// Program Chronology

Development Timeline

70+ years of pressure garment evolution across four programs — scroll horizontally on mobile

🇺🇸 — United States
1959–1963
Mercury IVA · NASA
Launch / entry contingency pressure retention
1964–1965
Gemini G4C + VCM · NASA
First US EVA — Gemini IV 1965
1966–1971
Apollo A7L + PLSS-6 · NASA
Apollo 11–14 lunar EVA
1968–1975
Apollo A7LB + PLSS-7 · NASA
Apollo 15–17 extended lunar EVA + lunar rover operations; ASTP derivative
1976–2002
Shuttle Baseline EMU · NASA
Orbital assembly, repair, servicing — Shuttle era
1990–present
Enhanced EMU · NASA
ISS assembly and maintenance — primary orbital EVA workhorse
2019–present
Boeing Starliner Suit · Boeing
CST-100 Starliner launch, entry and abort survival — Commercial Crew Program
2017–present
SpaceX IVA Suit · SpaceX
Crew Dragon launch, entry and abort survival — Commercial Crew Program
2019–2022
xEMU · NASA
Originally planned Artemis lunar surface EVA suit before commercial pivot
2022–
AxEMU · NASA + Axiom Space
Artemis III lunar south pole EVA
🇷🇺 — Soviet / Russian
1961–1963
SK-1 / SK-2 · Soviet Space Program
Vostok crew rescue — nominal IVA
1965
BERKUT · Soviet Space Program
World's first EVA — Alexei Leonov, Voskhod-2, March 1965
1980–present
Sokol KV-2 · Roscosmos
Soyuz-T / TM / TMA / MS ISS ferry rescue standard
1997–present
Orlan-M · Roscosmos
Station EVA — Russian ISS segment operations
1967–1972
KRECHET · Soviet Space Program
Soviet lunar surface EVA — primary lunar suit family never launched
🇨🇳 — China / CMSA
2003–present
Shenzhou IVA / Rescue Suit · CMSA / CNSA
Shenzhou launch, entry and cabin depressurization survival
2008
Feitian Gen-1 · CMSA / CNSA
China's first domestic EVA — Zhai Zhigang, Shenzhou VII 2008
2021–present
Feitian Gen-2 Tiangong · CMSA / CNSA
Tiangong station assembly, maintenance and external payload tasks
2024–2030
Wangyu Lunar Suit · CMSA / CASC
Chinese crewed lunar surface EVA — moonwalk, scientific exploration, Tansuo rover operations
🇪🇺 — Europe / ESA
2024–present
EuroSuit IVA Prototype · CNES + ESA
Launch, landing and emergency alert phases — IVA crew safety
1992–1995
EVA Suit 2000 · ESA + Russian Space Agency
Designed for ISS construction and maintenance EVA — never operationalized