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Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment
 
 
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An (Integrated) Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG or ITMG) is the outer layer of a space suit
Space suit

A space suit is a complex system of garments, equipment and environmental systems designed to keep a person alive and comfortable in the harsh environment of outer space....
. The TMG has three functions: to insulate the suit occupant and prevent heat loss, to shield the occupant from harmful solar radiation, and to protect the astronaut from micrometeoroid
Micrometeoroid

A micrometeoroid is a tiny meteoroid; a small particle of rock in space, usually weighing less than a gram. A micrometeor or micrometeorite is such a particle that enters the Earth's atmosphere or falls to Earth....
s and other orbital debris, which could puncture the suit and depressurize it.

The specific design of TMGs varies between different space agencies
List of space agencies

This is a list of government agency engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration.The name given is the English language version, with the native language version below....
 and different suits, though they all serve the same purpose.

ide of a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment
Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment

A Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment, or LCVG, is a form-fitting garment worn by astronauts in order to maintain a comfortable core temperature during extra-vehicular activity....
, pressure bladder, and restraint layer, the TMG for the A7L
Apollo/Skylab A7L

The A7L Apollo & Skylab spacesuit is the primary pressure suit worn by NASA astronauts for Project Apollo, the three manned Skylab flights, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project between 1968 and the termination of the Apollo program in 1975....
 suit worn on the Moon and during the Skylab
Skylab

Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit, and the second space station ever visited by a human crew. The 100 ton space station was in Earth's orbit from 1973 to 1979, and it was visited by crews three times in 1973 and 1974....
 Program began with a layer of neoprene
Neoprene

Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. It is used in a wide variety of applications, such as in wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces , electricity electrical insulation, and automobile fan belt s....
-coated nylon
Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides and first produced on February 28, 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont....
 ripstop
Ripstop

Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics often made out of nylon, whilst using a special reinforcing technique that makes them very resistant against tearing and ripping....
.






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An (Integrated) Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG or ITMG) is the outer layer of a space suit
Space suit

A space suit is a complex system of garments, equipment and environmental systems designed to keep a person alive and comfortable in the harsh environment of outer space....
. The TMG has three functions: to insulate the suit occupant and prevent heat loss, to shield the occupant from harmful solar radiation, and to protect the astronaut from micrometeoroid
Micrometeoroid

A micrometeoroid is a tiny meteoroid; a small particle of rock in space, usually weighing less than a gram. A micrometeor or micrometeorite is such a particle that enters the Earth's atmosphere or falls to Earth....
s and other orbital debris, which could puncture the suit and depressurize it.

The specific design of TMGs varies between different space agencies
List of space agencies

This is a list of government agency engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration.The name given is the English language version, with the native language version below....
 and different suits, though they all serve the same purpose.

Apollo/Skylab A7L suit

Outside of a Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment
Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment

A Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment, or LCVG, is a form-fitting garment worn by astronauts in order to maintain a comfortable core temperature during extra-vehicular activity....
, pressure bladder, and restraint layer, the TMG for the A7L
Apollo/Skylab A7L

The A7L Apollo & Skylab spacesuit is the primary pressure suit worn by NASA astronauts for Project Apollo, the three manned Skylab flights, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project between 1968 and the termination of the Apollo program in 1975....
 suit worn on the Moon and during the Skylab
Skylab

Skylab was the first space station the United States launched into orbit, and the second space station ever visited by a human crew. The 100 ton space station was in Earth's orbit from 1973 to 1979, and it was visited by crews three times in 1973 and 1974....
 Program began with a layer of neoprene
Neoprene

Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. It is used in a wide variety of applications, such as in wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces , electricity electrical insulation, and automobile fan belt s....
-coated nylon
Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides and first produced on February 28, 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont....
 ripstop
Ripstop

Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics often made out of nylon, whilst using a special reinforcing technique that makes them very resistant against tearing and ripping....
. This was the innermost layer of protection from micrometeoroids. Next, thermal radiation
Thermal radiation

Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of an object which is due to the object's temperature. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an example of thermal radiation, as is the light emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb....
 protection was provided by five layers of aluminized PET film
PET film (biaxially oriented)

Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate polyester film is used for its high tensile strength, chemical stability and Shape strength of materials, Transparency , reflective, gas and aroma barrier properties and electricity Electrical insulation....
 (Mylar), alternating with four layers of nonwoven
Nonwovens

Nonwovens is a fabric like material made from long fibers, bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in the textile industry to denote fabrics, such as felt, which are neither Weaving nor knitting....
 Dacron, which provided thermal spacing, followed by two layers of aluminized polyimide
Polyimide

Polyimide is a polymer of imide monomers. The structure of imide is as shown.Thermosetting polyimides are commercially available as uncured resins, stock shapes, thin sheets, laminates and machines parts....
 Kapton
Kapton

Kapton is a polyimide film developed by DuPont which can remain stable in a wide range of temperatures, from -273 ?C to +400 ?C . Kapton is used in, among other things, flexible printed circuits and Thermal Micrometeoroid Garments, the outside layer of space suits....
 film and Beta cloth
Beta cloth

Beta cloth is a type of fireproof silica fiber cloth used in the manufacture of space suit, Thermal Micrometeoroid Garments and in other specialized applications....
  laminate. The outermost layer of PTFE
Polytetrafluoroethylene

In chemistry, poly or poly is a synthetic fluoropolymer which finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....
 (Teflon)-coated filament Beta cloth was non-flammable and provided abrasion protection from the notoriously abrasive lunar dust. This layer was supplemented with Teflon abrasion patches at the knees and other areas.

Space Shuttle/EMU suit

The construction of the TMG on the EMU
Extravehicular Mobility Unit

The Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit is an independent anthropomorphic system that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for a Shuttle or ISS crew member to perform extra-vehicular activity in earth orbit....
 suits in use on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
 and International Space Station
International Space Station

The International Space Station is a research facility Assembly of the International Space Station in outer space. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998, and is scheduled to be complete by 2011, with operations continuing until around 2015....
 differs somewhat from the construction of the Apollo/Skylab TMG.

The EMU TMG includes seven layers of aluminized Mylar laminated with Dacron, rather than five, and eliminates the use of Kapton. The outermost layer is white Ortho-Fabric, made with a blend of Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex

Gore-Tex is a waterproof fabric#waterproof/breathable fabric and a registered trademark of WL Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Bill Gore , Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W....
, Kevlar
Kevlar

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a light, strong aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora.Developed at DuPont in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek it was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires....
, and Nomex
Nomex

Nomex is a registered trademark for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.It can be considered an aromaticity nylon, the meta- variant of the para--aramid Kevlar....
. This layer can withstand temperatures from -300° to +300° Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit , who proposed it in 1724. Today, the scale has largely been replaced by the Celsius scale; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other countries such as Belize....
. The outer layer provides both micrometeoroid and thermal protection, by reflecting most of the sun's thermal radiation.