NASA astronaut Norman Thagard wore this pressure suit during the launch to the space station Mir on board Soyuz TM-21 on March 14, 1995, as a member of the Mir 18 Mission (3/14/95-7/7/95). Dr. Thagard was the first American to participate in a joint Russian-American human flight mission since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. He was also the first American to launch on board a Soyuz spacecraft.
The suit's manufacturer, Zvezda, transferred it to NASA as part of the U.S.-Russian agreement on Thagard's mission. NASA, in turn, transferred it to the museum in 1996.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.