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Orlan-MKS #5 articles

Head of SPE “Zvezda”: suit for pilots Su-57 prepared for flight tests

July 9, 9:00 UTC + 3

Sergey Pozdnyakov© Yury Mashkov / TASS

On July 10, the Progress-MS-09 cargo ship will leave for the International Space Station. Amongst other cargo, it will deliver to the station the third space suit of the new generation “Orlan-MKS” manufactured by the Russian SPE “Zvezda”. These suits are actively used by Russian cosmonauts, including when working behind the station. About these spacesuits and the development of the promising new “Federation” for a manned spacecraft, a new anti-gravity suit for the pilots of the fifth generation Su-57 fighter and new helmets, Sergei Pozdnyakov, general director of SPE Zvezda, was interviewed by TASS.

TASS: About the new spacesuits “Orlan-MKS” were comments from the cosmonauts that it is inconvenient to work in them because of a new shell. There were also complaints about the new thermoregulation system. What exactly is wrong and what changes will be made?

Pozdnyakov: Indeed, the cosmonauts note that the sleeves of the space suit have become narrower. The new shell material is polyurethane, it is denser and not as elastic as the rubber that was used previously. When adjusting the sleeves, folds appear along the length. This is especially true for cosmonauts with short arms, when the arm of the suit is adjusted to the minimum length.

In the future, several ways of solving this problem are outlined. One of them is to make sleeves easily removable, which makes it possible to put sleeves with individual sizes for a particular cosmonaut. Now the “Orlan-MKS” № 5 space suit is manufactured, which should be delivered to the orbital station on July 10. Some changes have already been made in the design of this spacesuit, which improve the working conditions.

As for claims regarding the new automated thermal control system, it works reliably. Although some cosmonauts are in favor of manual temperature control. But there were times when during the exit the cosmonauts forgot to monitor their thermal state. It transpired that doctors from the Mission Control Center were asked to stop working to bring the temperature back to normal.

TASS: Except for improvements on the shell, somehow still domestic suits are planned to be finalized or modernized?

Pozdnyakov: For today, the maximum and minimum lists of works, which during the modernization of the spacesuit would like to be fulfilled, are determined. At the minimum – we plan to modernize the sleeves and, possibly, increase the dimensions of the entrance to the spacesuit, so that for large cosmonauts to eliminate the inconvenience in using it. To simplify the maintenance work on a spacesuit, change the location of the knapsack assemblies. To the maximum – in addition to the listed works – to integrate into the spacesuit an automatic rescue system and a projection system into the helmet for transmission to the cosmonaut of information. It should be borne in mind that not everything can be made from domestic materials.

TASS: But do you at the company still import components that are used?

Pozdnyakov: Yes, they are. But it is not known whether they will be available to us in the future because of the sanctions policy of the West. In the case of restrictions, we will perform work in the volume of the minimum list, only with Russian components.

TASS: How and why is it supposed to increase the entrance to the spacesuit?

Pozdnyakov: The anthropometric requirements to the candidates for the cosmonaut detachment have not been strictly adhered to recently. To date, there are cosmonauts, including those who are active, whose chest volume is either on the verge of the maximum permissible size of the space suit, or exceeds them. So they offer to increase the entrance to the spacesuit or make it in the form of a trapezoid. This will require a change in the design and conduct of various strength tests. The entrance area will become larger, therefore, the force from the effect of internal pressure on the separation will increase.

In addition, we plan to work on improving maintainability, for which we are going to change the location of the units in the backpack, to improve access to them and simplify their replacement. This is important because our suits function their entire life without descending to Earth and they have to be serviced at the station. The Americans – earlier on the Space Shuttle, and now on the “Dragon” cargo ships – return the spacesuits for repair to Earth, we have no such possibility.

TASS: Why can not we return the spacesuits to Earth?

Pozdnyakov: Our cargo ships Progress are burnt in the atmosphere, and it is possible to return spacesuits on manned Soyuz because of limitations in size and weight of cargo. If a reusable ship appears, including its cargo version, it will be possible to return the spacesuits to full maintenance, which is rational in all respects.

