EV Suit
While the overall design of Starfleet’s Environmental (EV) suit has remained basically the same over the last hundred years, advances in technology have allowed it to become more resilient and more capable than its predecessors. EV suits function to provide its wearer his or her own enclosed environment (hence their alternate name of "bio-suits" or "pressure suits") suitable for their survival in inhospitable environs ranging from the cold, black vacuum of space to dangerous, uninhabitable planets. The suits also provide low-to-medium levels of protection against radiation, atmospheric and environmental dangers, and biohazard threats.
Starfleet utilizes many different kinds of EV suits, most purposely designed and tuned for a specific task and/or situation. Extravehicular activity (EVA) garments, for example, allow for close-up inspections of equipment in space, periodic maintenance, damage control, and unique hardware modifications. They all, however, share some basic components, such as a source of breathable air, sarium-krellide power cells, internal communications system, computer interface linkages, and emergency back-up systems and beacons. There are also exterior connections with collapsible tubing to share breathable air with other suits or from another fixed source.
EVA Suits in Starfleet Usage
Emergency Pressure Garment (EPG)
EPGs were designed for simplicity and long-term storage aboard ships and stations. It is capable of supporting life for three hours in most ship abandonment or isolated hull breach scenarios while crews await rescue. While EVA usage is not recommended for this type, the suit is very effective against biological and chemical threats. It is a one-piece garment designed to be slipped into quickly with the least amount of training. Standard basic accessories include: high-intensity lamp attached to the wrist; connections for outside power and gas exchange sources; short-range communications; and non-slip surfaces on palms, feet, and knees.
Low-Pressure Environmental Garment (LPEG)
The LPEG is a close-fitting, lightweight suit designed for hostile atmospheric environments and benign airless operations in areas free of intense radiation or micrometeroid activity. They are typically used by personnel dealing with hazardous materials, biohazards, or working in parts of ships or stations that do not normally have internal life support. This suit features a mesh construction of 2-1-3 polyurmedane, trumium monocarbonite, and fleximech which affords atmospheric integrity, gas exchange, and thermal and humidity control without sacrificing mobility. All consumables and circulation equipment are mounted within an integral backpack, with controls placed on the chest and forearm areas. Unlike the EPG, this more advanced version has boots that are interchangeable and seal to the suit, such as magnetized or non-spark versions. It has a high-intensity headlamp mounted just above the visor, better communications, and built-in computer interfaces. This self-sealing suit does allow for some usage in exterior space operations, but time is limited to six hours. A version of the LPEG called the Mod B is used by engineering and damage control personnel alongside the SEWG. It has an attachable helmet and torso shell that provides some blast protection, a toolkit, and a heads-up display interface.
Standard Extra-Vehicular Work Garment (SEWG), Mod 2
Characterized by modular construction designed to fit 76% of humanoid personnel, the Mark III, Mod 2 EVA suit is the most widely used for working in the vacuum of space. It was designed for most major industrial tasks and hazardous exploration assignments. The basic suit consists of a helmet assembly, chest plate, torso cage, gloves, boots, and life support backpack. The different components are made into fifteen different sizes to allow for a wide range of body morphologies. Boots and gloves are non-slip and can be magnetized for work on metal objects in space, such as ship hulls. The life support backpack and chest plate are furnished in three sizes to accommodate different mission requirements and allow for custom loading of atmospheric gases, cooling liquids, recycling gear, power supplies, and communication equipment. The average suit mass is 19.6 kg and 30.1 kg with backpack and full consumables loading. All flexible inner pressure bladders are constructed from fifty-nine alternating microlayers of duranium hexylamide and 2-1-3 polyurmedane, with a total thickness of 0.86 cm. The outer thermal micrometeoriod covering consists of sixty-one layers of woven disellenide-carbonitrium fibers jacketed with plasma-sprayed silica excelerine, with a total thickness of 1.2 cm. The helmet assembly, backpack, and chest plate are typically molded from aluminium borotritonide, and standard transparent aluminium is employed in the helmet faceplates. Suit power is provided by six sarium-krellide power cells rated at a total of 96.5 kilowatt-hours, which exceeds by 17.4% the power required for three optional suites of external sensors and isolinear data recorders. The total power available for EVA missions is increased to 116.1 kw/hrs with the addition of an optional hot-gas jet thruster maneuvering unit. Controls are also located in the chest and forearm areas and are supplemented by advanced computerized automatic life support systems. The Mark III is a much improved model of the Mark II, with an increased consumables load from 9.6 kg to 11.1 kg which, coupled with enhanced recycling devices, increases operational time from sixteen to twenty-four hours. The Mark III/Mod 2 is also self-sealing---a life-threatening shortcoming that quickly saw the older Mod 1 yanked from front-line usage.
