Today we got busy with the real deal related to the DIY spacesuit together with Cameron Smith and John Haslett.
We got suited up!
This first donning session was a demonstration with Cameron inside the pressure suit, John controlling the life support systems and myself running the check list. A perfect way to getting to know the suit, all systems, critical parts and life support operations. The suit invented by Cameron Smith is a proof of concept but is absolutely beautiful and amazing. There might be specific design changes in the future, valves to be replaced by something more "space rated" but it works! It is a real homemade space suit.
Below is some images showing the process of getting Cameron into the suit. In total it was an two hour session, with one hour for the actual suiting up. Cameron burned off approximately 2 kg of ice during this session running through the liquid cooling garment.
In the next couple of days Peter and myself will be suited up and we will continue the design process of seating design, interior control panel placement and egress-scenarios.
Monday we will hit Copenhagen Air Experience for a free fall test (suited up) and Tuesday we visit the high altitude chamber at the Copenhagen main hospital.
John and Cameron will be here for about 10 days which I expected to be more than enough time for all this. Now I am not so sure. There is so much to talk about and so much we can learn from each other. But since they are a part of Copenhagen Suborbitals they will come back - hopefully as soon as possible.
We have also been discussing the value of having human test flights as part of our mission. When we launch rockets we are testing engines, communication, separations and parachutes etc - all hardware. It might be a mistake to have the first manned "flight" when we launch Peter into space. I truly believe that we need to have a manned test so we learn operating missions with life at stake. How do you communicate with a man far away - likely stressed out? How will the ground personnel handle an operation with someone risking his life? These questions are important to find answers to and we surely do not want to pull a Sheppard - where countdown stops because everyone suddenly realize they have a friend on top of a rocket.
So, perhaps we should have Cameron's balloon mission as one of our main milestones.
This week is going to be amazing!
Ad Astra
Kristian von Bengtson
