![Mercury Suit Gordon Cooper](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Mercury_Suit_Gordon_Cooper.jpg)
The Mercury space suit (or Navy Mark IV) was a full-body, high-altitude
pressure suit
A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pr ...
originally developed by the
B.F. Goodrich Company and the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
for pilots of high-altitude fighter aircraft. It is best known for its role as the spacesuit worn by the astronauts of the
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
spaceflights.
The MK IV Full Pressure Suit ensemble was also used extensively by the US Navy from about 1959 through the early 1970s in aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom, A-3/A-5/RA-5C Vigilante, and F-8 Crusader.
Pre-Mercury development
The suit was designed by
Russell Colley (who designed and built the high-altitude pressure suit worn by aviator
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop on ...
) as a means of providing an Earth-like atmosphere in the unpressurized high-altitude fighter jets developed by the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
and
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. The Mark IV suit was first introduced in the late 1950s. Prior to the development of the Mark IV suit, the Navy developed different types of the Mark-series full-pressure suits, but all the suits before the Mark IV had problems with both mobility and weight.
The Mark IV suit solved the mobility problems with the use of elastic cord which arrested the "ballooning" of the suit, and at , was the lightest pressure suit developed for military use. The most severe test of the suit occurred during the record-setting balloon flight of
Malcolm Ross and
Victor Prather in the
Strato-Lab V unpressurized gondola to on May 4, 1961. With the advent of pressurized cockpits, and the
David Clark Company's contract with the U.S. Air Force and the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
(later
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
) for a full pressure suit for the
X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
rocket plane, the suit fell out of use.
Project Mercury
![GPN-2000-001027](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/GPN-2000-001027.jpg)
When NASA began the Mercury Project in 1958, one of the first needs was a "
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, ...
": a pressure suit to protect the
astronaut in the event of a sudden depressurization of the cabin in the vacuum of space. NASA tested both the Navy Mark IV suit and the X-15 high-altitude suit, and chose the Mark IV because it was less bulky than the David Clark suit, and could be easily modified for the new space role.
The Mercury suit incorporated several changes from the Navy Mark IV:
* Replacement of the "open loop" breathing system with a "closed loop" system, eliminating the rubber diaphragm around the wearer's face. Oxygen entered the suit through a hose connected at the wearer's waist, circulated through the suit to provide cooling, and exited through a hose on the right side of the helmet, or through the face opening depending on whether the faceplate was closed or open. A small pressure bottle connected by a small hose to a connector next to the astronaut's left jaw was used to pressurize a pneumatic seal when the faceplate was closed.
* Replacement of the dark gray nylon outer shell with one made of aluminum-coated nylon, for thermal control purposes
* Replacement of the black leather safety boots with ones made first from white coated leather, later aluminumized nylon-coated leather, again for thermal control.
* Introduction of straps and zippers to provide a snug fit, along with refinements in the shoulder, elbow, and knee retaining cords
* Special gloves with four curved fingers for grasping the controls, with the middle finger made straight for pushing buttons and flipping toggle switches. (In the book ''
We Seven'', the astronauts pointed out that the special design of the gloves allowed them to avoid the use of a "swizzle stick" for the buttons and switches.)
* A "biomed" flap on the right thigh for the connection of biomedical sensors to the spacecraft's telemetry systems.
Each astronaut had three pressure suits: one for training, one for flight, and one for a backup. All three suits cost US$20,000 total and unlike the military Mark IV suits, had to be individually tailored to each astronaut.
No Mercury pressure suit ever failed during launch. No crewed Mercury capsule ever lost pressure during a mission, so the suits never needed to be inflated after launch. The only suit-related incident was an uncapped ventilation inlet valve which almost led to the drowning of astronaut
Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American engineer, pilot in the United States Air Force, and member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercur ...
