Transient Aspects of Human Thermal Comfort in the Shuttle EMU

Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) studies have shown that the thermal interaction between the crewperson, liquid cooling garment and EMU thermal management system is highly transient in nature. Recent investigations of these phenomena provide a better understanding which have helped improve thermal comfort in the present system. Analyses show that the key to thermal comfort is understanding the interaction between physiological responses and EMU system thermal transients. A test program was conducted to evaluate the theorized causes of discomfort and proposed corrective actions. Several EMU thermal management related modifications were utilized in the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission where five, two crewperson ExtraVehicular Activities (EVAs) were conducted without any thermal discomfort in a mildly cold environment.