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YASTREB SPACE SUITDESIGNED FOR EVA. Yastreb (Hawk in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system, image 1
YASTREB SPACE SUITDESIGNED FOR EVA. Yastreb (Hawk in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system, image 2
Thumbnail of YASTREB SPACE SUITDESIGNED FOR EVA. Yastreb (Hawk in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system, image 1
Thumbnail of YASTREB SPACE SUITDESIGNED FOR EVA. Yastreb (Hawk in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system, image 2
Lot 1112
YASTREB SPACE SUIT—DESIGNED FOR EVA.
"Yastreb" ("Hawk" in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system,
26 April 2012, 13:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$46,250 inc. premium

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YASTREB SPACE SUIT—DESIGNED FOR EVA.

"Yastreb" ("Hawk" in Russian) pressure suit with vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit and portable life support system, manufactured by Zvezda. The suit approximately 65 inches tall. Comprising (1) detachable white enamel-coated aluminum alloy helmet, with hinged reflective gold-film coated sun visor and double-layered transparent visor below, finger-lift flanges at sides and clavicle bar lock, "CCCP" painted by hand in red on forehead, securing with bolts and ring locks to rigid metal collar on suit, together with cotton 'hairnet' and leather communications headset; (2) soft lace-up pressurized undersuit of green nylon, trussed sleeves with white enamel-coated metal annular upper arm restraints connected to articulating cables and pulleys extending through the arms to the sternum, pressure gauge on right fore-arm, 2 umbilical connectors and 2 pressure regulating valves on torso, trussed legs, integral white nylon boots with Velcro-covered rubber soles, 2 inner rubberized cloth ventilating bladders; (3) white lightweight knitted nylon vacuum shield / thermal protection oversuit, 2 layers sandwiching thermal protective foil between, secured to the pressurized undersuit by laces at various points, sleeves, torso and legs with bright orange-red applied stripe, arrowhead-shaped "CCCP" emblem on left sleeve with Soyuz-like rocket, Velcro-secured flaps covering umbilical connectors, valves and pressure gauge; (4) lightweight nylon gloves with thermal protection foil layers, rigid metal cuffs, palms covered with heavily textured rubber surface; (5) rectangular white enamel-coated pressurized life support backpack with connecting hoses and harness, enclosing the oxygen supply and gas ventilation / regeneration subsystems. A few minor visor scratches, the oversuit a little 'bobbled' in patches, backpack with a few dents and chips to paint.

A rare Soviet EVA suit, designed for the Soyuz program. The Yastreb suit was used for the first Soviet manned docking.
"The successful space walk by A.A. Leonov on 18 March 1965 was followed by a new mission objective for the Soyuz vehicles: facilitating the transfer of crew members from one vehicle to another through free space. Such an operation was required for one of the circumlunar flight plans (L1) when crew members were to move from the Soyuz-type transportation system in near-Earth orbit to the lunar vehicle" (Abramov and Skoog, Russian spacesuits, 2003, p 82). Leonov's suit had been a "Berkut"; with its limited oxygen supply, it was useful only for short EVAs—Leonov's ground-breaking spacewalk was a mere twelve minutes long. More complicated missions would require longer spacewalks, allowing cosmonauts to make repairs, assemble the planned space stations, and ultimately walk on the moon. Berkut was therefore developed over the course of 1965-1967 into Yastreb.
Like Berkut, Yastreb had a life support system, but the new backpack was self-contained and regenerative. As a result, it could sustain life for two and a half hours in the vacuum of space. The new suit was eventually used during the momentous docking of Soyuz 4 and 5 on January 16, 1969. The aim of the mission was to dock the two spacecraft, transfer two crew members from Soyuz 5 to 4, and return them to Earth on Soyuz 4. Cosmonauts Khrunov and Yeliseyev donned their Yastrebs, then performed a 37-minute spacewalk, holding onto handrails and crossing over to the hatch of the Soyuz 4 spacecraft. The spacewalkers took with them from Soyuz 5 newspapers, letters, and telegrams printed after the launch of Soyuz 4, to prove that the transfer had really taken place and was not manufactured propaganda.
The historic mission of Soyuz 4/5 was the only occasion where the Yastreb EVA suit was used. It led the way to the next iteration of Soviet space suits, "Orlan," a semi-rigid suit designed for the demanding requirements of lunar walks. The present Yastreb differs very slightly from the model used during Soyuz 4/5, which had a mirror sewn into the left sleeve of the oversuit. This is likely, therefore, to be a developmental prototype.

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