Who are all these guys (uniforms)

[Pecan]

The main astronauts famously have different-coloured spacesuits to any other flight crew. In the VAB and SPH there are more uniforms to be seen - who are all these guys?

Flight crew:

Orange spacesuit - test pilots?

White spacesuit - other flight crew

Blue flightsuit - applicants/trainees (in the astronaut complex)

Ground crew:

Yellow dungarees - mechanics

Red dungarees - mechanics (any difference from the yellow ones?)

White coats - engineers?

Green uniform - batmen (and other groundskeepers?)

I'm writing a KSP Interactive Fiction (text-adventure like Collossal Cavern, Zork, etc.) so who one might meet is important. What are your opinions of who these guys are, and who else might be around?

[magnemoe]

Why have everybody white suits during EVA.

Different colored suits in a construction zone is typical special functions often safety related.

white coats is obvious scientists / engineers.

Green might be military or security.

[Special Agent Sigvan]

Orange Suits, Gods.

White Suits, Disposable yet scared cannon fodder.

Blue, "Who da hail?" - Everybody at the Astronaut Complex.

That's all I've got.

[razark]

Orange spacesuit - test pilots?

White spacesuit - other flight crew

Blue flightsuit - applicants/trainees (in the astronaut complex)

The orange suits are a holdover from the early days, before proper spacesuits could be developed. Originally adapted from a diving suit, they were issued to the first kerbonauts. Once the program accelerated and other pilots were brought in, the original crew talked management into providing them with orange versions to indicate seniority. The white suites are standard issue spacesuits used by all other kerbonauts. The blue jumpsuit is the standard issue suit used during training, ground tests, and other non-flight related activities. Of course, only the trainees are seen wearing them in the kerbonaut portraits, as any flight-ready crewmembers have their official portraits done in flight gear. (Arrogant little things, ain't they?)

Yellow dungarees - mechanics

Red dungarees - mechanics (any difference from the yellow ones?)

White coats - engineers?

Green uniform - batmen (and other groundskeepers?)

Yellow are the construction guys. They're the ones that put things together, turn hammers on bolts, pound on things with wrenches, etc.

Red are special workers. They're the ones responsible for laying out cables/wiring, running fuel lines, installing pyrotechnics, etc.

White coats are the engineers and scientists.

Green seems to be general ground crew. The only ones I remember seeing seem to be trying to direct traffic. So, they would be the folks that keep the KSC running like a smoothly oiled machine, maintaining the site, providing security, making sure there's a place for everything and everything is in some place, really, they swear it was just here, and if you can hang around, they'll go find it for you and it should be in your hands in a moment er, within an hour, max, uh probably next Wednesday?, soon. Yeah, real soon now.

[Liowen]

Why have everybody white suits during EVA.

Different colored suits in a construction zone is typical special functions often safety related.

white coats is obvious scientists / engineers.

Green might be military or security.

Actually the white suits during EVA's is more of a scientific reason than a fashion choice. Straight from the NASA site: "Astronauts use white spacesuits when they go on spacewalks to do work outside the space shuttle or International Space Station. White was chosen for a few reasons. One of the most important reasons is that white reflects heat so that the astronaut doesn't get too warm. Astronauts can get too cold as well, but that is usually in their hands. Therefore, the spacesuits have heaters in their gloves.

Another reason spacewalkers use white spacesuits is that white is visible against the black background of space, so other astronauts can easily see the spacewalker. In addition, since spacewalking astronauts always go out in pairs, one of the suits always has red stripes in four places so the other astronauts can tell one spacewalker from the other."

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/eva/white.html

[Tripzter]

Curious, why not make the gloves/boots black?

[razark]

Curious, why not make the gloves/boots black?

Because it's easier to add heat than remove it, maybe? That would be my guess. Maybe it's also easier for them to see what their hands are doing in shadows if the gloves are lighter rather than dark?

Of course, the real reason could just as easily be "the gloves are white to match the white suits".

[Taki117]

Check out this link. I suspect that they are similar in function.

[Liowen]

Curious, why not make the gloves/boots black?

Because it's easier to add heat than remove it, maybe? That would be my guess. Maybe it's also easier for them to see what their hands are doing in shadows if the gloves are lighter rather than dark?

That is pat of it the other would be it is hard to see black against a black background, since the sun is the brightest object we can see once in orbit it negates the starlight (think of it like trying to see the stars in a city at night with all the street lights on).