Every Omega Speedmaster aficionado knows about the "secret" Alaska project and the search for the perfect space watch. This (re-)search was based upon feedback of the astronauts and input of NASA engineers, exchanging ideas with the brand headquarters in Bienne Switzerland. To counteract industrial espionage, the project was code-named "Alaska" and sub-projects were named after birds (e.g. "Albatross" for a chronograph movement project). The project sparked in late 1968 but the first Alaska project time piece was produced in 1969 (861 movement based). The pioneering design of a clear white dial Speedmaster with improved movement (parts & lubricants) sat in a red-colored outer case which further protected the chronograph itself from vibrations, exposure to outer space and Moondust... However, in January 1970 the Apollo 20 mission was cancelled and on September 2, 1970 NASA announced that Apollo 18 + 19 were also cancelled as hardware was transferred to the upcoming Skylab space station project. The Alaska project continued and by 1972 the Alaska II project was born, resulting in a superb Speedmaster chronograph with practical 60 minutes bezel and 3 Gemini capsule shaped subdial hands... 1973 was the year of NASA's Skylab space station and the last mission, Skylab 4, returned to Earth in February 1974... the Alaska project watches were not flown... not even on the 1975 US-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test project mission and we had to wait for the next US manned spaceflight mission until April 1981 (STS-1 Columbia) But as MoonwatchUniverse pointed out on the 40th anniversary of the Sovjet-Russian Soyuz 25 mission, it were the Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin who took the first Omega-project space watches in their distinctive red-colored outer cases into space as they attempted to dock with the Salyut-6 space station in October 1977 They couldn't dock with Salyut-6 and had to return to Earth... their mission only lasted 2 days & 44 minutes Here's color prelaunch footage of Soyuz 25 ... the distinctive red-colored outer cases can be spotted easily on their left forearm... But this wasn't the end of the Alaska project story... ...
@eugeneandresson Well as I'm a man of my word I'll leave the forum but not before sharing my vision on what has been my favorite subject for almost 50 years ... Let's not forget that the astronauts adored the Speedmaster chronograph, especially when it came with a practical 60 minutes bezel as worn by Apollo 15 CMP Al Worden from May to August 1971 or by ASTP CMP Vance Brand in June & July 1975... The practical 60 minutes bezel was chosen for the Alaska II project (September 1972), which came with an astonishing radial dial lay-out that was kept for the 1978 Alaska III project...
If you were being serious (which I never thought (or hoped) for 1 second) then I sincerely hope your vision of your favorite subject never stops evolving... Speaking of visions : wouldn't it be fantastic if Omega had a 'Speedmaster web config/visualizer tool' where one could customize all aspects of a Speedmaster (professional) and visualize it? I.e. Slap on a decimal bezel, choose radial dial text, colors, AML/No AML, applies hour markers etc etc etc etc ... sorry, not trying to hijack this thread...would love to see your take on the Alaska 50th anniversary watch And perhaps tinker my own...
Back to the Soviet-Russian space program The Soviet-Russian Salyut-6 space station was of a huge importance for testing new equipment (Military cameras, Orlan EVA space suit, Sokol KV02-GP7A suit, ...) and to complete the first phase of the " Intercosmos " program, flying cosmonauts from Warsaw pact & socialist nations... important for worldwide prestige, PR and press coverage. As the Soyuz 25 crew had to return prematurely to Earth, it was up for the next Soyuz crew to visit the Salyut-6 station and this time the Russians didn't choose rookie-cosmonauts. On December 10, 1977 the Soyuz 26 crew was launched ... this time cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko & Georgi Grechko were able to dock with the space station and check out the Orlan "Sea Eagle" pressure suits designed as the ultimate spacewalk spacesuits. Prelaunch footage shows the crew stepping from the bus wearing the distinctive red-colored outer cases which held the Alaska II Speedmaster chronographs strapped over the left forearm of the Sokol KV01 spacesuit... 0:05 in the video .
Some time-period photos and blow up captures of the outercases... As MoonwatchUniverse pointed out the 40th anniversary of the Soyuz 26 crew and their amazing wrist watches (Poljot & Speedmaster) to the Hodinkee website, it became clear that the Alaska project timepieces, although probably under another code name, were launched with the Russians after all... Moreover, the crew only returned to Earth on March 16, 1978 ... stayed 96 days 10 hours aboard the Salyut-6 space station! As we examined the recovery footage and available photographs, the distinctive red-colored outer cases were not spotted on their return, so these could have been packed in stowage bags but more probably... the Speedmaster chronographs stayed aboard the Salyut-6 space station ...
