A 1950s Soviet dog spacesuit could fetch $10,500 when it goes under the hammer at Auctionata in Berlin on September 13. This brown lace-up full body suit with breathing apparatus which played an important role in the preparation of space missions will be offered as a part of a space memorabilia sale. It was one of the first space suits for dogs, used to test the effects of low gravity and high-speed launches on living organisms. Made from a combination of nylon, rubber, cotton and aluminium, it was part of the Sputnik 5 mission and is being sold by Collection Andora through Auctionata.
The house explained the origin of the suit. “In the fifties, Russian scientists developed this type of high pressure suits to test the effects of low gravity and high-speed launches on dogs,” it said.
“In these tests, which seem rather rough today, dogs and, sometimes mice and rats, were strapped into a space capsule and launched 80 km away from the earth returning later with a parachute landing.
“While Russian scientists preferred dogs to primates for their tests because dogs could sit still for a longer time, Americans used chimpanzees due of their similarity to humans.”
Bids for this unusual item will start at 4,000 euro ($5,250), but is expected that suit attract double that.
