Rare Views Inside the Soyuz

I was surprised by these photos, but I shouldn’t have been.Most pictures of Russian space crews in the Soyuz TMA vehicle show them squished together like sardines, sitting side by side on their launch “couches.” I’ve always wondered how they can move their arms, let alone get anything done, during …



I was surprised by these photos, but I shouldn't have been.

Most pictures of Russian space crews in the Soyuz TMA vehicle show them squished together like sardines, sitting side by side on their launch "couches." I've always wondered how they can move their arms, let alone get anything done, during the two-day journey from Earth to the space station.



Of course I should have realized that once in space, they move out to the roomier orbital module of the three-part vehicle —as you can see in these photos taken by TMA-20 commander Dmitry Kondratiev. According to the Russian space agency Roskosmos, these are the first such pictures to be posted on the Internet.

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