Being a child of the 1960s & 1970s, I only had snail mail correspondence, crew photos, books and the TV news to learn about spaceflight. I hope this post stimulates forum-members to start their own research, especially with all the information available online... There's no PhD required to find out exciting things especially if You have nothing to gain or loose Fast forward to June 15, 1978 and the launch of the Soyuz 29 crew, cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok & Aleksandr Ivanchenkov dressed in their white Sokol KV01 pressure suits, were greeted by officials at the launchpad... the cosmonauts only wore "regular" wristwatches... and docked with the Salyut-6 space station to begin a 139 days 14 hours stay aboard the station. During the Salyut-6 lifespan (September 1977 to July 1982) only three spacewalks were made: 19 DEC 1977 = Soyuz 26 cosmonauts did a stand-up spacewalk trying to check the forward docking port for damage caused by Soyuz 25... 29 JULY 1978 = Soyuz 29 cosmonauts performed a 2 hours spacewalk to retrieve samples and check out handrails & anchors... 15 AUG 1979 = Soyuz 32 crew made a contingency spacewalk to remove the KRT10 radio dish that blocked the aft docking port. The 1978 spacewalk was carefully rehearsed two days earlier, on July 27, in order to test the Orlan spacesuit's functions and preparing the airlock for an important spacewalk (EVA) that would be fully documented, for reference & future training, by the onboard TV camera, handheld by cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalyonok...
Here's the difficult bit... Remember this was only the fourth time cosmonauts had ever performed an EVA (1965 Voskhod 2 Leonov, 1969 docked Soyuz 4&5 and this the second with an Orlan-D spacesuit) and the color quality of the 1978 film is quite poor at this point to distinguish details. Commander Kovalyonok wore the blue lined Orlan-D spacesuit operating the camera to film flight engineer Ivanchenkov who wore the red lined Orlan-D spacesuit... This photo shows Ivanchenkov prior to opening the hatch in the airlock... I believe a red-colored case is trapped on his left forearm... the valve for the suit sits right next to it at the 2 o'clock position... what do You think ? . . This image shows a reflection of commander Kovalyonok in the gold visor of the Orlan-D spacesuit of flight engineer Ivanchenkov... Note the red TV camera cable and more important, a distinctive red-colored outer case at his right forearm... what do You think . ... IMHO these blurry images possibly show us that the Omega Speedmaster chronograph in its red-colored outer protective case was used as it was intended, exposed to the elements & radiation of outer space during a spacewalk... Furthermore I don't believe that these were used during the 1979 contingency spacewalk and I don't know how and when these timepieces returned to Earth... So possibly these Omega time pieces remained on Salyut-6 until the return of the Soyuz T-4 crew in May 1981 ? In other words... 1263 days flown-in-space (3 years 5 months 16 days...) ? I can't believe these chronographs were left aboard the Salyut-6 space station, which was destroyed upon re-entry in July 1982... Of course, meanwhile the Alaska project evolved and by 1978 the amazing Alaska III Speedmaster radial dial chronograph was produced, to be used aboard the Space Shuttle (1981 STS-2 onwards) ... inside & outside the orbiters (1983 STS-6 EVA) but I suggest You use the forum search function for more details on these missions and the Alaska IV project... Curious to hear some (positive & negative) reactions
That would be a tragedy...surely some Russian Oligarch has them sitting in his private collection somewhere? Great observations ... does the Omega Museum not having anything to say about this?
@eugeneandresson said: Great observations ... does the Omega Museum not having anything to say about this? Indeed and that is what these are... observations, things I came across in my collection of old photos and old Russian books. I believe the Omega Museum team is looking into this, and if someone can verify this is them and their relations in Russia ... So I'm as anxious as You, and other Speedmaster aficionados, to learn more as this would be an important realization for the Omega research project to develop the ultimate space watch... which lead to the X-33 toolwatch, and indispensable item in manned spaceflight as most of astronauts & cosmonauts' time is spend checking instruments, science experiments, medical condition, etc... in a busy predetermined time table onboard a space station in Low Earth Orbit...
Remarkably it looks like the Soviet-Russian missions carrying a "special" Speedmaster for the very first time were plagued by docking problems... As described here above, Soyuz 25 (October 1977) carrying the very first " Alaska II " project Speedies couldn't dock with the Salyut 6 space station but 3 years earlier, Soyuz 15 (August 1974) carrying what looks like the very first " Mark III " self-winding Speedmaster couldn't dock with the Salyut 3 space station... At least I guess Soyuz 15 commander/cosmonaut Gennady Sarafanov was wearing a ‘monocoque’ thick-case Mark III Speedmaster in these walk-out photos: comments welcome ! .
Finally found out how these "" Alaska Project "" cases got to the other side of the iron curtain ... It all started 45 years ago... Soviet-Russian cosmonauts began to visit Omega HQ in Switzerland; 1973: Aleksei Yeliseyev ( 1 year later Omega Flightmaster flown on Soyuz 14 & Speedmaster Mk III on Soyuz 15 ) 1974: Gennadi Sarafanov ( 1 year later Omega Speedmaster flown on Soyuz 19 ) 1977: Viktor Gorbatko ( The year " Alaska project " time pieces were taken aboard Salyut 6 space station )
