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Compatible atmospheres for a space suit, Space Station, and Shuttle based on physiological principlesFundamental physiological principles have been invoked to design compatible environments for a space suit, Space Station and the spacecraft used to transport the astronauts from earth. These principles include the long-term memory of tissues for a bubble-provoking decompression, the intermittent nature of blood flow in the tight connective tissue(s) responsible for the bends whose incidence in aviators has been shown to be related to bubble volume by the Weibull distribution. In the overall design an astronaut breathing a mixture of 30 percent O2 in N2 for 4-5 h in a spacecraft at 11.9 psia can transfer to a Space Station filled with the same mix at 8.7 psia and, after a further 4-5 h, go EVA at any time without any oxygen prebreathing at any stage. The probable incidence of decompression sickness has been estimated as less than 0.5 percent using the present suit operating at 4.3 psia but the risk could be reduced to zero if the suit pressure were increased to 6.5 psia.
Document ID
19860029573
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Hills, B. A.
(Texas, University Houston, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine
Volume: 56
ISSN: 0095-6562
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Accession Number
86A14311
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG9-23
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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