Krechet

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Krechet

The Krechet (Russian

Russian language

Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe....
??????, meaning gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon

The gyrfalcon or , also spelled gerfalcon, is the largest of all falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and islands of North America, Europe and Asia....
) is a space suit

Space suit

A space suit is a complex system of garments, equipment and environmental systems designed to keep a person alive and comfortable in the harsh environment of outer space....
model developed for lunar

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
excursion during the Soviet manned lunar program

Soviet Moonshot

"Moonshot" redirects here.'For the Buffy Sainte-Marie album, see Moonshot .Details of the Soviet Union Moonshot were kept intensely secret until the arrival of glasnost....
. It was designed by NPP Zvezda

NPP Zvezda

Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda, or R&D PE Zvezda is a Russian manufacturer of life-support systems for high-altitude flight and human spaceflight....
. Development begin in 1967, concurrently with the Orlan

Orlan space suits

An Orlan space suit is a series of semi-rigid space suit models designed and built by NPP Zvezda. They have been used for extra-vehicular activity in the Soviet space program, its successor the Russian Federal Space Agency, and by space programs of other countries including the Chinese space program and NASA....
suit for microgravity spacewalks.

hing 90 kg (198 lb), the suit could operate for 10 hours before requiring a resupply of consumables, and had a total operating lifetime of 48 hours.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Krechet'

Start a new discussion about 'Krechet'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Krechet (Russian

Russian language

Space suit

Moon

Soviet Moonshot

NPP Zvezda

Orlan space suits

Design features

Weighing 90 kg (198 lb), the suit could operate for 10 hours before requiring a resupply of consumables, and had a total operating lifetime of 48 hours. The Krechet was the first semi-rigid space suit ever developed, with an aluminum alloy

Aluminium alloy

Aluminium alloys are alloys of aluminium, often with copper, zinc, manganese, silicon, or magnesum. They are much lighter and more corrosion resistant than plain carbon steel, but not as corrosion resistant as pure aluminium....
hard upper torso

Hard Upper Torso

A Hard Upper Torso Assembly, or HUT, is a central component of many space suits, notably NASA's Extravehicular Mobility Unit . The fiberglass HUT forms a rigid enclosure about the upper body of the occupant, providing pressure containment for this part of the body....
and soft fabric limbs. This design was later adopted by the American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
EMU

Extravehicular Mobility Unit

The Space Shuttle/International Space Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit is an independent anthropomorphic system that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for a Shuttle or ISS crew member to perform extra-vehicular activity in earth orbit....
and later Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
n suits. The Krechet included waist and hip joints which were not present in the Orlan. The shoulders and wrists of the suit included ball-bearing joints, which allowed for almost 360 degree rotation.

The Krechet was a rear-entry suit, meaning that cosmonauts would enter the suit through a hatch in the back. This entry was easier and more reliable than the use of a zipper

Zipper

A zipper is a popular device for temporarily joining two edges of textile. It is used in clothing , luggage and other bags, sporting goods, camping gear , and other daily use items....
. The hatch could then be opened by means of a lever by the right elbow. The life support backpack

Primary Life Support System

A Primary Life Support System/Subsystem, or PLSS, is the "backpack" of a spacesuit. It provides most of the functions of a spacecraft life support system, in a smaller package....
was incorporated into the hatch. The rear-entry hatch concept is attributed to Zvezda engineer Anatoli Stoklitskii.

The suit featured a chest-mounted control and instrument panel which could fold out for use or fold flat against the chest when not needed. The suit also featured a metal "hula hoop

Hula hoop

A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs, or neck. They are usually made of plastic, though they may also be made out of wood or other materials....
" ring on the back, which would allow a solo astronaut who fell on his back to roll onto his side and use his arms and legs to stand. The suit had two snap-down visors, providing differing levels of sun protection, in addition to a clear visor. The outer visor was coated in gold for reflectivity.

The suit was designed to be worn over a liquid cooling garment

Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment

A Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment, or LCVG, is a form-fitting garment worn by astronauts in order to maintain a comfortable core temperature during extra-vehicular activity....
. The inner fabric of the suit was gray nylon canvas. The suit was insulated with waffle-textured foil. The outer layer was an off-white satin-weave fabric with orange trim.

Because of constraints in shoulder and elbow mobility in the Krechet, the Soviet lunar lander featured a "finger controller" which allowed a suited pilot to operate the lander. The Krechet would have served as a microgravity suit as well as a surface suit, as the Soviet lunar lander (LK) and command module (LOK) were not designed for intravehicular crew transfer.