Sokol SK-11 ("Falcon") spacesuit, manufactured by RD & PE Zvezda, ca. 1975

Sokol SK-11 

A Sokol SK-11 ("Falcon") Spacesuit, Manufactured by RD & PE ZVEZDA, ca. 1975.

Full pressure suit, manufactured by Zvezda, production unit 206, approx. 62 in. tall. Pale grey-blue outer restraint layer of nylon canvas with internal pressure bladder, left shoulder with patch of Zvezda, right shoulder with patch of USSR. Integral helmet with soft hood and polycarbonate visor locking with aluminum flange, complete with leather and lambskin communications cap outfitted with two microphones. Integrated pressure valve on chest reading "ОТВЕРНУТЬ ДО УПОРА ПЕРЕД ПОЛЕТОМ" [trans: open fully before flight]. Support sling running from chest to back using webbed belts and metal clips, arms with trussed sleeves with adjustable articulating cables and webbed belt lashings. Pressure gauge on left sleeve; detachable gloves marked "ГП-8P-8N27"at cuff. Eye & hook lacing mechanism running from chin to crotch, covered with vertical velcro placket, legs with pleated knees, each with utility pockets and integral soled boots marked "42" at soles.

VERY RARE SOKOL SK-11 ("FALCON") SPACESUIT, a version of the Sokol K Rescue Spacesuit made only for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in 1975, this suit apparently being a test unit. The Sokol-K design was modified for the ASTP mission because of the difference in cabin pressure between the Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts, with the Sokol SK-11 was designed to function at different pressure levels. While the Russian Soyuz spacecrafts operated at normal cabin pressure, the American Apollo spacecraft had an all oxygen atmosphere of 340 hPa, so to avoid any decompression sickness, the cabin atmosphere in the Soyuz-19 was set at 680 hPa with an increased oxygen content. The gloves of this particular suit are not the standard Sokol gloves, as both have an outside manual depressurisation valve, presumably to be used in the event of an emergency depressurization of the spacecraft. 

The Sokol space suit was, and still is, worn by all who fly on the Soyuz spacecraft. The suit was developed from 1973-1979 with the goal of supporting a suited astronaut for up to 30 hours in a pressurized cabin, and two hours in an unpressurized one. Described by manufacturer NPP Zvezda as a rescue suit, the Sokol was designed to keep the wearer alive in the event of an accidental depressurization rather than being used outside the spacecraft on an EVA. The suit was developed following the disastrous loss of the Soyuz 11 crew in 1971 through sudden depressurization, and its successor, the Sokol-KV2, was first used on the Soyuz T-2 mission, launched on June 5, 1980. 

PROVENANCE

European collection

LITERATURE

For details on the development of Russian spacesuits, see Abramov and Skoog, Russian Spacesuits.