Lunar spacesuit of the semi-rigid type "Krechet-94"

37

During the preparation of the Soviet lunar mission, at JSC NPP Zvezda, the simultaneous development of two lunar spacesuits that are fundamentally different in their design was carried out:

1st - soft-type spacesuit "Eagle", developed on the basis of the spacesuit "Yastreb", used during the transition from the spacecraft "Soyuz-5" to "Soyuz-4";
2nd - a semi-rigid type spacesuit named "Krechet" (Krechet-94).



In SC "Krechet" for the first time in stories world cosmonautics used a semi-rigid design, which had previously been implemented only in the experimental spacesuits "EVA" (see a short (1:33) video review of the VKD spacesuit).

The SC was based on a cuirass made of aluminum alloys with an integrated fixed helmet. The sleeves were attached to the cuirass and had shoulder, elbow and wrist bearings to ensure good mobility.

The legs were attached to the cuirass from below. "Soft" elements of the SC had a power nylon and a double sealed shell. A protective "suit" with additional radiation and heat protection was worn from above.


The spacesuit was entered through an entrance hatch located on the back. The "Caspian" life support system is located in the door. Such a solution not only greatly facilitated the entry into and out of the spacecraft, but excluded the presence of communication systems passing from the coolant pack to the spacesuit, in a vacuum under the influence of aggressive factors of open space.

The aluminum cuirass served as a kind of power base and gave more opportunities for a convenient location of the SC controls and auxiliary equipment (see a short (2:00) video review of the "Krechet-94" spacesuit).


SC "Krechet" assumed the use of a suit of water cooling and ventilation. In the working mode, the inner space of the spacesuit was filled with pure oxygen, and the working mode of excess pressure was 0,4 kg / cm², which in vacuum conditions is about 320 mm Hg. or the equivalent to an altitude of 7 kilometers.

Since the requirement for battery life has been increased to 10 hours, solutions for the installation of a drinking device and a urine collector are implemented in the spacesuit.

A distinctive feature of the Krechet lunar spacesuit was a chest console made in the form of a drop-down tablet.


The efforts to develop the Krechet-94 Spacesuit were not wasted. In accordance with the Luna-3 program, two people were supposed to go to the moon. The commander of the spacecraft remained in orbit in the lunar orbital ship, while the second cosmonaut landed on the moon.

Naturally, the requirements for the two spacesuits had to be different: the first - for work on the lunar surface with long-term autonomous operation, the second - in zero gravity conditions and a shorter battery life.

As mentioned above, the lunar version was named "Krechet", and the orbital spacecraft for the commander of the ship was named "Orlan". Additional (unnecessary during extravehicular activity) equipment (ankle joints, an additional radio, a reinforced layer of radiation protection, etc.) was removed from the Orlan.

The flight of Soviet cosmonauts to the moon never took place. But the Orlan spacesuit has become the main and only domestic spacecraft for spacewalk, which has proven itself from the best side.

Over time, he went through a number of upgrades. The ergonomic and technical characteristics were significantly improved, the battery life was increased, and a lot of applied research was carried out.

If necessary, it is quite possible to create a new modification of the SC "Krechet 20XX" in a short time. Nevertheless, the appearance of the future lunar spacesuit will depend on the tasks assigned to it, since the discussion about the use of a universal spacesuit of the SK "Eagle" type remains open ...
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37 comments
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  1. +10
    April 28 2021 18: 53
    Artifacts of a bygone civilization ...
    1. -6
      April 28 2021 18: 58
      Quote: Bolt Cutter
      Artifacts of a bygone civilization ...

      This is exactly how Alex, and Yuri Gagarin's spacesuit, is said to be somewhere in a private collection in the United States. Everything was for sale ..
      And the spacesuit in the article certainly looks impressive for those times .. Such a country was blown over for sneakers and jeans
      1. The comment was deleted.
        1. The comment was deleted.
          1. +6
            April 28 2021 19: 38
            AIF .. well well, this is the same as Vicki
            Well infa from the Smithsonian Museum
            https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/space-race/online/sec300/sec350.htm
            In their collection there is a spacesuit used by Gagarin during training, and the same space suit in a museum near Moscow.
          2. 0
            April 28 2021 21: 05
            Quote: xorek
            Even in the Tretyakov Gallery it is necessary to carry out an audit, what is there originals, and what is fake and especially in the basements.

