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In the frame of the development of the European EVA Suit, a complete trade-off was conducted to select the lower torso architecture. This study, performed under an ESA contract, included a formal trade-off dealing with all cost and programmatic impacts together with a technical assessment based on man rated underwater evaluations and analysis. The candidate architectures were: the European baseline including 2 hip and 2 thigh bearings, the Russian like soft ORLAN-DMA, a soft lower torso including 2 thigh bearings and another soft one including 2 calf bearings. The idea was to compare the different design performances without having necessarily developed the 4 pressurized lower torsos and then also to gain experience on predicting methods for such ergonomic/kinematic studies. The trade-off was based on the manned underwater evaluation of ergonomical suit simulators (wet suit concept), supported by the 1-g pressurized evaluation of the Russian ORLAN-DMA and CAD-CAM kinematic analysis.

This paper synthesizes the shoulder joint development activities performed in the frame of the European EVA Space Suit System (ESSS) programme. The shoulder joint belongs to the anthropomorphic enclosure encompassing the crewmember, protecting him against space environment while ensuring him adequate mobility, dexterity and visibility. A conceptual trade-off selected two candidates likely to fulfil the stringent shoulder joint requirements: an all-soft joint and a hybrid “rolling convolute”. Representative pressurized breadboards were designed, manufactured and tested. The tests addressed both intrinsic performance, via torque/flexion hysteresis curves and ergonomic characteristics via a “man in the loop” evaluation, involving a suit demonstrator. Tests results completed the trade-off, thus enabling the industrial team to formulate recommendations and propose further development studies.