After Tight Squeeze, U.S. Astronaut Finds Fit That Suits Him
HOUSTON — By loosening a few straps, American astronaut Andrew Thomas managed to squeeze his body into a tight Russian spacesuit Monday, guaranteeing his spot aboard Mir for the next 4 1/2 months.
Without a properly fitting suit for use in an emergency evacuation, Thomas, 46, could not have remained on board the Russian space station.
Possible last-minute alterations requested by Thomas may have contributed to the problem, said Jim Van Laak, deputy director of NASA’s shuttle-Mir program.
Russia’s Mission Control was steamed at the suggestion that its tailors were wrong.
“There were no objective problems with his spacesuit,” grumbled Viktor Blagov, deputy chief of Mission Control. “The astronaut simply turned out to be somewhat capricious. For us, it’s a symptom that the astronaut may remain capricious all through the flight.”
After securing approval from the spacesuit maker, the Australian-born engineer snipped the stitches securing four fabric straps. Two were on the hips and two were on the inner legs. The suit fit when he donned it again.
Russian spacewear expert Alexander Yarov said that after 37 years of manned spaceflight, Russians are adept at making orbital attire.
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