Hard upper torso

Hard upper torso assembly or HAT ( English for a fixed upper body ) is a central component of many space suits . The term originally comes from NASA's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) . A HUT is a solid protection for the upper body of the spaceman. The Hard Upper Torso Assembly has attachment options for the arms, the helmet, the lower body protection and the legs. Often a life support system is integrated or attached to the back.

The original EMU developed for NASA had shoulder joints with bellows that allowed the angle of the arms to be changed. This made it easier to get into the space suit and enabled a different setting during an EVA , adapted to the activity in space. Since the bellows only had a short lifespan, the suit was redesigned in the 1990s and received a HUT with fixed arm angles, called a Planar HUT. However, this restricted the wearer's mobility and made it difficult to put on and take off.

NASA originally intended five different sizes of HUTs for the EMU. Because of the high manufacturing costs, HUTs were initially only made in four sizes, then in two, later in three different sizes, which is why not all space travelers can perform a space exit.

While with the EMU the HUT is pulled over the head and then connected to the lower part, the spaceman mounts it from behind with the Russian Orlan space suit. The tightening procedure is easier to carry out.

Individual evidence

↑ Learn About Spacesuits. NASA, November 13, 2008, accessed December 2, 2012 .
^ ^A ^b David Graziosi, Jinny Ferl, Keith Splawn: Development of a Space Suit Soft Upper Torso Mobility / Sizing Actuation System. (PDF; 335 kB) (No longer available online.) ILC Dover, January 2004, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on December 2, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Isaak P. Abramow, A. Ingemar Skoog: Russian Space Suits . Springer Practice, 2003, ISBN 1-85233-732-X .

[1] Learn About Spacesuits. NASA, November 13, 2008, accessed December 2, 2012 .

[ILC-2] A ^b David Graziosi, Jinny Ferl, Keith Splawn: Development of a Space Suit Soft Upper Torso Mobility / Sizing Actuation System. (PDF; 335 kB) (No longer available online.) ILC Dover, January 2004, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on December 2, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[russianspacesuits-3] Isaak P. Abramow, A. Ingemar Skoog: Russian Space Suits . Springer Practice, 2003, ISBN 1-85233-732-X .