Yes, I understand the difference between testing equipment and training people.
You clearly do not.
You're not very coherent with the second part of your question
That's precious, coming from you.
but I think you were asking "Is testing equipment in a way that puts people at risk better when safer alternatives exist? Yes, testing, if possible, should be performed in a way that doesn't risk people but some things like airplane testing require a gradual increase in the level of risk until full blown performance testing is reached. The risk is mitigated.
So what?
The same thing would happen with spacesuits with sublimators. Various components would be tested individually and then in an integrated configuration to mitigate the risk when a human occupied the spacesuit during training under high vacuum on Earth
What exactly is it about the sublimators which requires a human guinea pig? Any heat source would do for testing purposes. A sublimator does not care whence the heat originates.
prior to the highest risk activity of performing in orbit at 17,000 mph, 249 miles high.
What difference, in your opinion does the velocity and altitude make? How would those numbers influence the operation of a sublimator in any way? What is the sublimator were at 25,000 mph and 250,000 miles high? Would that make the sublimator operate in any different manner?
Or is it that you simply want to shovel in "scary" numbers into your pointless argument?
The way they allegedly sequentially constructed ISS would make it difficult to place the entire ISS into a vacuum chamber.
No *** Sherlock.
But yes, the individual components should be vacuum tested prior to assembly. I would assume they are.
Why? Why would you not check rather than assume?
I think operational training performed in swimming pools is the closest that they can reasonably achieve on Earth as I think its more a factor of simulated weightlessness at that stage.
That's procedural training. It has little to do with space suit integrity.
I suppose it would be possible at astronomical cost to build a huge vacuum chamber the size of the ISS but there would be no way to simulate weightlessness.
Once again, no **** Sherlock.
An astronaut wearing a spacesuit can't be in the pool and vacuum chamber simultaneously.
Once again, I grant you a third no **** Sherlock.
I expect that the astronauts in tested spacesuits in vacuum chambers would mainly do range of motion tests, practice emergency procedures, practice ingress and egress procedures and gain the indispensable confidence in their equipment
Which they do.
at vacuum to perform EVA without being overwhelmed by fear of equipment failure.
"at vacuum" does not add some special ingredient and a sublimator failure would not be critical. How many times must this be explained to you before it sinks in?