Krechet-94 Spacesuit

The original Soviet spacesuit “Krechet-94” on display in the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics at VDNKh. It is the semi-rigid spacesuit with the integrated life-support system that was intended for spacewalks as well as for moonwalks. The spacesuit “Krechet-94” was designed by Zvezda (Eng: Star) Plant under the direction of Chief Designer G.l. Severin in the second half of the 1960s. It was presented to the museum by Chief Designer of the Zvezda Research and Development Enterprise G.l. Severin.

The Soviet manned lunar program was canceled in 1974. But the Krechet spacesuit for the lunar expedition was ready. It became a prototype of the Orlan spacesuit used today for spacewalks by Russian cosmonauts during the orbital flight.

The spacesuit has a solid torso and helmet made of aluminum alloy and soft fabric limbs.

The ingress hatch is located on the back. The backpack, which contains life support systems and called Kaspiy serves as a hatch cover. Krechet is equipped with a closed-cycle life support system. The thermal control system comprises a liquid cooling garment and a heat-exchange unit - sublimator. The suit features a chest-mounted control panel. The autonomous operation time is about 10 hours.

Spacesuit weight is 106 kg (17.5 kg on the Moon).

The Krechet suit enclosure consists of three layers: a restraint layer made of high-strength nylon-type fabric and two pressure bladders. The sleeves are equipped with shoulder and arms bearings, which allows moving arms in different directions. The suit is fitted with special outer clothing made up of multilayer screen vacuum thermal insulation. The antenna feeder system is mounted in the outer clothing.

Photo #316 taken on December 28, 2019 during a tour of the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics with my Dear client from Australia, Tyson Hedland.