To test designs of new Apollo spacesuits, a large water tank was employed. This film shows SCUBA divers in the tank, assisting a test subject in a spacesuit, negotiating a metal grid. The baseline of this test (for comparison) can be seen at https://youtu.be/BukwRH7KArs

The suit shown at 2:27, is an SPD-143 model, one of the first prototype spacesuits submitted by the International Latex Corporation to NASA. This model was part of the 1962 Apollo program suit competition. NASA called the suit an AX1-L (the designation “A” for the Apollo program, X for experimental, 1 for first in a series, and L for manufacturer ILC) or the “Modified Training and Evaluation Suit”. The suit’s peculiar look, with joints and connectors forming an exoskeleton, was to allow an assessment of these parts. Twenty SPD-143 suits were made for training and assessment, and used for early evaluations of the Lunar Excursion Module (later changed to Lunar Module) and the Command Module. Note that the helmet shown lacks an eye protection sun visor.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com