Sunday, November 4, 2012

Pressure Release Fitting Leak

Bubbles forming at the automatic suit pressure release fitting indicate a leak after I spray the unit with soapy water. I'll replace this fitting, which is only supposed to 'crack' or release pressure at 4psi, not the 2psi in the suit at t his photo. A pressure release is important as if the suit pressurization fitting is stuck in the 'ON' position it will want to fill the suit indefinitely, leading to a blowup! A cosmonaut once had his suit get into this terrible position and had to manually dump pressure so that he could fit back into the spacecraft hatch! Hairy stuff! He was gambling with the bends, but what else could he do? Won't happen to me! Second image is just a footage still of today's pressure check.

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