These flown thigh cuffs (in original pouch) were used by Commander Sergey Volkov on ISS-17 and originate from his personal collection of mission-flown artifacts.
The cuffs left earth on Soyuz TMA-12, launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:16am EDT, and were worn on orbit by Volkov during the first two days after docking with the ISS (April 9-10). They returned to earth along with the crew on Soyuz TMA-12, landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 11:37pm EDT. They spent 198 days in space, orbiting the earth a total of 3,131 times.
Vascular occlusion thigh cuffs (referred to in Russian as “bands,” or браслет) are one of the physiological “passive countermeasures” used by cosmonauts to minimize adverse physiological changes experienced during the acute phase of microgravity adaptation on the International Space Station. The Braslet-M was developed by Dr. Alexadre Yarov at the Institute of Biophysics of the USSR Ministry of Health in Moscow and is manufactured by LLC Kentaur-Science / ООО «КЕНТАВР-НАУКА». It consists of two adjustable compression cuffs worn on the upper thighs. The cuffs are tightened to a setting that retains blood in the lower extremities, which mimics the natural pooling of blood in the legs that occurs on Earth. This helps redistribute the circulating blood volume while on orbit, alleviating symptoms of space hypervolemia (most notably facial swelling, headaches, painful eye movements, congestion, and vestibular disturbances) during the first 1-3 days in microgravity. The cuffs offer other physiological benefits, including protection against orthostatic intolerance, the most serious symptom of cardiovascular deconditioning experienced under conditions of weightlessness. Since this was Volkov’s first mission (and thus, his first experience of microgravity), flight surgeons recommended use of the bands to aid in his adaptation to weightlessness during his first two days on the ISS.
These two bands and pouch were purchased directly from the personal collection of Commander Sergey Volkov, who certified the item as flown on Nov 10, 2018 in Moscow. The pouch bears a signed certification in Cyrillic: “Used on board ISS-17, Sergei Volkov” (Использовался на борту МКС-17, Сергей Волков [+Signature]). The signing process was photographed, and Volkov provided an additional photo holding the signed and certified pouch.
Accompanied by a signed COA from Sergei Volkov, as well as numerous photos of his signing and certification of the manual.
Comes with Orbital Artifacts COA and 100% guarantee of authenticity, as well as the Volkov COAs described above.
