| NDSTaR 2005, An Aerospace Workforce Development Program | ||||
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May 2006  Tests of the finished suit are now underway in preparation for the field tests which start May 1st. - A blog with in field test information will be posted daily at http://spacesuitlab.blogspot.com/ Tests taking place in the UND facilities include: unmanned pressure tests, mobility tests, manned tests, biomedical sensors reading tests, content of CO2 in helmet, temperature, etc. April 2006  Students from TMCC delivered the system for voice communications of the suit and several tests were performed to evaluate quality of sound inside the helmet and compatibility with the noise environment. Final integration of all parts and subsystems is currently underway. Tests are scheduled for the first week of May. For more information about tests contact Suezette Bieri at: 701-777-4856  March 2006 Gary Harris visited us again to complete integration of the soft parts of the suit. While he was here, he also made two presentations about space suit design to the Engineering for Human Spaceflight course at the UND Department of Space Studies. Testing of the gloves was performed in non-pressurized state to evaluate dexterity during donning and doffing.   February 2006 NDSCS completed machining of the wrist rings, and they are continuing with other metal parts for the suit. Mark and Pablo went to Dickinson State University and worked with the students during the final selection of the test site. Several interesting locations were chosen for testing in May. January 2006 NDSCS started the machining process for the metal rings in the wrist and neck connections. Final assembly of the helmet has started using a honeycomb shell developed at UND. Final design of the waist dual-plane closure ring has started and should be complete by the end of the month. December 2005 The lower torso assembly continued and is nearing completion. Consultant Gary Harris completed the restraint layer of the lower torso assembly and performed some fabric strength tests. November 2005  Strength tests on the carbon fiber swaths were conducted and they passed (they were able to withstand over 100 pounds of weight without breaking.) Encouraged by the success of the test, the team created the carbon fiber, honey comb, and fiberglass HUT for the suit. A teleconference of all teams was held on November 9th.  October 2005 The team continued working to test the pressure of the arm pressure bladder and restraint layer Gary made while he was here. The system was tested to 4psi and it held. There were some leaks in the testing setup, but overall, it was a successful test. The team created a lip out of fiberglass that will be used in connecting the visor to the helmet. Swaths of carbon fiber and honey comb layers were created to be tested for strength.September 2005
Gary
Harris (one of our consultants) came to visit and help
us work on our designs. He
helped us
to figure out the final dimensions of our HUT and instructed us in the
first stages of
creating the pressure bladder and restraint layer.
Mr. Harris also taped two class sessions for the Department of Space Studies dealing with the history of space suit design and current issues regarding the creation of space suits.
On September 7, the project team went to Turtle Mountain Community College to meet with Prakash Ranganathan and his students to present the project to them, answer their questions and discuss their role in the project.
On September 16, Jenny, Mark and Fabio presented the spacesuit to UND television station Studio One. On September 23, Pablo and Mike Zietz (NDSU) presented the project to the NASA Western Regional Space Grant Conference held at the University of North Dakota. August 2005  On On August 22, the project team went to the North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton, ND) to discuss their possible role in machining our ring bearings, etc. August 19, met with project directors Shan deSilva and Suezette Bieri to give an update of the project progress. On August 17, the project was featured on North Dakota Public Radio. Also, Pablo toured NDSU’s team facilities to learn about where they will be working and the status of their work to date. On August 4, the project was presented to the Department of Space Studies 'Capstone' students to introduce them to our project and answer their questions. July 2005 
 Work
began on
creating the initial test helmet and HUT from the molds.Worked on creating the plug for the hard upper torso shell (using splices from the CAD drawings, foam board and formica) The team worked to fit the molds to test astronaut Fabio better. June 2005 Work began to create molds from the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) plug and from the helmet plug.  May
2005Finished mockups for the helmet and upper torso and continued with the CAD phase. Tried mockups on Fabio to check feasibility and record more measurements. Met with and discussed the project with TMCC and NDSCS. April 2005 Discussed helmet options, oval versus spherical, decided on spherical. Visited Hamilton Sunstrand (April 11, 2005) and gave a presentation of our project. They agreed to be one of our consultants. Met with NDSU team leader (Dan), they will be joining the project, working to create the biomedical sensors. Made initial contact with Dickenson State team leader, Corinne Krauss. Reviewed a couple different locking mechanisms for enclosure system March 2005 15 March 2005 - Press release: "North Dakota Space Grant Consortium Awarded $100,000 Grant to Design Mars Planetary Suit" View the full Press release here. O2 sensors were connected to the computer Information on using human test subjects was explored. Worked began on two concepts of suit entry and feasibility tests were conducted. |
During
September, work continued on concept testing of the HUT and helmet
made from the molds.
 This project is funded through a NASA workforce development grant given to the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium. |