Krechet
Encyclopedia
The Krechet-94 is a space suit
Space suit
A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...
model developed for lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
excursion during the Soviet manned lunar program
Soviet Moonshot
The Soviet manned lunar programs were a series of programs pursued by the Soviet Union to land a man on the Moon in competition with the United States Apollo program to achieve the same goal set publicly by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961...
. 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. Its products include space suits, ejector seats, aircraft escape slides, lifejackets and fire extinguishers...
. Development began in 1967, concurrently with the Orlan
Orlan space suits
thumb|right|270px|Cosmonaut [[Maksim Surayev]] next to two Orlan-MK modelsAn Orlan space suit |sea eagle]]) is a series of semi-rigid one-piece space suit models designed and built by NPP Zvezda. They have been used for spacewalks in the Russian space program, the successor to the Soviet space...
suit for microgravity spacewalks. The developmental model was known simply as Krechet.
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 alloyAluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
hard upper torso
Hard Upper Torso
A Hard Upper Torso Assembly, or HUT, is a central component of several space suits, notably Roscosmos' Orlan and 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 constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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 Space Shuttle or International Space Station crew member to perform extra-vehicular activity...
and later Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
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 commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...
. 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 , is a device connected to an astronaut's or cosmonaut's spacesuit, which allows extra-vehicular activity with maximum freedom, independent of a spacecraft's life support system. The PLSS is generally worn like a backpack...
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.Although the exact origins of hula hoops are unknown, children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history...
" 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 Garment is a form-fitting garment that is used to remove body heat from the wearer in environments where evaporative cooling from sweating and open air convection cooling does not work, or the wearer has a biological problem that hinders self-regulation of body temperature.A...
. 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.
Specifications
Name: Krechet-94/Krechet SpacesuitDerived from: SKV EVA (developmental) Spacesuit
Manufacturer: NPP Zvezda
Missions: Never used
Function: Terrestrial
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
Extra-vehicular activity (EVA)
Operating Pressure: 5.8 psi (400 hPa)
Total Weight: 234 lb (106 kg)
Primary Life Support: 10 hours (600 minutes)