Dear all,
I’m sure most of you know by now that I am nursing my injury. Alhamdulillah, I’m fine. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes I have received. I hope to get back on my feet very soon. My surgeon said this injury will not affect any future training and 100% recovery will be possible within one and a half to two months time. Syukur Alhamdulillah!
I have plenty of time in my hands now. I was going through my thumbdrive the other day and saw that many pictures had not yet been posted either in the gallery or in the blog. So I suppose it won’t do any harm for me to put some of my favourite images here.
……….

……….
This is a statue of Yuri Gagarin. He has a special place in the heart of all Russians, and they certainly show it in the various memorials they made for him. I’ve put up the picture of the monument in Star City, but this is probably the most impressive memorial. This monument is situated in the heart of Moscow, amazing!
……….

……….
Inscribed at the foot of the monument are the following words:
“12 April 1961, a soviet spacecraft ‘Vostok’ with a man on board fly around the world. First human in space, a citizen of Soviet Union Yuri Alexandervich Gagarin.”
I have also been reading some of the older entries and noticed that I had not written anything or post related images on the time at Baikonur, just before Sheikh went up. Maybe I can share some pictures and my experiences, especially because as Sheikh and I were completely separated, we had totally different experiences in Baikonur.
Before going to Baikonur, there was a special ceremony where we pay respect to Gagarin, Korolev (Королёв), Kamarov (Cosmonaut Vladimir Kamarov, tragically killed in Soyuz-1 in 1967), amongst others.
Both crews then visited Red Square and Kremlin. Thereafter, like Sheikh said, we went to Baikonur on separate planes. When we arrived in Baikonur, we resumed our training. Until the launch itself, both sets of crew were required to have the same level of capabilities, so there was no slack of training. Such was the level of preparations related to this mission. At Baikonur, both sets of crew were always separated. We had police escort all the time. The bus carrying us didn’t stop for traffic lights or for other cars. It shows how serious everyone treats space missions here. We also visited the rocket assembly plant to see it being assembled for launch. Like the space craft, the launch rocket is also called Soyuz. But they are two separate vehicles.
……….

At Red Square

……….
The crew also got the chance to see how the launch rocket was brought to Baikonur and erected on the launch pad (there is a superstition that primary crew shouldn’t see their launch rockets).
The rocket was brought to launchpad from the assembly factory using a special train. The train moved very slowly, and there were lots of people around the tracks watching the procession.
……….

With Dr Zul. Notice the rocket in the background

Up close: Rear view of launch rocket

……….
Upon reaching the launch pad, my crew was given the chance to go very near to watch how the rocket was erected. The train itself was used to erect the rocket and the process involved very precise calculation. The distance between rocket and the wall of the launchpad were only a few centimetres at times. I was deeply impressed and amazed watching this exhibition of extreme engineering at its best.
That’s all for now. Thank you again very very much for all your prayers, wishes and thoughts.
Faiz
……….

……….