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NASA Issued Speedmasters and Nikolai Budarin’s Space Flown Speedmaster X-33 at auction

SpeedyPhill
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
I don't believe there were that many changes. The time span during the 3 EVAs was 7 days so most likely the Velcro strap was kept on the watch during that whole period?

EDIT - Actually..I Looking at a few images I wonder if he didn't just pick up the watch on MIR and bring it back. He appears to be wearing the previously sold X-33 when he goes up on STS-71.

My money is on arriving at MIR with the X-33 and then conducting the EVAs where the watch on the Velcro was probably part of the cosmonaut EVA equipment and then he brought the watch back. Sometime after the EVAs he put it on the strap for the remainder of the mission which would not be a difficult task, but who knows.
.
Indeed... Omega Speedmasters stay attached to Orlan spacesuits, check the left forearm of each EVA-unit:
Photo: NASA - ISS Exp 40 (2014)
.
Orlan_ISS_Speedmaster.jpg
 
JimInOz
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
I don't believe there were that many changes. The time span during the 3 EVAs was 7 days so most likely the Velcro strap was kept on the watch during that whole period?

EDIT - Actually..I Looking at a few images I wonder if he didn't just pick up the watch on MIR and bring it back. He appears to be wearing the previously sold X-33 when he goes up on STS-71.

My money is on arriving at MIR with the X-33 and then conducting the EVAs where the watch on the Velcro was probably part of the cosmonaut EVA equipment and then he brought the watch back. Sometime after the EVAs he put it on the strap for the remainder of the mission which would not be a difficult task, but who knows.

My post was half in jest.
Not being a space nerd I don't have an understanding of EVA procedures and processes and I'm pleased to see the great info posted here that explains some of it.

BTW: Space nerd isn't meant to be derogatory, it's just a term that came to mind.

PS: Not being a "space nerd", I only own one "flown in space" item.
A lowly dog clip that was attached to a thin white nylon tether line on a capsule that toured Australia in the 1970s (Gemini IV?).
It was looking rather rusty so I replaced it with an identical item from the base stores system.
Please don't tell the US Government.
 
simonsays
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
.
Indeed... Omega Speedmasters stay attached to Orlan spacesuits, check the left forearm of each EVA-unit:
Photo: NASA - ISS Exp 40 (2014)
.
Orlan_ISS_Speedmaster.jpg

There are some funky Omega Space end links that I have not seen before on that Velcro?
 
TLIGuy
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simonsays simonsays
There are some funky Omega Space end links that I have not seen before on that Velcro?

The end pieces are custom made and appear to be the standard now. These straps are also not Velcro but a heavy gauge elastic.

gettyimages-1157415756-2048x2048.jpeg
 
SpeedyPhill
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So judging on those recent end-links, that would be the Speedmaster of Yurchikhin's August 2017 spacewalk during ISS 51/52
 
TLIGuy
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
So judging on those recent end-links, that would be the Speedmaster of Yurchikhin's August 2017 spacewalk during ISS 51/52

Highly possible that only the watch was flown and not the strap as seen. I've observed cosmonaut EVAs recently with and without the end pieces seen above. The credit does not mention the strap so I'm thinking just the watch is flown.
 
TLIGuy
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
I don't believe there were that many changes. The time span during the 3 EVAs was 7 days so most likely the Velcro strap was kept on the watch during that whole period?

EDIT - Actually..I Looking at a few images I wonder if he didn't just pick up the watch on MIR and bring it back. He appears to be wearing the previously sold X-33 when he goes up on STS-71.

My money is on arriving at MIR with the X-33 and then conducting the EVAs where the watch on the Velcro was probably part of the cosmonaut EVA equipment and then he brought the watch back. Sometime after the EVAs he put it on the strap for the remainder of the mission which would not be a difficult task, but who knows.

I'm sticking with my original theory that the watch was probably part of the MIR crew equipment and brought back by Budarin.

Here are some images of STS -71 bringing up Nikolai Budarin to start his MIR 19 mission. He replaces Mir 18 flight engineer Gennadiy M. Strekalov who returns on STS - 71. You can clearly see Strekalov is wearing a Speedmaster on a leather strap, same as the one being sold.

Budarin is not seen wearing a Speedmaster in the crew transition photos only wearing a black digital watch so my theory is that the watch Budarin brings back is possibly the one we see Strekalov wearing or another one. There is clear evidence that there was a Speedmaster on a leather strap on MIR 18 and either it was left onboard for MIR 19 to use or there were multiple watches on leather. Either way, Speedmasters on leather straps flew on some MIR missions.

Screen Shot 2020-03-17 at 9.02.05 PM.jpeg


Budarin in backrgound in these two.

Screen Shot 2020-03-17 at 8.59.39 PM.jpeg Screen Shot 2020-03-17 at 9.04.08 PM.jpeg
 
crl848
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Could be. Implies there were at least two on Mir at the time the two cosmonauts were there
 
TLIGuy
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crl848 crl848
Could be. Implies there were at least two on Mir at the time the two cosmonauts were there

Correct. The likelihood of two watches onboard MIR discussed here.
 
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