Hidden gems from the Russian Space photo archives

50 years ago, official ASTP cosmonaut portraits
Between April 8 and May 3, 1974, a delegation of 75 Soviet-Russian engineers/cosmonauts visited the Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston Texas.
Both Leonov/Kubasov and their backup Filipchenko/Rukavishnikov together with 6 support cosmonauts performed joint training with their NASA counterparts. In fact, all support cosmonauts wore an Omega Speedmaster chronograph!
During a press conference on April 26, Thomas Stafford answered questions in the Russian language. These are some of the official NASA portraits made during that period, showing the cosmonauts wearing an Omega flightmaster, which they had been using since June 1973.
When cosmonauts visited Bienne HQ in 1973, they were presented Omega flightmaster, Speedmaster versions and the ex-Alaska II Project Speedmaster. Cosmonauts prefered the more bulkier watches, but during Apollo-Soyuz all spacefarers wore an Omega Speedmaster (11 in total on ASTP). #MoonwatchUniverse
(Photo: NASA)
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45 years ago... Soyuz 33 steep ballistic return !
1979, April 10, as the Soyuz 33 crew of Rukavishnikov & Georgi Ivanov (Bulgaria) couldn't dock with the Salyut-6 space station due to their Soyuz main engine failure. Emergency return to Earth was accomplished with an unusual very steep ballistic re-entry resulting in landing in Dzhezkazgan.
Commander Nikolai Rukavishnikov, who had been support cosmonaut for Apollo-Soyuz in 1975, wore an Omega Speedmaster Mk III "Big Blue chronograph, which remarkably fitted well underneath the sleeve of his Sokol KV02 space suit.
When in May 1973, a cosmonaut delegation visited Omega HQ in Bienne, they were presented the Omega flightmaster, Speedmaster versions up to Mk III and the ex-Alaska II Project Speedmaster. While they prefered the bulkier chronographs, during Apollo-Soyuz (July 1975) NASA obliged all 5 spacefarers to wear an Omega Speedmaster (11 in total).
Read the whole story how Omega watches got behind the Iron Curtain: "Time Peace" and "To Russia With Love"
(Photo: TASS) #MoonwatchUniverse
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Yes, I love the Mk. III but the thickness is a bit much... At that sort of thickness, I'd rather have a Seamaster 1000. (Why don't they reissue THAT watch?!?!?)

As this is specific for Russian EVA, I'll post it here:

Thus far 12 different wrist watch brands have been used during EVA, recently some inexpensive Russian wrist watches but even the famous X-33 has been worn outside ISS.
Several space agency logo watches have been spotted (Roscosmos logo Konstantin Chaykin and an Energia logo watch with Russian Fed logo of the double headed eagle). Cosmonauts surely taking the opportunity to wear a maximum watches as space-flown souvenirs for family and friends!
#Moonwatchuniverse
Help requested: We're still trying to identify a specific chronograph worn during EVA in September 2022 (Denis Matveev with the blue-striped Orlan-MKS) and in May 2023 (Sergei Prokopyev in the red-striped Orlan-MKS)...
(Photos: NASA & Roscosmos EVA feeds)
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Slight derail, but I thought the audience here would appreciate this 145.012-68 I had assembled and engraved by LWC:



I like this last generation 321 movement model and I also feel a connection to Tom Stafford, who I met many years ago and he was issued two of these -68s for the ASTP.

Before terminating here & moving further discussions to Space Watches Facebook group: Frequently Asked Question
on Russian Poljot 3133 & Shturmanskie 31659 chronographs... when were these Soviet-Russian watches used in spaceflight missions?
So for once & for all:
Poljot 3133 chronograph since 1976 on Soyuz 22 to 1987 Soyuz TM-2
Shturmanskie 31659 since 1987 Soyuz TM-2 to 1993 Soyuz TM-16.
In training and crew photos spotted until 1996, as illustrated here with two photos, March 1994 ESA EuroMir training and October 1995 crewphoto for Shuttle-Mir mission 2 & 3.
Remember there were 9 Shuttle-Mir dockings and 7 NASA astronauts stayed as resident crew members: Norman Thagard, Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, Michael Foale, David Wolf and Andrew Thomas.
Last but not least, strangely enough none of the "wrist watch websites" ever talk about these chronographs... I wonder why.
(Photos: ESA/NASA)
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It's that time of the year again... invited to a few cosy pre-Christmas GTG meetings talking 15 minutes specifically about the Omega Alaska Project Speedmaster in spaceflight... and what Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden thought about the Omega Speedmaster chronograph!
Shortly touching onto the personal story of 55 years collecting record-setting aviation & spaceflight photographs, visiting Omega Heritage in 2015, Omega museum in 2016 sharing spaceflight photographs & data which finally got on several websites (Hodinkee October 2017) and in the third edition of the " MoonwatchOnly " book.
2025 marks 10 years since I coined the term " MoonwatchUniverse " ... time to stop in beauty !
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