A Hard Upper Torso Assembly, or HUT, is a central component of several

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

s, notably

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Orlan orlan is an internationally recognized French artist. She is not tied to any one material, technology, or artistic practice. She uses sculpture, photography, performance, video, 3D, video games, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and ro ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Extravehicular Mobility Unit The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is an independent anthropomorphic spacesuit that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for astronauts performing extravehicular activity (EVA) in Earth orbit. Introduc ...

(EMU). The

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HUT forms a rigid enclosure about the upper body of the occupant, providing pressure containment for this part of the body. The HUT incorporates structural attachment points for the arms, Lower Torso Assembly (LTA), helmet, chest-mounted Display and Controls Module (DCM), and Primary Life Support Subsystem (PLSS) backpack. The original HUT design for the EMU, first used in 1980, included bellowed shoulder bearings, which allowed for variation in the angle of the shoulder bearings. This allowed for one configuration to ease donning of the suit, and a different configuration to allow maximum mobility during

EVA Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

. However, the limited life of the bellows prompted a redesign in 1990 to a fixed shoulder bearing angle and position, referred to as the Planar HUT, resulting in reduced mobility and more difficult donning and doffing. Because of the high cost of manufacturing, only three sizes of HUTs are produced for the EMU. This has the effect of limiting the number of people who can be properly fit for the suit. The three HUT sizes are supposed to accommodate occupants from the 5th to the 95th

percentile In statistics, a ''k''-th percentile (percentile score or centile) is a score ''below which'' a given percentage ''k'' of scores in its frequency distribution falls (exclusive definition) or a score ''at or below which'' a given percentage falls ...

. The HUT also includes an In-Suit Drink Bag, with a plastic tube extending into the helmet, to allow the astronaut to stay hydrated.

References

{{space suit Space suit components