I-Suit

The first generation I-Suit is configured to work with the existing Space Shuttle EMU helmet assembly and wrist bearing/disconnect, and incorporates a 2-bearing hip, hard waist entry, and walking boots.

The suit meets requirements imposed by NASA for pressure, structural loads, joint mobility (torque and range of motion), and resizing capability.

[1] The I-Suit incorporates improvements in materials and manufacturing techniques which make it both lighter and more mobile than the EMU.

By replacing the EMU's fiberglass Hard Upper Torso (HUT) section with a soft upper torso, or SUT, and by using lightweight titanium in place of stainless steel for load-bearing metal components, the I-suit weighs only 65 pounds (29 kg) without its life support backpack or thermal/micrometeoroid layer, compared to 107 lbs (49 kg) for the EMU.

The suit also features a graphite-epoxy shoulder bearing housing, demonstrating the use of this material in place of aluminum.