From left, paramedics Jerry McLaughlin, Betty Stone and Robert Armendariz demonstrate proper helmet assembly removal during the Space Operations Medical Support Training Course held Oct. 1 at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. Photo by Julia A. Yubeta.
Paramedics train for space operations support
Clarence Davis III, WBAMC Public Affairs
Staff members from the William Beaumont Army Medical Center's First Responder Team and members of the White Sands Missile Range Fire Department attended a four-hour space operations medical support training course on the Crew Escape System in the event of a space shuttle landing at White Sands Missile Range.
Ray Cuevas, a suit and insertion technician with Space Transportation Systems at the Johnson Space Center, points out the different features of the pressure helmet, modeled by Norman D. Bloom, a firefighter at White Sands Missile Range. Photo by Julia A. Yubeta.
The CES was developed in response to the space shuttle Columbia's disintegrating 73 seconds after launch Jan. 28, 1986. It consists of the Advanced Crew Escape System Pressure Suit Assembly that includes the suit itself, a liquid cooling garment, pressure gloves, a pressure helmet, communication carrier equipment, an anti-G suit, a parachute harness, a personal parachute assembly and survival gear.
The suit provides the crewmember a survivable environment in the event of loss of cabin pressure from entry interface to an altitude below 60,000 feet for approximately 37 minutes.