Sokol KV-2 space suit to headline Space History sale

A Sokol KV-2 space suit that astronaut Don Pettit wore during his return to Earth will be sold at Bonhams.

The lot is valued at $25,000-35,000 ahead of the July 20 Space History sale in New York.

space suit Soyuz
Astronaut Don Pettit wore the suit when returning to Earth from the ISS in 2003

Pettit had been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for 5½ months when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded on re-entering Earth's atmosphere in February 2003.

The disaster grounded NASA's shuttle programme for the next two years.

This meant Pettit was reliant on the Russians to get home.

His flight was highly dramatic, as the Soyuz class shuttle he returned on in May 2003 lost contact with ground forces and was forced into a terrifying "ballistic re-entry".

It was later found 300 miles from the landing point, in a remote region of Kazakhstan.

The suit was made especially for Pettit and displays an American flag on the left arm.

It was not made for use outside a spacecraft; rather it was designed to keep the wearer alive in unpressurised conditions for two hours.

Such suits rarely appear on the market and always prove a big draw to collectors.

The Sokol KV-2 suit Pettit's commander Kenneth Bowersox wore during the re-entry made $43,750 at Bonhams last year.

We have a very rare Neil Armstrong signed photograph for sale.

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