: at the end of the
MR-4 mission the hatch cover blew off while in the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and the capsule began to fill with water, forcing Grissom to make an emergency exit without securing his suit for the recovery operations. The most frequent suit complaints of the astronauts were discomfort due to poor temperature control, and inability to turn the head within the pressurized suit.
Specifications
![The Mercury 7 (15258556433)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/The_Mercury_7_%2815258556433%29.jpg)
*Name:: Mercury Spacesuit
[
*Derived from: Navy Mark IV][
*Manufacturer: B.F. Goodrich Company][
*Missions: MR-3 to MA-9
*Function: Intra-vehicular activity (IVA)][
*Pressure type: Full]
*Operating pressure: [
*Suit Weight: 22 lb (10 kg)][
*Primary life support: Vehicle provided][
*Backup life support: Vehicle provided][
]
Later modifications
After the MR-3 flight in May 1961, the Mercury pressure suit underwent several changes to incorporate improvements, mainly for comfort and mobility. These changes included:
* Incorporation of wrist bearings and ring locks on the sleeves starting with Grissom's MR-4 suit. Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...
's MR-3 suit had gloves that were zippered onto the suit itself, preventing the astronaut from easily rotating his wrists to control the spacecraft's controllers.
* Incorporation of a urine collection device
A urine collection device or UCD is a device that allows the collection of urine for analysis (as in medical or forensic urinalysis) or for purposes of simple elimination (as in vehicles engaged in long voyages and not equipped with toilets, pa ...
(UCD) starting with the MR-4 suit. Shepard, going through long countdown delays, had had to urinate into the heavy cotton underwear in his suit; the engineers had felt a UCD was not needed because the flight itself was to last only 15 minutes.
* Incorporation of a convex mirror, dubbed the "Hero Medal," on the chest of the astronauts so that the same onboard camera used to record the astronaut could also cover the instrument panel, eliminating the weight of a separate camera which had been used for this purpose on MR-3. This was eliminated beginning with MA-8.
* After the near drowning of astronaut Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American engineer, pilot in the United States Air Force, and member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercur ...
during recovery operations after the MR-4 a small inflatable life vest was worn on the astronaut's chest.
In preparation for the final Mercury mission, flown by Gordon Cooper
Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human spa ...
, the suit underwent the most modifications, most notably the replacement of the leather boots with ones incorporated directly into the suit. Other changes were made in the shoulder construction, along with the pressure helmet. A new mechanical seal for the faceplate eliminated the need for the small pressure bottle and hose, and incorporated new microphones and an oral thermometer; the latter eliminated the rectal thermometer used on prior flights. Cooper wore neither the convex mirror or the life vest. Shepard, who was Cooper's backup, had an identical flight and backup suit for the mission, and was to wear the modified suit for the cancelled MA-10 flight. MA-9 was the last flight of the Mercury pressure suit.
Later use
After Mercury, the pressure suit was used for the early development phases for the Gemini program, but because of the success of the X-15 high altitude pressure suit, the bigger room on the Gemini spacecraft, and the need to develop a suit for Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) outside the spacecraft, the Mercury suit was phased out of NASA service and was replaced with the basic G3C version of the X-15 suit. Since then, NASA has used either the David Clark Company, ILC Dover
ILC Dover, LP is a special engineering development and manufacturing company, globally headquartered in Newark, Delaware. ILC Dover specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace, personal protection, and ...
, Hamilton Sundstrand
Hamilton Sundstrand was an American globally active corporation that manufactured and supported aerospace and industrial products for worldwide markets. A subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, it was headquartered in Windsor Locks, Con ...
, or Oceaneering International for all pressure and spacesuit needs. B.F. Goodrich would only be used after Mercury for the production of the landing gear tires for the Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
, but this has since been done by Michelin.
References
External links
Project Mercury wiki article on the Mercury pressure suit
article by Gregory Kennedy
Smithsonian's USN Mark IV suit
{{NASA space program
Environmental suits
American spacesuits