Great!

Continued Sewing

Closing in on very final details now, further sewing on the pressure restraint garment after installing the coolant hose port, as seen in the top two images. It's come a long way since starting to figure this out, in Feb 2010 (final image)!

System Overview Video

Video review of the system at present:



If it doesn't show properly on the screen, you can see it in a new window, here.

Power Check

Yes -- 12+ volts and things are really coming together with the suit coolant pump running smoothly and just the smallest adjustments to make to the suit itself. But not today--this weekend I read the space book manuscript for the first time in two weeks, my coauthor and I have completely left it aside for that time to come back to it for a final editing pass with fresh eyes. Could I be ready for the full test at the end of the month? I think so! I need to recruit some helpers, as I simply can't do it alone!

Suit Coolant Epoxy Seal

Tonight I took an hour to finalize the coolant hose through-port; in the first picture, I'm mixing epoxy, with the coolant in/out hoses through the PVC fitting that will screw into the port on the suit; in the second photo, starting to pack it into the fitting, around the hoses; in the third, the fitting rotated and its second opening being packed, and in the fourth, a closeup of the rather messy, but well-packed epoxy job that I'll sand down to smooth later. When this hardens in the next 24 hours, it will make an airtight plug around the coolant hoses, so that when this fitting is screwed into the suit port hardware, pressure will not escape the fitting, around the coolant hoses. One of a dozen little jobs that are quickly coming together to be ready for an end-of-the-month full test!

Suit Coolant Pump Installed

Finally -- a functional coolant pump, hoses and connections! The two quick connections in my hand are for coolant fluid in and out; they pass through a port to be installed in the suit after I epoxy the fitting to be sure it's airtight. The clear, thin hoses will circulate body-cooling fluid through a mesh vest I'll wear inside the suit, under my thin long-john union suit. On the left, the small black module is the new, more powerful 12vDC pump (driven by the motorcycle battery on the right, which will be replaced by a car battery that I purchased today, but had to leave at the shop because a bus driver said it could be used as a weapon! I'll pick it up on Thu with a taxi). A switch on the main control panel turns the pump on and off; it will not run continuously, only when I need it. The clear plastic cylinder in the background, with the orange bands, contains the coolant fluid; just water now, but later, basically, antifreeze. Hard to believe it was November 2009 when Angela and I did the first test of the pressure suit, it's two years later and I think by the end of this month my test will see the whole system ready for a full test!

New Graphic

Mind, Intelligence and Adaptation...a new Figure for the space book. Wrapping things up, at long, long last!