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Hidden gems from the Russian Space photo archives

TLIGuy
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Fortis is as good a guess as any. I had that though too with their connection to each other.

These images clipped from video are not going to do it for us. What we need are the still images typically taken during the Soyuz seat fit checks. Those images usually have lots of great watch shots so good you can tell the time on the dials.

I guess patience is the name of the game for these watches.
 
TLIGuy
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Some of the best watch spotting comes from the Sokol pressure and seat fit checks on launch day.

Looking at some of Vande Hei's watches.

NHQ202104090054~orig.jpeg NHQ202104090021~orig.jpeg
 
TLIGuy
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A last few of my favorites from various launch and training days. Credit - NASA.

200909300029HQ~orig.jpeg 201210230020HQ~orig.jpeg 201305280027HQ~orig.jpeg 201305280050HQ~orig.jpeg nhq201608310009~orig.jpeg NHQ201803210076~orig.jpeg NHQ201907200077~orig.jpeg NHQ202104090029~orig.jpeg NHQ202104090063~orig.jpeg
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cvalue13
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
A last few of my favorites from launch day all credit NASA.

noob question: what’s the strap version with end links?

6FF1EC05-CF02-4BF8-83D4-5EF05855720E.jpeg
 
TLIGuy
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cvalue13 cvalue13
noob question: what’s the strap version with end links?

They are custom made end pieces made by Roscosmos used to fit the elastic strap to the watch. I have not seem them in a couple years now and I don't believe they are currently still in use. They are cool and I've been trying to get my hands on a set but no luck yet.

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CREDIT - Rick Mastracchio/RR Auctions
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Omegafanman
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
A last few of my favorites from launch day all credit NASA.

nhq201608310009~orig.jpeg


]

Great pictures thanks. So is Vande Hei wearing a Gagarin sturmanskie ?
Shows a lot of style with his watch selections.
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SpeedyPhill
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In fact that was cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov wearing the commemorative "Gagarin Shturmanskie" during training for Soyuz MS02 in 2016
😉 #MoonwatchUniverse
 
TLIGuy
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
In fact that was cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov wearing the commemorative "Gagarin Shturmanskie" during training for Soyuz MS02 in 2016
😉 #MoonwatchUniverse

@Omegafanman @SpeedyPhill is correct. I just pulled images I thought were interesting watch shots typically taken on launch day, Ryzhikov's being the exception.

If you go to the NASA.gov image gallery as enter "Sokol" in the search bar you will find many images of watches being strapped on, adjusted, and being set. The ones I shared are some of the better resolution ones. There is something in the composition of the watches sitting on the bright white Sokol suits with the flags and blue accents I find visually interesting.
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TLIGuy
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Here are two of my favorites from my most recent work with Navy SEAL astronaut Chris Cassidy and his Expedition 62/63 mission.

Sea, Air, Land, and Space - Expedition 63

Cassidy strapping on the Speedmaster on launch day. I like this picture because you can see his eyes focused on the position of the watch and holding it as the technician wearing a Skywalker tightens up the strap.

Cassidy Watch.jpeg


Cassidy preparing for his return to Earth. One of the most interesting pictures I ran across was this one with the watch covered in Duct Tape. I asked Chris about this picture and he said the crew was instructed by Moscow to cover the watch face and that his watch was operating perfectly.

Cassidy Return.jpeg
 
zhark
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
Without starting a seperate topic, I'm looking for people who have some knowledge of Russian quartz wristwatches...
In my lecture there's only one slide as... I only know a few names such as Elektronika
Maybe there's even a book on the subject ?
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Hi,

And first of all thank you for all the awesome topics you lead!

My roots are in Belarus, where those Elektronika watches were actually made. That’s the watches of my childhood, I had a number of them, I know the enterprise making those watches very well.

So, if you have any particular questions , I would be glad to help.
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SpeedyPhill
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45 years ago... ex-Alaska II Project Speedmaster in space
December 10, 1977 Soyuz 26 to the Salyut-6 space station.
MoonwatchUniverse’s talks for 2022, 2023 & 2024 focus on Omega’s Alaska Project Speedmaster chronograph, the ultimate space watch developed for use on the lunar rovers of NASA’s Apollo Moon program... but never used by NASA astronauts.
When were these Alaska II Project Speedmaster chronographs in their red distinctive outer case presented to the Soviet-Russian space program?
Why were the Russians interested in these chronographs and how were these delivered to the Russian manned space program? How were these used onboard their Salyut-6 space station and what did the Russians think about Omega’s ultimate space watch?
Where did these ex-Alaska II Project Speedmaster chronographs end up?
See You at one of our free lecture/talks GTG as next year MoonwatchUniverse will celebrate 50 years Speedmaster chronograph behind the Iron Curtain...
(Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)
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AlaskaProject_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of Soviet-Russian cosmonauts visiting the Omega HQ in Bienne - Switzerland.
In a follow-on article on how the Speedmaster & flightmaster chronographs got behind the Iron Curtain ( Time Peace - March 2020 ), we'll take a detailed look on which watches they preferred...
July 1975, the ASTP cosmonauts Valeri Kubasov and Alexei Leonov sporting different Omega flightmaster chronographs during simulator training.
(Photo: NASA/TASS)
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1975_FLIGHTMASTER-MWU.jpg
 
spacemission
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of Soviet-Russian cosmonauts visiting the Omega HQ in Bienne - Switzerland.
In a follow-on article on how the Speedmaster & flightmaster chronographs got behind the Iron Curtain ( Time Peace - March 2020 ), we'll take a detailed look on which watches they preferred...
July 1975, the ASTP cosmonauts Valeri Kubasov and Alexei Leonov sporting different Omega flightmaster chronographs during simulator training.
(Photo: NASA/TASS)
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1975_FLIGHTMASTER-MWU.jpg

With different colours for the chronograph hands. The kubasov's flightmaster is more useful on board an aircraft at night.
 
pkaye6
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With there being some Russian in my ancestry (1/2), I found this thread fascinating and educational.
Thank you for the enjoyment.
 
SpeedyPhill
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Follow-up of my " Time Peace - How Omega got behind the Iron Curtain " article (September 1971 IAF Lucerne in Swiss Press).
50 years ago... May 1973, before heading to the Paris Air show, which had a full-size Apollo-Soyuz docked hardware mockup on display, the first Soviet-Russian cosmonaut delegation visited Omega HQ in Bienne Switzerland.
June 1973, the Omega flightmaster pilot watch sat on the wrists of the Soyuz 19 prime crew training for ASTP - Apollo Soyuz Test Project in the Soyuz simulator of Star City !
More soon during our MoonwatchUniverse GTG/talks/lectures !
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. Spacefarers's wrist watches slideshow
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1973_05_OMEGA-flightmaster-.jpg
 
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