In article ,
Derek Lyons wrote:
It's also possible to design an emergency escape suit *that doesn't
require prebreathing*. Get in it, seal it, and pop out the airlock.
Prebreathe while dropping the pressure down to a level where you can
move the suit, complete the remainder of the escape sequence.

Unfortunately, starting from the station's normal 14.7psi atmosphere, suit
prebreathing even on an emergency basis takes about four hours, which is
kind of a long time to just float in the suit. (Preplanned spacewalks use
less prebreathing time than that because those guys live in reduced
pressure, with increased oxygen content, for 12+ hours first.)

Guys without current spacewalk training are going to be essentially
immobilized until pressure is down to near-normal suit levels; there isn't
going to be any useful mobility during the transition. Guys *with*
current spacewalk training -- which puts a lot of emphasis on building up
hand and arm muscles in particular -- may have some limited mobility late
in the transition.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert |