The Engineering Differences Between US and Soviet Spacesuits From the 1960s

While visiting the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, Adam Savage of Tested had the opportunity to examine two historic spacesuits: the A7LB belonging to Dr. David Scott that he wore during the Apollo 15 Mission in 1971, and a Soviet Krechet (Golden Falcon) moon suit from a similar era.

Savage noted the engineering differences between the two. The Apollo suit was a bit complicated, requiring separate pieces of the suit to be put together before a backpack could be attached. The Krechet had a one-piece hardbody interior that could only be entered via backpack, a design that NASA is currently using in their Artemis space suits.

Unlike the moon suit, it has a hard shell inside…my favorite part of this… you see how this backpack opens like a door? That is how you get into this suit. One point of entry. That’s it. That is brilliant simplicity. ….Our new Artemis suits, the XEMUs that they’re currently working on…those are built this way.