Packaged Russian In-flight T-shirt

Packaged Russian In-flight T-shirt

An example of Russian clothing worn by cosmonauts during spaceflight. During the early days of space exploration, flights were relatively short so spacesuits were worn at all times. However, as missions grew longer spacesuits were reserved for launch, docking, undocking, landing and performing spacewalks. For the rest of their time in space, astronauts and cosmonauts wear normal clothes.

In flight clothing must be suitable for weightlessness. For example, buttons are avoided as they could come loose and float around, posing a hazard. Instead, zips, snaps and Velcro fasteners are used. Several companies have been used to produce standard clothes for space travel from which crew members can select their outfits.

Before launch, every item of clothing is inspected, vacuum cleaned and put in a hermetically sealed package. The package is then sterilised before being sent to space.