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Sale 52
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Lot 726
Soyuz TM-16 / MIR-13, FLOWN "ORLAN-DMA" EVA Space Suit. This massive suit, about 5'6" tall and and about 23" wide, was worn by Alexander Poleshchuk (and other cosmonauts) during his stay on MIR-13. The suit is complete with its white canvas cover layer (two shoulder patches and a chest patch) as well as a chest control panel, hoses, a pair of gloves and boots. The Life Support backpack appears to have its full compliment of oxygen and other "innards" including cables, hoses and an access handle. The suit also includes its mounting stand to hold it upright here on earth as it needs two strong men to lift and manoever it under earth's gravity. The stand appears to be original also.
This updated version of the prior ORLAN suits "D" and "DM" was designed to be used without the electrical umbilical from the MIR spacecraft. The suit used new materials for its soft parts. A waist flange was introduced to secure the lower (soft) enclosure and the possability of changing it on board the station was provided. According to Russian Spacesuits by Abramov and Skoog (2003), this version suit was used on MIR between 1988-1997 for 56 paired Evas. There were 16 test and training suits developed and only 12 flight models. These suits were generally left onboard MIR until deemed past their useful life at which point they were jetissoned into space and destroyed. In some rare cases, on a space-available basis, a cosmonaut brought the suit back with him as a souvenir.
Included with this suit is the blue/white internal cooling suit worn inside the EVA suit by Poleshchuk. The cosmonaut has signed the cooling suit at the top in both English and Russian and has notated it "MIR-13" in Cyrillic. A brown wood, plywood packing case (43x29x33"; original ?) is also included.
This is the first time we have had the pleasure of handling this suit, in any version, with its cover layer and its stand. We have seen pictures of the suit as exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution and in various Soviet/Russian museums. The suit has an imposing presence that will have a profoundly positive effect on any collection it joins. It would appear to be in excellent condition.
Estimated Value $30,000 - 40,000.
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| Realized $35,650 |
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