My Apollo A7L Space Suit V3 - FINALLY MAKING MY OWN SUIT

Ryan,

That A7LB is shaping up nicely! I really like the way it looks. Are you going for the full A7LB EMU? OPS cover almost done! Neat emblem! Is there a story behind the patch design?
 
Yes, this suit will eventually have the full EVA configuration. The emblem was based on a patch I designed years ago for a film. I like the simplicity of the Apollo 15 patch, so I went for something similar. I also lifted the moon graphic directly off the 13 patch, because I also liked that design.

Ryan,

That A7LB is shaping up nicely! I really like the way it looks. Are you going for the full A7LB EMU? OPS cover almost done! Neat emblem! Is there a story behind the patch design?

Still no functioning rings. This suit will only be worn in the EVA configuration, so all that stuff will be covered up. Didn't want to waste time engineering that just yet. I will eventually make myself an A7L and that suit may have functioning hardware.

Ryan, have you also replicated the locking mechanism on the neck and wrist rings, or are they magnets as before?

-Max

Also, I just spotted the suit I made for asavage on Mythbusters. It was an honor to contribute to the final season:

IMG_9061.JPG
 
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They are very similar if not exactly the same. I've seen some pictures of modern EMU's used for training and the white paint has chipped off the necking revealing red underneath, which makes me think they were red anodized originally. I doubt you could purchase the actual aerospace hardware from ILC, and if you could, it would cost a small fortune.

Would the modern suit rings be correct? I wonder if you could source them from the current mfg.

-Max
 
I've seen some of those photos, the unpainted ones are red and blue and look identical. I know a few people at DuPont who might have contacts at ILC, I'll see what I can come up with.

At worst I'm sure we could get plans for the operable rings and then have them 3D printed as operable plastic parts from Shapeways, at best we could get the real thing from their machine shop.

-Max
 
I think those connectors are sourced through Air-Lock, Inc. Good luck getting prints, even though they supply to a prime contractor (ILC), and the technology is ancient, they may still consider that stuff proprietary information It's a pretty simple design but you would need the helmet and the neck ring
 
They are basically the same neck ring and wrist wring disconnects. The A7L ring mounts via a clamp around the neck disconnect, and the A7Lb and EMU rings mount from the bottom of the ring (A7Lb via a clamping ring, EMU bolts to the HUT) The EMU and A7Lb also have off set lock release. They are made by Air-Lock industries and you would faint at the cost. We replicate the neck ring exactly to the original, less the seal and just the machining cost on these is around $4500 each. (Which I think is about 15% the cost of a real one, and no, they don't have used ones or bad ones to sell) (nor do we) The tolerances need to be spot on, or the rings locking mechanism binds up. Then there is polishing and anodizing. Each suit side neck disconnect has about 31 pieces to machine, not including screws so they are very complex.

Here is a picture of ours and a real one taken apart. (A7Lb I believe) Side note: The early Apollo were anodized blue and then when Frank Borman was hired by NASA he couldn't fit his head through the ring. Edit: The Borman story is incorrect. The reason for the change was insufficient O2 flow in the earlier Apollo rings. So a larger inlet plenum was designed. To keep the helmet side and neck side plenums correctly matched, they changed the color to red and added the words "Use with red helmet ring only" to the top of the neck disconnect.
DSC00001.JPGneck_ring.jpg

Would the modern suit rings be correct? I wonder if you could source them from the current mfg.

-Max
 
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Well there's the answer. Would it be possible to 3D print something that is functional but not with the real world requirements of those tolerences?
-Max

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Maybe, but there are so many very small thin parts I doubt it. Leastwise not with conventional plastic printers.
Well there's the answer. Would it be possible to 3D print something that is functional but not with the real world requirements of those tolerences?
-Max

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
I really don't feel the need to duplicate the suit exactly. At some point you have to draw the line in terms of accuracy, because I'm not going to put a pressure bladder inside, I'm not going to use pressure sealing zippers, I'm not going to use Chromel R fabric, etc. So I'm pretty content with just creating a replica that cosmetically looks right. At some point I may machine a neck and wrist disconnect that functions, but it would be simpler than the real thing. I've thought of ways that wouldn't be too difficult to fabricate.

@lmgill out of curiosity why did Buzz Aldrin in From the Earth to the Moon wear a blue neck ring when his actual suit was red?
 
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@lmgill out of curiosity why did Buzz Aldrin in From the Earth to the Moon wear a blue neck ring when his actual suit was red?

Because the real Apollo 11 "Official portrait" has Armstrong and Collins with the older blue rings and Buzz with a red ring. The color difference was intended to be for the photo and training shots only, but they ended up using the two different colors during the mission as well. I'm not sure why Buzz had the blue ring, and not Neil. But we only made 3 A7L suits for FTETTM and used 3 we had mad for an Apollo 11 movie a few years earlier. This is why the suits were the same. They just swapped mission patches and names. In fact Tom Sizemore was cast as one of the astronauts, but he didn't fit in the suit. So they had to recast his part and reshoot all his scenes.
Here is a shot of Cary Elwes and myself
Chris & Cary.jpg

Armstrong's used mission suit has a blue inner ring and red outer ring.
A11NAANeckRing2[1].jpg


Your suits look great by the way. Nice job.

Chris
 
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@imagill what prevents the male side on the helmet from spinning within the female ring on the suit? Is it just the air connection at the back of the neck, or do the locking studs go into corresponding holes on the male helmet side?

-Max
 
The helmet rotation is prevented by the air plenum and corresponding air plenum inlet on the pressure bubble. The pins engage a groove in the helmet ring.
 
I spent the last few months moving to a new studio space, so I wasn't able to make anything. But now that I'm set up, I'll be doing a lot more:

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I knocked out a few things this week. I turned these fingertip cups for the EVA gloves in acrylic. I cast them in urethane rubber dyed light blue (simpact 60A):

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I started making an accurate lunar mission Hasselblad. It's different than the commercial version that was sold to the public. But I was lucky to find a broken 500 EL being sold for parts, so it was cheap and also there's no guilt about taking it apart and converting it to the Apollo version. I stripped off all the leatherette and cast it in resin, then milled off all the incorrect parts and replaced them with the moon parts. I also cast a Zeiss Distagon lens and turned it on my lathe to look more like the Biogon lens designed for Apollo.

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Last but not least, I received some excellent resources to duplicate the PLSS, OPS, and RCU. I have some actual patterns and blueprints from Hamilton Standard, loaned to me by RPF member Seatra. I was also loaned an actual Apollo-era PLSS thermal cover from the 1960's. This cover was not flown (it was used for training), but it is identical in every way to the cover worn on the PLSS backpacks of Apollo 11-14:

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Ryan,
Congrats on getting the studio set up. It looks like a nice place to work! Fitting out the suit for a full EMU is going to really take it to another level of excellence!

I'm still amazed at how those guys got all that through the LM hatch. A long time ago, while working for Westinghouse, I used to jump in and out of hot nuc plant steam generators to plug tubes, install cameras, robots, etc. The access manways were not all that big and we had to wear multiple coveralls, gloves, dosimetry everywhere, and a soft bubble helmet with airline feed. I got this photo from the net but it was just like that. Like trying to walk while wearing a balloon.....
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Not exactly like jumping into a vacuum with a space suit but that environment wasn't friendly either!
 
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