David Clark Company, Inc. is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 manufacturer, best known for (both active and passive) noise attenuating headsets with boom microphones for use in military aviation, commercial aviation, industry and professional communication in high-noise environments. Their distinctive, sage green colored headphones are often seen being worn by aviators, firefighters and newscasters.

Located in Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

, the company was founded in 1935 by Mr. David M. Clark. It started in the textile business with the development of unique knitted materials for specialty undergarments and over time evolved to making products that protect people and save lives.

David Clark Company (DCC) is housed in a four-story building containing approximately 215000 square feet (19,974.2 m²) of working area. DCC designs and manufactures a wide variety of aerospace and industrial protective equipment, including pressure-space suit systems, anti-G suits, noise attenuating communication headset systems and several medical/safety products. A pioneer in the field, DCC has been involved in the design and manufacture of air-space crew protective equipment since 1941, beginning with the design and development of the first standard anti-G suits and valves used by allied fighter pilots during World War II. The experience gained over the ensuing years includes intimate association with airframe manufacturers, test forces and operational air-space crew and support personnel which provides the knowledge necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of technical requirements for the design, development, manufacturing, and support of aerospace crew protective equipment systems.

David Clark Company is uniquely qualified in the design and manufacture of pressure/space suits, having pioneered this highly specialized field developing partial pressure suits for NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

's Bell X-1

Bell X-1

The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...

 rocket-powered research aircraft in the 1940s, and full pressure suits for the D558-2 and North American X-15

North American X-15

The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...

 research aircraft in the 1950s. DCC's X-15 suit design became the basis for all of its subsequent full pressure suits, including the space suits worn by astronauts for the first U.S. extravehicular activities (EVA) conducted during NASA's Project Gemini

Project Gemini

Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....

.

Since 1946, David Clark's continuous pressure suit research and development efforts, sponsored largely by the Department of Defense to support its USAF

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 high altitude aircraft (Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

 and SR-71) programs, resulted in the late 1980s development of a new generation pressure suit aimed at improved pilot comfort, reduced stress and fatigue, and improved maintainability. The resultant S1034 Pilot's Protective Assembly (PPA) proved to be lighter weight, cooler, more comfortable, less burdensome and easier to maintain than all prior models. The S1034 PPA has since become the USAF and DoD

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 standard pressure suit and served as the basis for NASA's S1035 Advanced Crew Escape Suit

Advanced Crew Escape Suit

The Advanced Crew Escape Suit or "pumpkin suit", was a full pressure suit that began to be worn by Space Shuttle crews after STS-65, for the ascent and entry portions of flight. The suit is a direct descendant of the U.S...

 (ACES), which was adopted for the Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

 program, replacing DCC's (partial pressure) S1032 Launch Entry Suit

Launch Entry Suit

The Launch Entry Suit or "pumpkin suit", was a partial pressure suit worn by all Space Shuttle crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight from STS-26 to STS-65 . It was completely phased out by STS-88 and replaced by the ACES suit...

 (LES). Both the S1034 PPA and S1035 ACES continue to be used operationally by USAF and NASA, respectively.

Throughout the 1990s, DCC conducted Engineering Design and Development activities for the USAF Advanced Technology Anti-G Suit (ATAGS) program. This included pattern grading, small scale production, development of production documentation, as well as design and analysis of advanced ATAGS/Combat Edge vest designs for F-22 Raptor applications and/or equipment incorporating advanced materials for reduced inflation times, minimized thermal burden, and improved comfort.

David Clark Company continues its design and development of aerospace crew protective equipment as advanced materials and processes become available. Among the most recent efforts was the design and development of the Tactical Flyer's Ensemble (United States Patent 7,076,808). The basis for the design of this ensemble of equipment was to facilitate aircrew performance by minimizing the effects of environmental stress factors associated with flight operations. This was primarily accomplished through the use of advanced materials and a consolidation of garment functions within a wholly integrated design. Research has also been conducted to develop the next generation of advanced pressure/space suit systems which will be required to satisfy emerging manned space exploration requirements. This included the development of the S1035-X ("D-suit") in the late 1990s and the follow-on Enhanced Mobility ACES circa 2005.

In 2008, David Clark Company, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Air-Lock, Inc. of Milford, Connecticut, partnered with Houston, Texas based Oceaneering Space Systems

Oceaneering International

Oceaneering International Inc. is an applied technology company based in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. that provides engineered services and hardware to customers who operate in marine, space, and other environments...

 to develop the Constellation Space Suit System

Constellation Space Suit

The Constellation Space Suit was a planned full pressure suit system that would have served as an intra-vehicular activity and Extra-vehicular activity garment for the proposed Project Constellation flights, which were planned to begin after the Space Shuttle retired...

 (CSSS) for use on the upcoming Constellation program.

In 2010 they worked on the Red Bull "Stratos" project to develop the pressure suit that was to be worn during Felix Baumgartner

Felix Baumgartner

Felix Baumgartner is a skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career...

's record skydive attempt.