Intro Music
Today's spacesuits, also known as "extravehicular mobility units" or "EMUs,"
have changed a lot since the first human spaceflights began.
Today's spacesuit is like a mini-spacecraft. They have a communication system, a cooling system to keep an astronaut
comfortable while working in space, and even a small amount of drinking water.
But before the EMUs can get into space, they must be carefully prepared on Earth.
The spacesuits are vacuum sealed and shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from Johnson Space Center in Houston
in temperature-controlled trucks. The trucks are equipped with sensors that
notify the driver of rough road surfaces that could damage the delicate cargo.
Each suit is packed for transport in four separate containers.
The helmet and gloves come packed in their own specially designed boxes.
In the Space Station Processing Facility lab at Kennedy, the garments are uncrated
following a set of strict guidelines and procedures.
A tackle and pulley is used to lift the containers, because each spacesuit can weigh more than 300 pounds.
Every segment is carefully unwrapped, meticulously inspected for damage,
weighed and then rewrapped and color-coded for each astronaut.
The suit parts are placed on rolling shelves and stored with the thousands of other supplies headed for space.
Several days before liftoff, the team transports the gear to the orbiter for loading.
It's a tight fit as the stowage team -- dressed in bunny suits -- skillfully
guides the spacesuit container into the orbiter through a narrow hatch.
Packed and ready for flight, the EMUs are ready to protect the astronauts from the harsh elements
of space and help them continue to build the International Space Station.