ll of the incredible achievements of Soviet/Russian cosmonauts over the past 60 years would not have been possible without the famous Soyuz space launcher. Thanks to its simplicity and reliability, this iconic space rocket has made over 1.700 flights since it was first engineered in the 1960s, and remains to this day by far the most frequently used space launcher in the world.

Raketa’s new “Space Launcher” watch is a tribute to this iconic space launcher. Its bezel is made from a metal piece of the space launcher “Soyuz-2.1a” which took off on 14 October 2020 and made a record breaking 3 hour flight from the Baikonur launch pad to the ISS!

The cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who were sent to space by this space launcher, actively participated in the design and production of this watch. They both insisted that the only crucial complication needed in space is a 24-hour movement to enable them to distinguish day from night in the ISS (where they have 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours).

To bring you even closer to the experience of flying in the Soyuz rocket, the cosmonauts also suggested making the strap from the fabric of the famous Russian space suit “Sokol” that is worn by all cosmonauts flying in the Soyuz rocket. This space suit, made from a very robust white nylon canvas with royal blue trim, has all the features necessary to keep the cosmonaut alive at all times during the space flight in the Soyuz.

While you are still on Earth, you can wear the watch with a leather strap (this additional strap is offered with the watch). Both the “space suit” strap & leather strap have a quick-change system so that you can easily change them depending on where you are: training on Earth or flying to Space!

This watch is officially designed and produced in collaboration with the Russian Space Agency “Roscosmos”. Each watch is delivered with a certificate of Roscosmos certifying the true origin of the rocket metal and the space suit fabric. The collaboration between Roscosmos and Raketa made perfect sense.

The brand “Raketa” (which means “space rocket” in Russian) was specially created in tribute to the first ever manned spaceflight by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Since then, the Raketa Watch Factory accompanied every step of the space conquest by engineering watches for Soviet/Russian cosmonauts.

The Raketa mechanical movement was developed in the 60s and is well known for its simple & robust engineering construction: exactly like the “Soyuz” rocket launcher also developed in the 60s, which, thanks to its simplicity & reliability, has become the most used space rocket in the world.