Flexible Packaging Concept for a Space Suit Portable Life Support Subsystem 2009-01-2345

This paper documents the progress of a conceptual packaging design effort for a Portable Life Support Subsystem (PLSS). The concept discussed is a flexible backpack intended for use on the Constellation Program (CxP) lunar suit, also known as the Constellation Space Suit Element (CSSE). The goal of this effort is to reduce the weight of the PLSS packaging while also meeting CxP goals to develop systems that are less costly, more adaptable to mission and technology changes, and have more performance capability than that of existing systems or previous lunar systems. This flexible backpack concept relies on a foam protection system to absorb, distribute, and dissipate the energy from falls on the lunar surface. The testing and analysis of the foam protection system concept that took place during this effort indicate that this method of system packaging is a viable solution.