Augmented Personnel Module (APM)
Basically a small spacecraft, the APM is Starfleet’s current high-level suit used to operate in the most dangerous of conditions. It is a hybrid garment utilizing both hard and flexible body segments. It allows the user much more comfort and safety. A wide array of readily available tools and manipulator options is coupled with Reaction Control System thrusters and an anti-grav generator (for use in docking and enclosed spaces). The operator can stand or sit inside the enclosed capsule, with four viewports and external sensors that give him or her excellent visibility. Communications, recycling devices, consumable storage, and sensors are all enhanced to give the APM an operational cycle of 32 hours. It also has its own small shield generator allowing for unlimited protection against radiation and micrometeroid activity. APMs are found in space stations, spacedocks, repair facilities, and only the largest of Starfleet vessels.
Isolation suit
“Iso-suits” are a highly technological type of clothing used by the Federation on pre-warp cultural observation and "duck blind" missions. They were sealed to contain the life signs and noises of operatives, and equipped with a basic cloaking device which made the user invisible to the naked eye, so not to contaminate alien culture. They were, however, visible with properly configured sensor equipment, which were generally utilized by mission base of operations to keep tabs on field personnel. The suit basically was comprised of a vest mounting the device and leggings with sound-reducing equipment. (Star Trek: Insurrection) Starfleet Intelligence operatives also use a version of iso-suits called “stealth suits” in certain surveillance and counter-surveillance operations, although officially they deny their existence. Treaty stipulations with several of the galactic powers restrict the use of iso-suits to scientific endeavors. Care must be taken as the suits should not fall into the wrong hands.
Submergence suit
Marine Environmental Combat Uniform (MECU)
Marines are expected to be able to fight in all environments, from planets with hostile atmospheres to the coldness of space. While the typical SEWG provides excellent protection against environmental hazards, it does have some shortcomings in combat situations. The suit is adequate to withstand most radiological, biological, and chemical attacks and can also provide decent protection against ballistic weaponry. However, the SEWG offers almost no defense against energy-based weapons which are typically encountered on the battlefield. It is also more restrictive of movements than the Marines engaged in combat in zero-g environments or on non-Class M worlds would have preferred. What was obviously needed was a specialized EVA suit that allowed more freedom of movement while offering better energy-stopping power. The MECU was introduced in 2377 and well tested during the Pirate Extirpation Forays the following year.
The garment consists of a tight-fitting bodysuit made of the same duranuim hexylamide/ 2-1-3 polyurmedane multi-layer mesh as the SEWG, but thinner. The user slips into the glove-like suit, complete with hood that covers all but the face. Micro-tubing and wiring is interwoven into these layers, handling the cooling, recycling, and power systems. Covering this is a segmented layer of boron carbide for protection against larger ballistic rounds and sharpnel. Disellenide-carbonitrium fibers jacketed with plasma-sprayed silica excelerine make up the outer thermal and micrometeoroid protection layers. Armor plate segments cover the most vulnerable parts of the body reminiscent of Earth’s medieval times: the back of the hands, forearms, upper arms, torso, back, groin/hip areas, outer thighs, and lower legs. The plates are constructed of lightweight duranium alloy.
The chest-backpack clamshell is comprised of three layers: a thin sheet of duranium alloy sandwiched between a boron carbide inner liner and an ablative aluminoid-steel. This outer layer is designed to “burn-off” incoming directed energy, but only for a maximum of two to three shots (rated at phaser setting 4). This shell carries computer interfaces (with additional ones on the gauntlets) and sensors in the chest area. The backpack carries breathable consumables, the recycling unit, the power cells, and connections for external power/air feeds and a hot-gas thruster unit.
The lower extremities include thicker plates and boots that seal to the rest of the uniform. The boots come in two versions: the magnetic boot, designed for EVA combat and the mine resistant boot for use on-world. The latter has a thick poly-plasmareric sole sheathing a thin, elongated U-shaped tritanium form. The boots, like the entire outfit, require extensive training to get used to due to the weight and reduced mobility on planets with terran-like atmospheres.
The helmet is constructed of the same materials as the clamshell torso and unlike other EV suits in Starfleet inventory it is not made into one piece with the chest/back assembly. It soft-seals to the hood of the bodysuit, giving the Marine complete freedom to move his neck instead of just his whole upper body. The visor is transparent aluminium with a gold-hectrilite film that protects against anything brighter short a star going supernova. It also offers protection against ballistic devices and lasers. Communication equipment is stored inside the helmet as well as built-in sound dampers and a heads-up display (HUD). The HUD is slaved to the suits various sensors and can also display readings from other sources. A variable-beam illumination device completes the package.