            Meehan, have you been to the Tretyakov Gallery at least once? Or pure whine?
    2. +9
      April 28 2021 19: 17
      Forerunners of space suits from diving life. Inspired. smile

      1. +2
        April 28 2021 19: 45
        Good evening Konstantin! This is the aesthetics of the "future from the past" that came to my mind.
      2. +10
        April 28 2021 19: 46
        Forerunners of space suits from diving life. Inspired.

        In fact, after all, it was)) maybe hands will reach, I will review the earliest SC, both ours and foreign. There, the pressure helmets were not much different from the divers'
        1. +2
          April 28 2021 20: 45
          It would be very nice. And thanks for this article. drinks
        2. 0
          April 28 2021 22: 40
          And I would make a selection of scaffolds from a science fiction movie)
          (Not a joke)
        3. 0
          April 29 2021 17: 41
          Quote: Bshkaus
          Forerunners of space suits from diving life. Inspired.

          In fact, after all, it was)) maybe hands will reach, I will review the earliest SC, both ours and foreign. There, the pressure helmets were not much different from the divers'

          Very interesting.

          Sergey, thank you for a wonderful series of articles.
          hi
    3. +1
      April 28 2021 19: 17
      Nothing has gone anywhere, experience and developments are used today in Russia.

      Less whining, comrade.
      1. +1
        April 28 2021 19: 25
        Yes, I did not mean that a little - it was to Soviet aesthetics that I paid attention to the spirit of that era.
        1. 0
          April 28 2021 20: 34
          Just like in Isaac Clarke's Dead Space, only there was a holographic one. Someday we will live to see this good
  2. +4
    April 28 2021 18: 53
    Interesting article, especially the chest strap impressed with the radio-like switches. :) Thanks to the author!
  3. +2
    April 28 2021 19: 05
    Interesting, we are waiting for the continuation good
    1. +10
      April 28 2021 19: 43
      Interesting, we are waiting for the continuation of good

      Greetings! The next article will be about the VKK-47 high-altitude compensating suit, which they wanted to use after the death of the Soyuz-11 crew, and the story of how the legendary space Falcon was quickly bungled from aviation falcons. And then, in a separate article, a review of the Falcon models, both used and promising. Maybe I’ll even squeeze a photo with my beloved))))
      1. +3
        April 28 2021 21: 00
        A good series of articles, respect, I look forward to continuing!
        1. 0
          1 May 2021 10: 01
          Quote: Aviator_
          A good series of articles, respect, I look forward to continuing!

          I welcome you, Sergey! hi I would like to know if you have been to the Museum of the NGO named after Babakin (in Khimki)? I read that there is Lunokhod-3, originally intended for manual control! What do you think about it? Did you see Lunokhod -3 there ???
          1. +1
            1 May 2021 13: 41
            Dmitry, I was not in this museum, I did not have any work with Lavochkin's NGO, I was not taken to the museum. Although it would be interesting to visit. I regularly visit the Museum of Atomic Weapons in Sarov, this year they moved the conference time to autumn because of the crown.
            1. +1
              1 May 2021 14: 46
              Quote: Aviator_
              ..... I regularly visit the museum of atomic weapons in Sarov, this year they postponed the conference time for the fall because of the crown.
              Great! good just great. I need to read about this Museum.
              1. +1
                1 May 2021 16: 08
                In an amicable way, his place is not in Sarov, where they already know everything, but in Moscow or in St. Petersburg.
      2. +1
        April 28 2021 21: 41
        Thank you, we look forward to continuing)
      3. -1
        April 28 2021 23: 15
        it was interesting. Now what about the trampoline spacesuit? crying
        1. +1
          April 29 2021 08: 16
          it was interesting. Now what about the trampoline spacesuit?
          what do you mean?
          1. -1
            April 29 2021 11: 59
            it was a joke. A banter at the chief "specialist" of Roscosmos.
            1. 0
              April 29 2021 12: 40
              it was a joke. A banter at the chief "specialist" of Roscosmos.
              Yes, it's understandable, it's just that the Americans are now doing a similar lunar, so I thought, maybe they asked about him?))) And our trampolines are elastic ... and it's funny and sad
        2. +2
          April 29 2021 13: 22
          Quote: Klingon
          it was interesting. Now what about the trampoline spacesuit? crying


          "Orlan-MKS" - a new computerized spacesuit for the ISS with climate control:



          And soon a new flight "Sokol-M":



          1. -2
            April 29 2021 14: 15
            What was the use of a new spacesuit for the ISS, if Roskosmos was going to drop out of there soon? and beyond the orbit we will not fly away in any way
            1. 0
              April 29 2021 16: 11
              Quote: Klingon
              What was the use of a new spacesuit for the ISS, if Roskosmos was going to drop out of there soon?


