USA Supports One EVA with Space Tools

When astronauts venture out of an Orbiter or Space Station airlock into the vacuum of space, the suits they wear and the tools and equipment they use are critical to their survival and ability to perform work in a very challenging environment.

For each mission, hundreds of items are loaded onto the Orbiter for use during Extravehicular Activity (EVA), or space walks. Examples of these items include space suits, socket wrenches, tool tethers and foot restraints.

All of these items are produced, acquired and processed under the NASA Consolidated EVA Hardware Contract, also known as One EVA. This five-year contract was issued two years ago, with the aim of promoting efficiency by consolidating a variety of separate contracts for EVA items into one.

The prime contractor for One EVA is Hamilton Sundstrand. The first tier subcontractors include USA; Oceaneering Space Systems, ILC, Dover and Boeing, with many other subcontractors from around the country contributing equipment, as well.

USA’s role under One EVA is to process all of the EVA hardware in support of mission readiness and training. For the upcoming STS-116 mission, USA employees provided support for over 370 crew-training events and processed more than 500 components for the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), and 250 tools for use during the planned EVAs.

USA also provides some engineering support during the mission EVAs. Approximately 200 USA employees work under the One EVA contract, most of them based in the Flight Crew Equipment/EVA element in Houston.

All the EVA equipment undergoes rigorous quality certification during design to ensure its suitability for use in space. In addition, USA personnel conduct processing certification, (such as vibration testing) inspection and testing for each mission, checking to make sure each EVA item on a particular mission manifest is acceptable for the specific tasks it will be used for during spacewalks.

“We prepare the EVA tools and suits that the astronauts use for their training and for flight, so we see them daily,” said Cherlyn Boxie, USA Tool Technical Manager. “We become close to many of the crewmembers. We feel very much a part of their missions.”

The EVA tools used by astronauts during the mission must be sized so they can be gripped by the large gloves worn by the crewmembers. The tools are generally made of aluminum and stainless steel, with special coatings to protect them from the space environment. Examples of these tools include retractable equipment tethers, articulating portable foot restraints which plug into ports on the ISS, and wire ties.

The EMUs are actually a collection of dozens of components that are disassembled and assembled for each flight and training exercise. According to EMU Technical Manager Christopher Dale, the EMU is comprised of multiple subsystems, including the primary life support subsystem (the backpacks worn during EVAs), which provides the suit pressure, cooling, communication, and oxygen.

In addition to processing the space suits, the One EVA group prepares the EVA crew options kits, which include items worn under the suits, such as the liquid cooling and ventilation garment, which is a chiffon spandex body suit laced with water lines (for cooling) and vent ducts (to take away carbon dioxide); comfort gloves, which are worn under the SSA gloves to prevent chafing and wick moisture; socks; hair restraints; and adhesive foam pads and other personal items.

All of these items are customized for each crewmember.

“This job is always interesting,” Dale said, adding, “The EVA team deals with a wide variety of different components and an interesting variety of crewmembers for each flight. Every flight manifest is different, so it’s never dull.”

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