MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian space suit manufacturer NPP Zvezda (based in Tomilino, Moscow region) is planning to release its first trial batch of life support systems for high-altitude parachute jumps, the company's general director and general design engineer Sergei Pozdnyakov told Interfax-AVN.
"Right now we are conducting an experimental design and physiological tests, to be followed by experimental jumps, and we hope to make the first trial batch of such systems by the end of this year," Pozdnyakov said.
The system will include a light helmet with a built-in communications system, an oxygen system for breathing, a parachute and a container system. It is designed for parachutists who jump from an altitude of 10,000 meters. Zvezda's development was previously tested in a vacuum chamber and during low-altitude (2,000-3,000 meter) jumps.