Suit Systems and Softgoods

Paragon’s advanced Launch Entry Abort/Intravehicular Activity (LEA/IVA) spacesuit is the
result of 13 years of research and development. The soft
suit is optimized for rapid sizability, mobility, user comfort, range of motion, and minimal mass.

This suit has been evaluated in a variety of high-fidelity spacelike environments including hypobaric chambers,
flight simulators, microgravity and hypergravity flights, and
water egress pool evaluations.

Paragon has more than a decade of experience developing and integrating spacesuits for extreme environments for NASA and other commercial clients. Our expertise is rooted in the spacesuit glove but spans across the complete system, including state-of-the-art pressure garments, softgood joints, bearings, pressure control systems, hatch and interfaces, and liquid cooling garments.

The StratEx program goal was to develop a self-contained spacesuit and recovery system that would allow manned exploration of the stratosphere above 100,000 feet.

Paragon was the prime systems integrator for the StratEx mission. We designed and manufactured the system and led operations (launch, tracking, landing, recovery, and support) while managing > 20 subcontractors. On October 24, 2014, Alan Eustace successfully made the historic jump. The mission set 3 new world records that stand today:
Altitude world record of 41,422 m (135,898 feet)
Distance Fall With Drogue Device (123,465 ft)
Vertical Speed With A Drogue Device (820mph).

The spacesuit is now on display at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Steven F. Unver-Hazy Center in Virginia.