TASS: What will the display system be?

Pozdnyakov: Our specialists have been working on the information display system for a long time. Ideally, this should be like that of military pilots, for whom information is projected onto the cockpit glass of the cockpit. And the cosmonaut should not give information about the spacesuit systems, this is the work of the automation, but instructions on the work performed on the surface of the station (what, where and how to do it) or advice in case of failures. Existing domestic systems of indication do not suit us in terms of size and functionality. How can I make this system optimal from the point of view of dimensions, mass, safety, I’m not ready to say now, but we are conducting such pre-project work in order to understand which direction to move on.

TASS: Is there any progress on creating an automatic reactive rescue system for spacesuits on the ISS?

Pozdnyakov: Initially, we dealt with this problem several years ago, when there was a financial opportunity. It was assumed that such a system with miniature jet engines would be built into a new space suit. However, this is a very expensive development and at the same time it is still necessary to prove to consumers, and this is primarily Roskosmos and RSC Energia, that a spacesuit with such a system is needed. In the pre-project works we got a certain result: we showed that such a system can be created, we determined the working principle, we understood how to stabilize the rotation and automatically return to the station the cosmonaut flying away into space. But further the project did not go because of the limited financial possibilities of the enterprise.

TASS: How much can such a project cost? And how long does it take to create a system if it is financed?

Pozdnyakov: At least a few hundred million rubles. Compared to the cost of rockets, it’s a penny, but for our enterprise it’s serious money. According to the terms: pre-contract works and prototype manufacturing for ground tests will take a year and a half, for a full-fledged prototype for another year or two.

TASS: How many new “Orlan-MKS” spacesuits should be at the station?

Pozdnyakov: For spacewalks of spacesuits there should be three – two main and one reserve. The outputs are all paired and suits alternate so that they approximately simultaneously produced a resource.

TASS: At what stage is the development of a new space suit for the perspective manned spacecraft Federation?

Pozdnyakov: As well as throughout the ship, the first phase of development work is now under way. Our task is to produce a prototype of a rescue suit and an cosmonaut chair by the end of the year.

The main difference of the new spacesuit from today’s “Falcons” is that it must be reusable. Now each cosmonaut has his own individual suit and another cosmonaut who can not use it. When developing a new spacesuit, a ruler of its dimensions will be determined. The cosmonaut has the opportunity to choose for himself a suit of the right size with a small fit. The same space suit can be used by different cosmonauts.

After making several prototypes of such a spacesuit, we will determine the plan for further work. Then, taking into account the results of the factory tests, we will produce space suits for ground tests in the ship, after which we will begin flight tests. Before the start of the series, we plan to produce up to 20 spacesuits.

When developing a new chair, we are tasked to leave the individual lodgement and make an armchair that compensates for overloads during a hard landing, ensuring the rescue and safety of the cosmonaut. It should be universal, with adjustment for different cosmonauts. The model of this chair is made. Now in production a prototype, close to the prototype. We plan to begin its tests at the end of this year or the beginning of the next.

Dimensions of the new chair compared with the existing are increased, in the ship “Federation” more space than in the “Soyuz”, and the cosmonauts will no longer have to take the “uterine” pose. The cosmonaut’s posture in the new chairs will be similar to the so-called Gagarin’s, half-lying. The material from which the chair is made is an aluminum alloy, composite materials are not used, as they eventually give off, that is, “gas”, and in the enclosed space of the ship it is unacceptable.

TASS: And how will the tests be carried out, because the ship as such is not yet available?

Pozdnyakov: The load values for a nominal or non-standard landing are known. Our equipment allows you to perform so-called dumping of seats with dummies from a certain height on a certain surface to check the operation of shock absorbers. The dummies are equipped with modern recording and recording equipment, with the help of which all the loads acting on the cosmonaut are determined. Discharges of the chair with the testers, most likely, will not be conducted, if only in a sparing mode. Separately, we will assess the comfort and ergonomics of the seats.

