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Orbital Outfitters Debuts IS3C - First-Ever Fully Functional Commercial Pressure Spacesuit
Holloman AFB NM (SPX) Nov 16, 2007 The world's first commercial spacesuit was unveiled today by Orbital Outfitters (OO) during a press event held at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, as part of the X-Prize Cup. OO, headquartered in Washington, D.C. with affiliated operations in Los Angeles, is a company that provides emergency spacesuits and related apparel for crew and passengers riding aboard "Next Generation Spaceships". OO unveiled its "Industrial Suborbital Space Suit-Crew" (IS3C) to those attending this two day Space event. Rick Tumlinson, OO's Chairman, Jeff Feige, OO's newly named CEO, and Chris Gilman, OO's Chief Designer were on hand to debut the new suit. "Orbital Outfitters is about an approach to solving the engineering, safety, and yes, marketing and design challenges of manufacturing space suits for the next era of space travel," Tumlinson said. "We have already successfully tested this IS3C suit well above the pressure at which NASA operates its own spacesuits. While we still have a good deal of testing ahead of us, the suit we are unveiling here today is a working, first generation prototype version of an emergency crew suit." Mr. Tumlinson explains that Orbital Outfitters is the first "Space renaissance firm," combining a team of experts in the areas of Space travel, Space medicine, aerospace business, spacesuit design and manufacturing, Space policy and Hollywood costume and effects. With over 100 years of combined experience dealing with all matters of Space travel and "New Space" companies, OO's staff members also have extensive backgrounds in aerospace policy and dealings with NASA, the FAA and the Department of Defense. Orbital Outfitters already has its first customer for the IS3C, XCOR Aerospace - a multi-million dollar NewSpace firm based in Mojave, CA. OO will deliver the first set of IS3C suits to XCOR Aerospace soon. XCOR develops rocket propulsion systems and rocket powered vehicles for private consumer Space flight. Beyond XCOR, OO also has preliminary agreements with other firms for their upcoming suit needs. "There are already thousands of people making reservations to fly in the first suborbital Space ships," said Mr. Feige. "Our mission is to provide low cost, industrial quality spacesuits and related services to companies providing commercial and government Space travel. Initially, we are developing and producing the high quality IS3C system for Space flight crews and implementing a leasing model to maintain the highest possible quality control. This will lower the up-front costs for our customers." "The IS3C, designed for crew members such as the test pilots who will be flying the first sub-orbital spaceships, is just the first step for us," added Gilman. "It is by intent a bit conventional in appearance, if not retro - although the technology inside of it is definitely 21st Century. We are already designing some very cool spacesuits for our customers that go well beyond even the IS3C in their design elements. After all, we not only have to be able to save a person's life in an emergency, we have to make him or her look and feel good at the same time." Related Links Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
Boeing Completes Prototype Heat Shield For NASA Orion Spacecraft
St. Louis MO (SPX) Nov 14, 2007Boeing has completed a developmental heat shield for NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that is designed to protect future astronauts from extreme heat during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere following lunar and low-Earth orbit missions. NASA Ames Research Center last year awarded Boeing Advanced Systems a contract to deliver a Thermal Protection System (TPS) Manufacturing Demonstration Unit (MDU) for the Orion capsule as part of NASA's Constellation program to return humans to the moon and on to Mars. |
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