Pressure Suit, Apollo, A6-L, Developmental

This is an Apollo spacesuit prototype that was the penultimate design before the A7-L suits that flew in space and that the Apollo astronauts wore while walking on the Moon. As a contract suit, ILC Industries made this suit under contract to NASA. The intended use for this suit was not for flight testing, but as a discussion piece among NASA and ILC and Hamilton Standard engineers to determine the final points of suit design before the final suits could be completed.The suit has a rear-entry zipper that extends from just below the neck ring in the back to the crotch. This allowed the astronaut to put the suit on easily within a confined space.This suit does not have a Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) coverlayer, thus revealing the blue pressure layer. It also lacks the connections that astronauts would have used to supply and clean their air supply and communicate among themselves and with mission control. The absence of technical details in the suit indicates that the engineers had come to agreement on the design of the suit and its integration into the Apollo space capsule and lunar module.NASA transferred this suit to the Museum.