
NPP Zvezda, also known as the Research & Development Production Enterprise Zvezda was founded in 1952 in Moscow. Zvezda is the leading Russian company for design, development, and production of portable life support systems for aircraft and spacecraft crews, aircraft emergency escape and survival means for passengers and crews, and aircraft in-flight refueling systems. The company is proud that Yuri Gagarin, the first man who traveled to space, wore a spacesuit developed and produced by Zvezda, and that Alexey Leonov, who performed the first space walk in history, wore a Zvezda space suit and airlock chamber. “Hundreds of pilots owe their lives to our ejection seats,” according to the company.