Launch Entry Suit

The Launch Entry Suit (LES), known as the "pumpkin suit", was a partial pressure suit worn by all Space Shuttle crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight from STS-26 (1988) to STS-65 (1994). It was completely phased out by STS-88 (late 1998) and replaced by the ACES suit. The suit was manufactured by the David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.

History

The LES was first worn by U.S. Air Force pilots in the mid-1970s, replacing a similar suit worn by SR-71 and U-2 pilots, and was identical to the suits worn by X-15 pilots and Gemini astronauts. Unlike the ACES suit, which is a full-pressure suit, the high-altitude suits were partial pressure suits, thus requiring a rubber diaphragm around the wearer's face. With the development of the Space Shuttle, and the inclusion of ejection seats on the Space Shuttle Columbia on the first four flights (STS-1 to STS-4), NASA decided to adopt modified versions of the suit; the modifications being the attachments to the parachute harness, and the adoption of inflatable bladders in the legs to prevent the crew from passing out during reentry. One other modification, a mount for prescription glasses, was incorporated for astronaut John W. Young, who wore modified bifocal reading glasses (resembling aviator sunglasses, but with the top portion, usually for distance seeing, being of regular glass, and the bottom, for reading, of the wearer's prescription) during the flight.