              In your fantasies? Well, for d ... mo in my head, I do not answer. laughing The ISS will be in operation for at least another five years.
            2. +2
              April 29 2021 16: 11
              What was the use of a new spacesuit for the ISS, if Roskosmos was going to drop out of there soon?

              So the letter ISS has nothing to do with the International Space Station))).
              M-modernized.
              K-computerized
              C-synthetic (replacement of the rubber containment with polyurethane foam).
              and there were also Orlan-D (the very first), DM and DMA (the first autonomous without an electro-phalum connected to the station board)
  4. +1
    April 28 2021 21: 40
    And I like this series of articles, thanks to the author! Interesting and the topic is not hackneyed! hi
  5. +1
    April 28 2021 23: 15
    The author is a huge request - already 2 article how - sign the photo PLEASE) Because a bunch of spacesuits are mixed in and which is VKT and which Krechet-94 is not clear from the word at all. Usually the head photo of the article is a photo of the subject of the article, but from the context you can assume that this is just the same VKT, especially since the video confirms this version.

    As for the spacesuit - which in the photo is terribly good-looking, just some kind of Tesla infantryman's suit, these thick welds, these openly door hinges on the back ... than the Americans flew to the moon (adherents of the Church of the "Lunar Conspiracy" right off the bat)
    The second one in the photo (if I correctly understood that this is the "Gyrfalcon") is much more technological and even I would say elegant in my own way.
    1. 0
      April 29 2021 06: 04
      Quote: Knell Wardenheart
      .. It feels like the spacesuit is cast from solid cast iron, unfortunately its technological effectiveness is terrifying when compared with what the Americans flew to the moon in (adherents of the "Lunar Conspiracy" church right off the bat)

      Can you tell us more about the manufacturability of welded joints when assembling double-curvature parts made of aluminum alloys in a one-off production of a lunar spacesuit prototype? You are, apparently, a great specialist in this area.
    2. +3
      April 29 2021 08: 12
      The author is a huge request - already 2 article how - sign the photo PLEASE)

      Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear to me how to make a signature, but I will take into account your criticism.
      Usually the head photo of the article is a photo of the subject of the article, but according to the context you can

      This is exactly what it is. Believe me, when I saw the published article, I was horrified and immediately wrote to the admins about this error!
      The fact is that it's not me who chooses the photo for the title.
      In previous articles, it was usually about one spacesuit, so there were no problems, but here they appeared (the same photo caption). The next article will be about the space Falcon and there are already several models, I will try to explain it more clearly.
      Another problem is that I can't insert the url of the video, so I give links - I don't like this either, it would be better if the video was shown immediately. But the video was originally published on Zen, but he does not give the url, unlike YouTube.
      1. 0
        April 29 2021 10: 31
        Thanks for the answer! And for an informative article too!
    3. +6
      April 29 2021 08: 24
      As for the spacesuit - which in the photo is terribly good-looking, just some kind of Tesla infantryman's suit, these thick welds, these openly door hinges on the back ... than the Americans flew to the moon

      Well, this is a development of the early 60s, besides a prototype. And they don't bother with experienced ones. the main task is to check and test certain solutions. There is no point in wasting time and effort licking the seams, if, having put on the SK, it may turn out that the proposed idea, in principle, is not an option, or right in the course of the test, an offer will be received, without leaving the checkout, to remove or correct some element and see what happens.
      When I was finalizing the oxygen mask for a specific study, I also did not sweat aesthetics: do I need to cut the entrance for the mass spectrometer - a drill into the aid, close the exhalation valve? I covered it with electrical tape, for my purposes it will go to check, and only then a successful decision is made for beauty))
  6. 0
    17 May 2021 12: 06
    THIS was all invented by Churchill in the eighteenth year! Our current guarantor said that apart from galoshes, the USSR did not produce anything more worthwhile.

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