TASS: Is there development of a lunar spacesuit?

Pozdnyakov: Specific tasks yet. Of the known projects of flight to the Moon – only a near-Moon station, but in detail we do not know anything about it. Serious international agreements on the development of the moon, except for intentions, are not signed today. There will be tasks – we will work.

TASS: Do “Orlans” have protection from radiation? Is the question of protection of spacesuits in which people on the Moon or Mars will work?

Pozdnyakov: In the “Eagles” there is a rigid cuirass and a tight knapsack, made of aluminum with a thickness of more than 1 mm. The cuirass is joined by soft shells of hands and feet. At the height of the orbit of the International Space Station, at such doses, such a design effectively protects vital organs – the head, heart, kidneys, liver, etc. – from radiation during radiation exits.

As for individual protection against radiation in the conditions of the Moon and Mars, the outlets on the surface are short-lived and this task is not today. Work on the ISS is planned to be carried out until 2024, and maybe even until 2028.

TASS: Recently, with the Swiss pilot Rafael Domjan, who is to fly to the stratosphere on an electric plane in a Russian space suit, tests were carried out in a pressure chamber where the conditions of the stratosphere were modeled. How did this go?

Pozdnyakov: For the spacesuit itself, these were not the first tests. We with our testers at the enterprise have already imitated this flight lasting about six hours. This is part of the Swiss planned flight – climb to the altitude, then a short landing and descent. Just at this time our enterprise was visited by a pilot who must perform this flight. We repeated the experiment with the pilot so that he understood what six hours in a spacesuit with a life support system imitated minus 60 overboard.

The Swiss pilot, unfortunately, unauthorizedly took with him on the test camera and stick for Selfie. And when he did not need him, he did not think of anything else, how to shove it into the warming shoe covers, undocking the connector of the heating insole. Naturally, one leg began to freeze. He said that he could no longer tolerate, and somewhere in the third or fourth hour, the tests were stopped. This was a lesson for him and us – we can not take random objects for such experiments. But the positive test result is that the system is working and the tester felt that there is minus 60 overboard, even in warm clothes.

Another task of these experiments is pilot adaptation. As the Swiss relocated the flight to 2020, during this time we will raise it several times “to the heights”. Our system is almost ready. If we do something with it, then by 2020, perhaps, we will reduce the mass so that the aircraft can climb to the declared height of 25 km.

The suit itself is made on the basis of the “Falcon”, but it is different, the life support system is another – a closed type, more like the one used in the “Eagle”. The system is autonomous, with its absorber cartridge, moisture collector. We will additionally check it, confirm the reliability for various contingencies, for example, when the power supply is disconnected. It is necessary to check whether the glass in the helmet is sweating or sweating when the fan is not working. Minus 60 overboard we create, but we can not simulate solar energy. And when flying in the stratosphere it may turn out that it will be necessary to make thermal insulation from the penetrating heat of the Sun.

TASS: Will other suits of this type be made, or will this remain a “single-man on order”?

“I think he will be alone.” This is a one-time project. The Swiss already declare that they will carry the passenger. But I’m not sure that their plane will be able to climb to such a height with the passenger because of the greater weight.

TASS: You recently said that the SPE “Zvezda” is developing a new anti-cargo suit for the pilots of the fifth-generation fighter Su-57. Order for these costumes already have?

Pozdnyakov: Now there is an experimental work. The main task, which is set, is to increase the time of portability of the pilot overload. To the pilot fighter did not lose consciousness during the action of overloads, all parts of his body must be squeezed as much as possible to exclude the flow of blood from the head. Another option is to put the pilot flat, as in a skeleton. However, for the recumbent pilot, the cabin can not be made, although we once proposed a chair with a deflected backrest. But in a half-lying position, under which the sensation of the so-called hemisphere is lost, the pilot does not see where he is.

