US Air Force spacesuits

Abstract

From its creation, the US Air Force (USAF) had supported advanced aircraft development, typically in conjunction with or for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and then the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This support, which included personnel, facilities and development expertise, started before the X-l program and has continued to the present. The USAF assisted Litton’s 1950s development of the Mark I pressure suit in the form of funding and test personnel. In the X-l5 program, USAF provided pressure suit selection and development to NACA. While most of the X-l5 flights were high-altitude applications, the X-l5 was designed to travel far enough above the Earth to allow its missions to qualify as space flights. Thus, the USAF was responsible for the development of the first US spacesuit design. After the founding of NASA, the USAF lent facilities and technical resources at Wright-Paterson Air Force Base in Ohio for the Mercury spacesuit selection.