What is the difference between the white space suits and the orange space suits that NASA astronauts wear?
PKM asked:
I am doing a report for school on how astronauts survive in space. From what I have seen the orange suits are use inside the shuttle and the white ones are used outside. Is that correct.
I am doing a report for school on how astronauts survive in space. From what I have seen the orange suits are use inside the shuttle and the white ones are used outside. Is that correct.
The orange suits are used inside the space craft. When the astronauts spill Tang onto their suits, it doesn’t leave a stain since the suit and the OJ are the same color, and they have no washing machines in the craft.
Orange suits are used inside the shuttle or space station and white suits are used for space walks since they reflect more light keeping astronauts cooler.
The difference in color is to not mix up the suits and using the wrong Orange suit for space walks, which may not be designed for exterior use.
Or maybe astronauts drink TANG inside the shuttle and drink MILK outside the shuttle, thus avoiding those embarrasing stains in public when they come back to earth, hehe.
Orange inside the spacecraft to stand out against other objects
White outside so that visible better against the background of black space.
Also white is a reflective color
The orange suits are designed for use only inside the space shuttle. The white suits have micrometeoroid protection and better cooling/heating system.
The orange suits are only used for lift-off and re-entry; they protect the astronauts in the event that there’s a mishap during launch or re-entry. They’re sometimes called partial-pressure suits. The suit has a parachute harness and parachute, and is also capable of providing weather protection for a short time if the astronauts had to land in water or other inhospitable terrain. It’s really just designed as an emergency suit to keep an astronaut alive.
While in the shuttle, astronauts just wear their fire-resistant astronaut jump suits.
The white space suits are designed for extra-vehicular activity (spacewalks). They have better protection from micrometeorites, urine collection system, water reservoir for drinking, cooling system and biosigns monitor. It’s a work suit intended for extended use.
The orange suits are known as Advanced Crew Escape Suits (ACES) and are worn only during liftoff and reentry. These suits are fully pressurized and include locking components that ensure that if the astronauts need to escape from the shuttle they will not loose any of the components and thus pressure from the suit. The suits also contains a parachute harness and a survival pack. The orange color is to increase visibility of the astronauts so rescue crews would be able to find them in the event of a bailout from the shuttle.
The white suits are standard space suits and do not have any of the safety features of the ACES as they are only to be used in space, thus do not need to be equipped with a survival pack or a parachute. The white color is also more conducive to a space environment as it reflect sunlightt thus helping to prevent excessive heating from sunligh on the suit.