March 4th 2008
Star City, Russia
The day began with a van ride to the Zvezda Space Facility located to the southeast of Moscow. About 60 kilometers from Star City. It is here that they manufacture space flight suits ( Orlan [Eagle], Sokol [Falcon] )As a matter of fact, they have even manufactured a 'DAY' suit for children with cerebral palsy that provides them with enough muscle rigidity that they can walk!
As soon as I entered the building, a team of engineers and technicians began to measure my entire body. They next placed me into a plastic mock-up of a Soyuz TMA seat. Even more measurements were taken. The next process got really interesting. At this point I was directed to another mock-up of a Soyuz seat. This one was more like a bathtub - which they had me lay in as they poured fast drying liquid moulding material around me. The goal as you can see in the photos, is to form a mold of my entire backside which would allow them to build a custom seat liner that fits my body contour when I am wearing my Sokol spacesuit during Orbital immersion and Earth re-entry. They poured the upper half of my body first and when it dried, they took me out of and began to carve and smooth the plaster form to relieve any potential pressure points. I climbed in and out several times as we tried to refine the final shape contoured to my back. Once that was completed, they poured the lower half of my body and performed the same procedure.
Afterwards I donned the Sokol suit and assumed the launch position. They attached my air-cooling line and closed my launch helmet. I was then asked to lay back and relaxed my entire body to ensure we had a snug fit.
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Watch the Seat Lining in the Video Gallery.