Today the main way to counteract the overload is to compress the body with a special suit, in which there are chambers, where air is supplied under pressure. The logic is simple: the larger the surface of the body is squeezed, the higher the probability that there will be no outflow of blood from the head. Blood should circulate only over a small circle. Existing anti-overload suits are made in the form of separate compressing fragments. Most of the legs are squeezed, but the knees and popliteal areas are open. The abdominal compression chamber is small, the hands are not crimped. That is, these suits weakly compensate the torso, do not compensate for the arms and places of folds.

We know that competitors abroad also follow the path of creating a full-sized costume that compensates for the outflow of blood. Our full-sized costume is made in the form of overalls, compensates for the hands and most of the body. Tests have shown that we are fulfilling the requirements for tolerance of overloads. It is planned to conduct a flight assessment, based on the results of which we will decide what to do next.

For today, samples of such anti-overload suits have been tested on a centrifuge with testers.

TASS: And what are the other ways to compensate for overloads, except for the suit?

Pozdnyakov: The easiest and most effective way – to put a person in a container of water, leave the head on the surface. Water at overload will press evenly throughout the body, providing ideal compensation. Experiments conducted in the 1960s and 1970s showed that tolerance is very high in this case.

TASS: What other developments are there for the company for pilots?

Pozdnyakov: We make new helmets, oxygen mask, oxygen supply system. These are prototypes, but they are already at the stage of flight assessment.

TASS: What is the principle feature of these helmets?

Pozdnyakov: They are lighter, made from domestic Kevlar. Such a helmet protects the pilot from secondary shards when the lantern is broken. Of course, he will not protect the bullet. It can be used on all types of fighters. The oxygen system is modernized when working on the fifth generation aircraft, then it can be used in other aircraft.

Interviewed by Alexei Peslyak

Russia’s new-generation spacesuit may get helmet-mounted display and rescue gear

Science & Space July 09, 13:52 UTC+3

Russia’s new-generation Orlan-MKS spacesuits may get a jet-propelled rescue system

MOSCOW, July 9. Russia’s new-generation Orlan-MKS spacesuits may get a jet-propelled rescue system and a helmet-mounted display for advice for cosmonauts, CEO of the Zvezda Research and Production Enterprise (the spacesuit’s developer) Sergei Pozdnyakov told TASS on Monday.

As of today, Zvezda has specified the maximum and minimum lists of work on the Orlan spacesuit, he said.

“We plan to make minimum upgrades of the sleeves and, possibly, to increase the size of the entry into the spacesuit in order to remove inconveniences for big cosmonauts during its use. With regard to maximum work, we plan to integrate an automatic rescue system into the spacesuit and data display system into the helmet for projecting information to the cosmonaut,” Pozdnyakov said.

The helmet-mounted display should be similar to the system used by military pilots when information is projected to the aircraft cockpit glass. With the help of this system, cosmonauts will be getting advice for work they accomplish, the chief executive said.

The automatic rescue system envisages integrating jet engines into the spacesuit to properly guide a cosmonaut who gets away from a space station or spacecraft and bring him back. The work on developing this system may take up to three years and a half, the Zvezda chief executive said.

Not all the items can be made using domestic materials and, in case of restrictions, work will be carried out in its minimum scope “only with Russian components,” the chief executive said.

The need to change the Orlan-MKS spacesuit sleeves stems from inconveniences for some cosmonauts with short arms to work: the new polyurethane casing is not as elastic as rubber that was used previously and, therefore, creates folds. Zvezda intends to make the sleeves easily removable to make the spacesuit customized for the individual.

The climate control system integrated into the Orlan-MKS spacesuit works normally, although some cosmonauts spoke in favor of manual regulation, he said.

The Orlan-MKS spacesuit differs from the previous Orlan-MK version by its new internal polyurethane casing and a new water cooling system, which should automatically set the most comfortable temperature for the operator.

Currently, two such spacesuits are located on the International Space Station and a Progress resupply ship will deliver the third outfit to the orbital outpost on July 10.

A source in the space industry earlier told TASS that after their spacewalks in new spacesuits, the cosmonauts complained about the more rigid casing and some discomfort during work with the Orlan MKS spacesuit’s new thermoregulation system.

Linked from ISS Russian spacewalks