Why is the use of such suits considered safe and when will new ones be delivered to the stationThe service life for the Orlan-ISS spacesuit No. 4 has expired, and for Orlan-ISS No. 5 is coming to an end, three sources told Izvestia.
They are designed for 20 spacewalks or five years of operation. Taking into account the fact that the transition of equipment to autonomous power is equivalent to one use outside the ship, Dmitry Petelin made the 21st exit in model No. 4 on May 12. Experts believe that it's not so much the warranty period as the actual condition of the spacesuits. Therefore, if astronauts perform the required checks or replace elements that have exhausted their resource, they can continue to use them.
Your exit
The service life of the Orlan-ISS spacesuits No. 4 has expired, and for Orlan-ISS No. 5 it is coming to an end, a source in the rocket and space industry told Izvestia. According to the manufacturer, the guaranteed number of spacewalks for these products is up to 20 times.
— To date, No. 4 has been used in 19 exits and two works inside the depressurized Poisk module, — the interlocutor explained. — No. 5 has 17 in the standings, as well as two similar works in the depressurized module. They planned an exit that failed due to the breakdown of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft in December 2022, when the Orlan ISS No. 4 and No. 5 worked for about an hour on autonomous power. Also on November 18, 2020, the Search module was depressurized, and both spacesuits additionally worked for eight minutes.
The source recalled that the astronauts first opened the Search hatch for eight minutes, then closed it, pressurized it, made sure that it did not leak, then released the pressure again and already went to a full exit. They were in the air for about half an hour between the first boost and the second depressurization. In his opinion, such transitions are also considered to work in outer space, since all the resources of the spacesuit are involved.
Photo: TASS/Vedomosti/Andrey Gordeev
Image source: iz.ru
However, even if this case is not taken into account, Orlan-ISS No. 4 has come to an end, No. 5 has only two left. If we take it into account, it turns out that on May 12 Dmitry Petelin made an exit in an expired spacesuit. Izvestia checked the information on the Roscosmos website, which lists all spacewalks with the models and dates used.
The operational life of Orlan-ISS is five years. The first spacewalk in model No. 4 was made by Fyodor Yurchikhin on August 17, 2017, so the nine-month period is beyond the limits allowed by the manufacturer. Model No. 5 was taken outside the ship on August 15, 2018, so it has several months of regular operation left.
The second source of Izvestia from RSC Energia confirmed that in terms of the timing and number of spacewalks, Orlan ISS No. 4 has exhausted its resource, and No. 5 is already approaching the limit.
"Shelf life is the most important criterion for determining the protective properties of a spacesuit," he added. — Even if you don't go into outer space in them, they still lose their characteristics.
According to him, the actual condition of the spacesuits is regulated by the replacement of individual components and elements.
Photo: TASS/Vedomosti/Andrey Gordeev
Image source: iz.ru
— At the moment, Roscosmos is doing just that, repairing what it has, — he said.
Another source of one of the organizations of Roscosmos confirmed information that the shelf life of Orlan-ISS No. 4 expired after the last release of Dmitry Petelin on the night of May 4. According to him, a technical malfunction of the spacesuit can indeed lead to a temporary or permanent ban on working outside the ship in it. However, most likely, even if problems arise, they will be solved by extending the service life based on real technical characteristics or by supplying new spacesuits to the ISS.
— In everything that is done for space, a huge margin of safety is laid, therefore, the real service life is higher than prescribed in the documents, — he said.
Roscosmos, as well as the Zvezda NPP (where the ISS Orlan is produced), did not respond to Izvestia's request. At the same time, the state corporation later reported that a new batch of spacesuits would be brought to the ISS.
Photo: Roscosmos/roscosmos.ru/Sergey Korsakov
Image source: iz.ru
"One spacesuit is planned to be produced in 2024, two more in 2025. They will be made using domestic materials. To continue the operation of the two Orlan-ISS, spare parts have been created and are being delivered to the station," the press service of the state corporation said.
Izvestia Reference
The human body is not adapted to being in outer space without special protection, which is provided by spacesuits. "Orlan-ISS" is the latest modification of Russian copies developed by the scientific and production enterprise "Zvezda" named after G.I. Severin.
The suit has undergone several modifications and improvements. The abbreviation of the ISS in the name stands for "modernized, computerized, synthetic".
Before "packing" into this spacesuit, the astronaut puts on special underwear and a thermal suit equipped with a system of cooling tubes through which water flows.
Repair is close
Cosmonaut pilot, executive Director for manned space programs of Roscosmos Sergey Krikalev told Izvestia that the warranty periods are different — for storage, use, and being in space.
— Whatever data is indicated in the deadlines for spacesuits, this does not mean that after their expiration the system can no longer be used, — he noted. — They have resource elements that can be changed and thereby prolong their operation. You can draw an analogy with a car in which you need to replace something from time to time, but at the same time continue to drive it. No way out without the signature of the developer, who carries out the necessary routine maintenance and allows the spacesuits to work, is impossible. A person will not be released overboard if certain conditions are not met.
Photo: Roscosmos/roscosmos.ru/Oleg Kononenko
Image source: iz.ru
According to him, you should not cling to the numbers, you need to look at the real parameters. The suitability of spacesuits for spacewalking is signed by their developers and the people who operate them. None of them will issue a permit if the necessary routine maintenance has not been carried out. The service life of the spacesuit can be extended after certain repairs are carried out.
"Formally, any system has a specific service life, but in reality this concept is always quite vague," said Nathan Eismont, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. — As an example, the ISS can be cited — the warranty period of operation of the station has long expired, but it continues to function. Let's take a record case — Voyager spacecraft. Instead of the planned four years, their mission lasted more than 40.
He explained that when the life of an expensive space object ends, a commission meets and discusses whether it can be extended, whether there are grounds for this.
— If the warranty period of the Orlan ISS copies expires, obviously, they should be checked before going into outer space, — the expert added. — Some tests of the properties of the spacesuit can be carried out directly on board the ISS. For example, check the aging of the material and whether it will provide sufficient tightness. Whether such checks should be carried out and their scope is decided by experts who are responsible for everything that happens.
Photo: Roscosmos/roscosmos.ru/Oleg Kononenko
Image source: iz.ru
The last time Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin went into outer space was on May 12. On May 10, they checked the "Eagles" for tightness, as well as their docking systems with the board, the availability of communication and the receipt of medical parameters. During this exit, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin opened the radiator panels on the laboratory module "Science", refueled the radiator contours and combined them with the support systems of "Science", installed two halyards on the ERA manipulator and two handrails-transitions between the modules "Science" and "Berth".
Olga Kolentsova
