So far, you may have heard that the helmet of SpaceX’s ultra-modern spacesuit is customized for each of the two astronauts using a 3D printing process. This weekend, with the help of a tutorial on the popular manufacturer website Adafruit, you can become part of the history of space by 3D printing your own copy of the helmet.
The real SpaceX helmet was created by the talented Hollywood designer Jose Fernandez of Ironhead Studios. As the “New York Times” reported in an article about these “space tuxedos”, Fernandez is a costume designer who worked on Batman Vs Superman, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, X-Men II and more. According to the New York Times, film director Michael Bay revealed that for the spacesuit helmet in the movie Armageddon he turned to “people around Hollywood, they are space suit helmet experts. This is a very professional craftsmanship.”
To get the first prototype, Musk went to that place instead of the usual Air Force and Navy contractors. The New York Times reported that when he first contacted Mr. Fernandez, he did not know what SpaceX was. However, as shown on the Ironhead Instagram page, he does have extensive experience designing helmets for movies, including Tom Cruise’s helmet in Top Gun: Maverick.
SpaceX made it clear that when the historic Crew Dragon was launched, it used 3D printing to make custom helmets worn by NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken.
It is unclear which technology or material the SpaceX helmet uses. Due to the widespread use of advanced materials (such as PEKK and flame retardant ULTEM) and the low number of parts required, FDM is a viable possibility, but SLS now also supports PEKK.
The parts in the kit released on Adafruit are designed to be 3D printed using standard FDM-based machines. STL files are designed to be printed “as is”, but they require strict tolerances and may require adjustment of slice settings.
Parts can be further divided into small pieces to fit smaller printers. Note: STEP files are included in other 3D surface modeling programs, such as Onshape, Solidworks, and Rhino. The Adafruit SpaceX helmet was originally designed by Nathan O. The files can be remixed and have exquisite details. The parts have been modified to fit all electronic devices and are available for download.
