On Feb 16, 8:49�pm, Pat Flannery wrote:
wrote:
You are correct. Specifically a Krechet-94. But contrary to earlier
misconceptions the Orlan didn't evolve from the Krechet. According to
Abramov and Skoog ("Russian Spacesuits" also co-authored by the late
Guy Severin) they were developed, tested and studied simultaneously to
see which would work best for the lunar surface. Krechet went on to be
developed into the Krechet-94 while Orlan was developed for Orbital
Lunar EVA, and then was chosen to replace the Yastreb as the Almaz EVA
suit. �Sadly, neither went on to fulfill their intended use.

Was the LK going to carry a Orlan suit as well as the Kretchet? That
seems like a heavy way of doing things in a spacecraft where they wanted
to save as much weight as possible.
Considering how poorly Yastreb worked on Leonov's spacewalk, it's no
wonder they replaced it.
What were the suits used on the Soyuz 4-5 EVA?

Pat

It was actually the Berkut spacesuit which was worn by Leonov. An
interesting sidenote: The suit was originally specified to be
pressurized to 270 hPa, but it was decided to use it at 400 hPa in
order to reduce the chance of decompression sickness. It could then be
turn down to 270 hPa for short periods if the cosmonaut desired more
flexibility. There was no hydorlab yet and the Tu-104 parabolic
flights only allow zero-G training for short burst.

When Leonov realized that in the actual conditions of space the suit
was less flexible and more difficult to maneuver in (the "ballooning"
of the suit never occurred as has been misreported - the dimensions of
the suit were the same at 400 hPa and 270 hPa), he did what he was
trained to do and reduced the pressure to 270 hPa. His biggest problem
came when he didn't follow his training and entered the airlock head
first instead of feet first, requiring him to turn over inside the
airlock.

Also noteworthy: Belyayev was also wearing a Berkut suit without a
backpack and could have come to Leonov's aide if necessary supported
by an emergency hose connected to the on-board Life Support System.

The Yastreb suit was used in the Soyuz 4 - 5 EVA as part of its
development for the LK-1 and then Almaz missions. It was replaced
later in 1969 by the Olran.

In the early L-3 concept the Orlan and Krechet were both stored in the
Moon Orbiting Spacecraft. When in lunar orbit both cosmonauts would
change into their respective suits. The commander would wear the Orlan
attached to a tether and would watch the back of the
"moonwalker" (wearing the Krechet) from the hatch of the Orbiter, When
the lunar mission was complete both suits would be stowed in the
orbiter before the crew transferred to the descent vehicle for return
to Earth.

Regards,

David L. Rickman