Luca Parmitano KF5KDP on the Expedition 36 EVA, July 9, 2013- Image credit ESA

In edition 683 of Jonathan’s Space Report (JSR) Jonathan McDowell provides the history of the spacesuit of radio amateur Luca Parmitano KF5KDP which developed a water leak inside the helmet during a spacewalk on July 9, 2013. The spacewalk was abandoned and he was assisted back to the International Space Station (ISS) by Chris Cassidy KF5KDR.

The suit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP used for the extravehicular activity (EVA) was EMU 3011. It had three previous station tours, here is its flight history:
Flight 1  STS-79    1996 Sep 16-1996 Sep 25  (Apt, not used)
Flight 2  STS-83    1997 Apr  4-1997 Apr  8  (Spacelab, Gernhardt, not used)
Flight 3  STS-94    1997 Jul  1-1997 Jul 17  (Spacelab, Gernhardt, not used)
Flight 4  STS-91    1998 Jun  2-1998 Jun 12  (Chang, not used)
Flight 5  STS-95    1998 Oct 29-1998 Nov  7  (Robinson, not used)
Flight 6  STS-96    1999 May 27-1999 Jun  6  (Barry, 1 EVA)
Flight 7  STS-101    2000 May 19-2000 May 29  (Horowitz, not used)
Flight 8  STS-106    2000 Sep  8-2000 Sep 20  (Backup, not used)
Flight 9  STS-97    2000 Dec  1-2000 Dec 11  (Tanner, 3 EVA)
Flight 10 STS-100    2001 Apr 19-2001 Jul 25 (ISS tour, Hadfield (2), down on 104)
Flight 11 STS-109    2002 Mar  1-2002 Mar 12  (HST, Massimino(2))
Flight 12 STS-111    2002 Jun  5-2005 Aug  9 (ISS tour, Sellers (3),Pettit(2), down on 114)
Flight 13 STS-126    2008 Nov 15-2009 Nov 27 (ISS tour, down on 129, not used)
Flight 14 STS-132    2010 May 14-present    (ISS tour; Williams (1), Hoshide (2), Parmitano(2))

EMU 3011 incorporates the PLSS 1011 backpack – this contains most of the systems and you can think of it as the core of the suit considered as its own spaceship, with the other components as a relatively inert bubble containing the human occupant. Before the EMU 3000 series nomenclature was adopted, PLSS 1011 flew multiple times:

Flight  1 STS 61-B  1985 Nov 27-1985 Dec  3  EMU 1070/PLSS 1011 (Spring, 1 EVA)
Flight  2 STS-26R    1988 Sep 29-1988 Oct  3  EMU 1090/PLSS 1011 (Lounge, not used)
Flight  3 STS-27R    1988 Dec  2-1988 Dec  6  EMU 1090/PLSS 1011 (Ross, not used)
Flight  4 STS-29R    1989 Mar 13-1989 Mar 18  EMU 1090/PLSS 1011 (Springer, not used)
Flight  5 STS-28R    1989 Aug  8-1989 Aug 13  EMU 1098/PLSS 1011 (Brown, not used)
Flight  6 STS-36    1990 Feb 28-1990 Mar  4  EMU 2008/PLSS 1011 (Thout, not used)
Flight  7 STS-41    1990 Oct  6-1990 Oct 10  EMU 2008/PLSS 1011 (Akers, not used)
Flight  8 STS-39    1991 Apr 28-1991 May  6  EMU 2008/PLSS 1011 (Harbaugh, not used)
Flight  9 STS-48    1991 Sep 12-1991 Sep 18  EMU 2008/PLSS 1011 (Buchli, not used)
Flight 10 STS-46    1992 Jul 31-1992 Aug  8  EMU 2021/PLSS 1011 (Chang, not used)
Flight 11 STS-73    1995 Oct 20-1995 Nov  5  EMU 2034/PLSS 1011 (Coleman, not used)

So, this PLSS has flown a total of 25 times in space over 28 years – although of course there’s a bit of a “grandfather’s axe” paradox involved as it’s not clear how many of the original components remain.

Jonathan’s Space Report (JSR): http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html

In this video NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy KF5KDR shows where water leaked

NASA press release http://www.nasa.gov/content/tuesday-spacewalk-ended-early/

NBC news report http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/52492923