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The MX-1 design never made it into the operation phase,
because it was a feasibility study meant to layout the baseline
for future suits in the MX-series. MX-2 is the first
suit being made for testing and operation. In
preparation for these events, two main changes from the
baseline MX-1 design have been made.
 The
fundamental driver for the MX-2 upgrade was the suit
pressure. The baseline configuration of MX-1 called for
an approximately 0.5 psi differential between suit
pressure and ambient. This positive
pressure prevents flooding and prevents a high pressure
blow out of the suit. Theoretically, this works. In
practice however, this is a rather unstable
configuration.
In order to adopt a stable configuration, the MX-2
was upgraded to an operating suit-ambient pressure
differential of 3 psi. Resulting changes are primarily
seen in the construction of the soft goods and the rear
entry hatch. |
