Expedition 9 flown EVA used Orlan spacesuit glove - ex. Padalka

Expedition 9 Flown EVA Glove – Used During International Space Station Spacewalks, From the Personal Collection of Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka

An extraordinary and highly evocative artifact of human space exploration: an authentic flown EVA glove used during Expedition 9 aboard the International Space Station, originating directly from the personal collection of legendary Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.

More than a piece of flight equipment, an EVA glove represents one of the most intimate and technically demanding interfaces between a spacefarer and the environment of space itself. During a spacewalk, an astronaut’s hands must remain protected from vacuum, severe thermal variation, abrasion, and the hazards of orbital operations while retaining sufficient dexterity to manipulate tools, connectors, handrails, and scientific hardware. Few categories of spaceflight artifact convey the physical reality of working outside a spacecraft as directly as a genuinely used EVA glove.

Expedition 9 and the International Space Station

Expedition 9 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 18, 2004, carrying Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA astronaut Michael Fincke to the International Space Station. The crew remained aboard the orbital complex until October 2004, conducting scientific research, maintenance, and assembly work during a formative period in the development of the ISS.

Padalka and Fincke conducted four spacewalks during Expedition 9, on June 24, June 30, August 3, and September 3, 2004. These EVAs ranged from an abbreviated fourteen-minute excursion to extensive operations lasting more than five hours and included repairs to critical station systems, installation of equipment for future spacecraft dockings, and external maintenance of the orbiting complex.

The Russian Orlan EVA suit system was used for these excursions. Contemporary suit-assignment records identify Padalka with Orlan-M No. 25 during all four Expedition 9 EVAs. The surviving glove offered here therefore belongs to one of the most recognizable categories of hardware associated with the demanding work of constructing and maintaining humanity’s permanent outpost in low Earth orbit.

A Direct Connection to Gennady Padalka

The provenance of this artifact is especially compelling. It comes from the personal collection of Gennady Padalka, one of the most accomplished spacefarers of the early International Space Station era.

Padalka’s career spanned the transition from the Russian Mir program to the mature International Space Station and placed him at the center of long-duration human spaceflight. Objects retained within a cosmonaut’s personal collection occupy a distinct place in the collecting field: they are not merely examples of aerospace hardware, but artifacts with a direct personal connection to the individual who trained with, carried, and used them in orbit.

Documented EVA Use

Of particular importance is the glove’s documented use during an actual extravehicular activity.

This distinction elevates the piece considerably beyond equipment that was simply launched aboard a spacecraft or stored aboard the ISS. An EVA-used glove was physically exposed to the environment outside the station and participated directly in orbital operations hundreds of kilometers above Earth.

The object is accompanied by photographic documentation showing the glove in use in space, creating a powerful visual chain between the surviving artifact and its operational history.

Further enhancing its provenance, the glove bears an onboard International Space Station cancellation marking, applied while in orbit. Such markings are particularly desirable in the field of space philately and flown-artifact collecting because they provide an additional physical record of the object’s presence aboard the station.

Historical Significance

EVA equipment occupies a special position within the history of human spaceflight. Unlike many spacecraft components that operate automatically or remain inaccessible to the crew, a glove was literally the astronaut’s point of contact with the spacecraft, its structure, and the tools required to work in space.

Every movement performed during an EVA—grasping a handrail, operating a tool, attaching a cable, replacing external hardware—was transmitted through equipment of this type. As such, flown and used EVA gloves are among the most immediately human artifacts of orbital exploration.

This example is particularly significant for its association with Expedition 9, a period during which the ISS was still being assembled and maintained by small resident crews under demanding operational conditions. Padalka and Fincke’s spacewalks included repair of a failed power-control component and installation of hardware required for future European Automated Transfer Vehicle operations, directly contributing to the continuing development and international infrastructure of the station.

Provenance and Documentation

Provenance: Personal collection of Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka
Mission: International Space Station Expedition 9, 2004
Use: Flown and documented as used during EVA operations
Additional Marking: Onboard International Space Station cancellation
Accompanied by: Certificate of Authenticity and photographic documentation showing the glove in use in space

An Exceptional Artifact of Human Spaceflight

Artifacts that combine documented flight, actual EVA use, direct astronaut provenance, photographic identification, and an onboard ISS marking occupy a particularly compelling category within serious space exploration collections.

This glove is not simply equipment that traveled to orbit. It is a surviving instrument of human activity in the vacuum of space—a tangible witness to the construction and operation of the International Space Station and to the extraordinary physical demands placed upon those who ventured outside it.

An exceptional museum-level artifact uniting engineering, human endurance, personal provenance, and the continuing history of mankind’s permanent presence in space.