OCSS is very similar to the shuttle era ACES suit, similar hardware and materials.

I can link the files and papers I've found thus far if anyone is interested, I hope to finish the suit sometime in August.
Thanks for reading.

I found a few resources now that you mention it; you probably already have these, but here they are anyways:

PDF from 49th International Conference on Environmental Systems ICES-2019-179
7-11 July 2019, Boston, Massachusetts, "Development of a Custom Space Suit for Orion":

https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/36921e00-8d53-4842-872a-53b34e2c66f0/content

A shoe I found that kinda resembles the orion "reeboks":

Chunky Sock Sneakers

Raise your athleisure game to whole new levels with these eye-popping platform sneakers, and get confidence for days. These retro chunky sneakers will bring a fresh attitude to your casual 'fits and off-duty days. We are so vibing on these sneaks right now. Their thick, statement-making soles...

us.boohoo.com

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

A shoe I found that kinda resembles the orion "reeboks":

Chunky Sock Sneakers

Raise your athleisure game to whole new levels with these eye-popping platform sneakers, and get confidence for days. These retro chunky sneakers will bring a fresh attitude to your casual 'fits and off-duty days. We are so vibing on these sneaks right now. Their thick, statement-making soles...

us.boohoo.com

Thank you for the link, those shoes are really close, I'm looking into "sock trainers" now.
The ICES documents have been a tremendous source for info regarding these suits, though the amount of info on the Orion suit pales in comparison to the xEMU.

 

[LeoCor Replicas]

Fantastic work, well done.

P.S., love the avatar!

 

[S1RDAG0N3T]

Fantastic work, well done.

P.S., love the avatar!

View attachment 1776952

what a guy!

 

[CosmoNick]

Hey there! Stumbled across your thread and just wanted to weigh in a bit on the patches side of things.

For the nametag patches, I'd personally recommend using Nametags4u - Home. They make souvenir nametag patches for the actual astronauts (don't know if they make the ones they wear on their flightsuits) and make an excellent nametag patch in the Mission Specialist style from your second post. I've worked with them a few times before, and each time has been a breeze with high quality at $16 for each nametag. Their contact form should get you there. As for the silver vs gold on the nametags, I wondered that myself for years, because there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. Well, I work at a space museum that occasionally gets cool visitors, and I posed the question to retired astronaut Nicole Stott. According to her, the silver vs gold is entirely individual preference.

You're likely already familiar with A&B emblem, but if you're not, they supply mission patches to NASA. Their website space.abemblem.com has the exact type of NASA meatball and American flag patch the OCSS uses, though of course, you could probably source both from Amazon or elsewhere and get the same result for possibly cheaper.

Best of luck in your build! The OCSS is, in my opinion, just about the best looking soft suit since Mercury. Hope everything goes well for you.

 

[DMP]

The shoes present another interesting issue with this project, I cannot find any evidence of these shoes outside of some 3d models and the 2019 demo pictures.
View attachment 1775551View attachment 1775549

Of course, searching for "Reebok nasa shoes" yields nothing of relevance.

Has anyone here seen any news about these shoes?
heh, that rhymes.

They are custom made for Nasa for the David Clark OCSS suit, other than mimicking them your not going find them, they are actually longer than shown , those look like the prototypes for show and tell.... ;-)