The Space Watch Nerd's version of Where's Waldo...

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With waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too much time on my hands and not enough astronaut and cosmonaut wrists to look at, I decided to go watch hunting onboard the ISS and Mir.🤦

The first place I thought to look would be the ISS and Mir crew quarters playing the space watch nerd version of Where's Waldo, or maybe Where's Watchdo?

I think the composition of the images with the stowed watches is interesting.

Nikolai Budarin onboard Mir with an X-33 hanging on the wall.

CREDIT - Gagarin Training and Cosmonaut Center GTCT

JAXA astronaut Expedition 38 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata in his quarters with 2 Omega X-33's hanging on the wall.


CREDIT -NASA

Unidentified crew quarters with a watch that appears to be on a long Nato strap. I'm assuming an Omega because of what appears to be a rectangular metal keeper found on the Omega Nato straps.


CREDIT - NASA

This one took an eagle eye to spot, but like said I had way too much time on my hands, and maybe a few beers. French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet in his crew quarters. Notice the Omega X-33 in the mesh storage bag on the wall. Not until it's really magnified can you make out the X-33 bezel and hands.

 
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Great sleuthing. Question? Pic no. 3. How come everything is not floating as in zero gravity, or am I missing something. It would not be the first time.
 
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Great sleuthing. Question? Pic no. 3. How come everything is not floating as in zero gravity, or am I missing something. It would not be the first time.

The actual orientation of the 3rd image would be vertical. The crew sleep stations are vertical and a bit larger than a phone booth on the ISS. The sleeping restraint is secured to the wall and everything else is attached to the Velcro squares on the walls.

 
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and everything else is attached to the Velcro squares on the walls.

and in zero G it doesn’t take much Velcro at all to hold - this explaining the laptop stuck
 
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Another X-33 secured to the bulkhead.

Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson in his quarters.

CREDIT - NASA
 
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Looks like he has a rod coming out of his forehead and properly aligned with his eyebrow! I guess that’s some ‘securing’ elastic…
 
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Ran across this picture of Scott Kelly's sleeping quarters during his year long mission on board the ISS.

Omega Skywalker and Breitling Aerospace

 
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Ran across this picture of Scott Kelly's sleeping quarters during his year long mission on board the ISS.

Omega Skywalker and Breitling Aerospace

And a much cheaper plastic quartz clock... 😲
(And nice pics 😬)
 
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This orange tape is strange...
It is. It's been used before by Cosmonauts for EVAs with different watches. I'm guessing it's repurposed from ISS maintenance material and used as both back up to the spring bars in case of banging the watch, as well as covering any sharp edges of endlinks or lugs. At least, that's what I might do.
 
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Smart suppositions. I like the idea of the sharp edges. In a bad or uncontrolled move, even a small sharp edge could damage a weak surface... The uv protection of the helmet for example....😱
 
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An Oris in space.... I could not imagine that.... Thanks for these pics!
 
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This orange tape is strange...
Nope, we have seen this Gold "Kapton foil" polyimide film since the Apollo era... and on Russian wrist watches since 2021.
 
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An Oris in space.... I could not imagine that.... Thanks for these pics!
We have even seen a Quartz Orient on spacewalk, worn by European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in July 2022 !
 
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Nope, we have seen this Gold "Kapton foil" polyimide film since the Apollo era... and on Russian wrist watches since 2021.
Yes, I know it as been used, question is: for what? on a watch?
 
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Well thus far we have spotted about 15 different brands being used during spacewalks since 1965...
For the use of the Kapton foil, there're several reasons:
1. Extra attachment (added strength as the watch straps are not EVA-rated)
2. Thermal insulation against 200°C differences in shadow & full Sunlight
3. Static insulation against electrical fields associated with moving fast through low density atomic Oxygen.
4. Easier to spot both during and after the EVA as some of these were personal pieces. Most likely post-mission souvenirs to family !
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