Flagsuit LLC

SPACE SUITS MADE TO FIT

It starts with the glove. NASA wanted a more dexterous glove to be used in the vacuum of space, during a space walk or EVA. Part of the problem is flexibility. The space suit must be pressurized to provide an internal atmosphere that sustains life. The suit stiffens up just like pumping air into a bicycle tire. This makes it difficult for the astronauts to move their limbs and fingers, making space walking a very tiring activity. Flagsuit has developed articulating joint technology that is more flexible under pressure.

The other part of the problem is fit. In the days of Apollo, space suits were custom made for each astronaut, giving the best possible fit. Space suits that don't fit well bind up, making movement difficult and causing abrasions, cuts and bruises. Modern Space Shuttle EVA suits come in Small, Medium and Large sizes. This makes the suits reusable from flight to flight and astronaut to astronaut, but requires space suit technicians to spend a lot of time "tweaking" the suits for each astronaut. Gloves are a particular problem because of the many articulations packed into a small volume, and the wide variation in the anatomy of the hand. Flagsuit is prototyping a new process that produces a custom-fit glove for the same cost as one-size-fits-all, and eliminates the need for time consuming and costly adjustments.

These innovations deliver the best combination of fit and flexibility, resulting in less hand fatigue and better dexterity for the astronaut. Flagsuit is committed to bringing these advantages to other components of space suits of the future.

ABOUT THE HYPERBARIC SUIT

The Hyperbaric Suit is like an Emergency Evacuation Hyperbaric Stretcher (EEHS) but more deployable and optimized for bringing treatment of mild-moderate TBI to the front-line soldier who otherwise appears unharmed. It is compact enough to deploy on fighting vehicles, bringing support to wounded within minutes and evacuating them under pressure if necessary. Following the same operating procedures as the EEHS with the Harch (NBIRR-1) protocol, a single Hyperbaric Suit could treat up to twenty brain injured in a 24 hour period.

For the war fighter with non-penetrating mild-moderate TBI, anything the EEHS can do the Hyperbaric Suit can do better.