Yema
Spationaute II Patrick Baudry NASA Space Shuttle - First American -French STS Flight 51G

“Some watches observe history from inside a display case. Others accompany it on the wrist, between the thunder of launch, the silence of orbit and that blue light of Earth one can never see in quite the same way after looking at it from space.”

Yema Spationaute II reference E5OM8, also listed as E5OM8-6AM, 39 mm stainless-steel case, 60-click unidirectional rotating bezel, blue dial with combined analogue and LCD digital display, tricolour Yema logo and American flag, analogue hours, minutes and seconds, 12 or 24-hour digital display, calendar showing month, date and day, 1/100-second chronograph measuring up to 60 minutes, lap function, alarm, hourly signal and illumination, mineral crystal, screw-down caseback engraved to commemorate the first Franco-American orbital flight, 18 mm lug width, Hattori-Seiko calibre Y652A combination quartz movement, electronic quartz oscillator, theoretical battery autonomy of approximately two years and 2-jewel construction, with neither mechanical vibrations per hour nor a power reserve after winding, watch fitted with a replacement blue silicone strap, the original steel bracelet no longer being present, original water resistance stated at 100 metres but no longer guaranteed because of the age of the piece, 1985 example sold pre-owned by Mostra with its rare original Yema box, fully inspected, authenticated and covered by a 3-year warranty.  

The Yema Spationaute II E5OM8 belongs to that second family. It is not simply an old watch whose design evokes the heroic years of space exploration. It is directly connected with mission STS-51G, the first Franco-American orbital flight and the second journey into space by a French citizen. The model accompanied Patrick Baudry aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in June 1985 and permanently entered Yema into the history of French watches that left Earth’s atmosphere.   A precise distinction must nevertheless be made between the historical model and the individual provenance of each example. The watch offered here belongs to the commemorative reference associated with Patrick Baudry’s mission, but it is not represented as the personal piece that actually flew on his wrist. This transparency is essential. It does not reduce the watch’s interest; on the contrary, it places it exactly within its proper context, that of a series produced to preserve the memory of a major French space event.

On the wrist, the 39 mm steel case retains a surprisingly contemporary presence. Its dimensions remain restrained, yet the broad bezel, control pushers and articulated construction of the attachments immediately give the whole the appearance of a 1980s instrument. The watch belongs to a period when electronics were gradually entering cockpits and professional equipment without having entirely replaced traditional analogue reading. The 60-click unidirectional bezel fully contributes to this identity. Its design preserves a simple time reference independent from the electronic module and recalls how professional watches of the period often combined several complementary systems. An elementary function, mechanical in operation, works here alongside a digital display capable of managing calendar, alarm and chronograph functions. The blue ana-digital dial nevertheless forms the true centre of the watch. Its colour gives the whole particular depth. It can appear almost electric under direct light, then much darker and more instrumental as the surroundings become less luminous. It also allows the inscriptions, hands and LCD display to remain clearly separated without making the dial appear excessively busy.

The hands immediately show hours, minutes and seconds. This analogue reading preserves the intuitive gesture of traditional watchmaking: a glance is enough to place the time. The LCD module positioned at 6 o’clock simultaneously opens another language, more technical and more precise, suited to procedures, sequences and additional information. Calibre Y652A provides a 12 or 24-hour digital time display, together with month, date and day. It also incorporates an audible alarm, hourly signal, illumination and a chronograph measuring to 1/100 of a second for up to 60 minutes. This combination is not simply a fashionable expression of 1980s modernity. Within a spacecraft, where operations follow precise timelines and rapid sunrises and sunsets disrupt the natural distinction between day and night, these functions become genuinely useful.  

The integrated alarm is especially coherent with space use. It provides an independent wrist-worn reminder without relying exclusively on the vehicle’s instruments. The chronograph measures a sequence, the calendar preserves the date and the digital display removes ambiguity between morning and evening. The watch therefore brings together several functions that professional space watches would develop more widely over the following decade.

The Yema logo in French colours and the American flag give the dial its true historical signature. They tell of the meeting between CNES and NASA, between a French watch industry and the American Space Shuttle programme. The whole does not attempt to reconstruct a legend afterwards. It belongs to the commemorative logic of the model from its creation. The word Spationaute also carries particular significance. It evokes the first French generations called upon to work beyond the atmosphere, first through Franco-Soviet cooperation and later with the United States. Jean-Loup Chrétien opened this story in 1982 with the Spationaute I. Patrick Baudry continued it in 1985 with the Spationaute II, before Jean-Loup Chrétien reached Mir in 1988 with another evolution of the model.  

The career of Patrick Baudry gives this watch a depth extending far beyond mission STS-51G alone. Trained at the French Air Force Academy, he became a fighter pilot, flew aircraft including the Mystère IV, F-100 and Jaguar, commanded a unit and later entered flight testing. Before becoming a spationaute, he already belonged to a generation of pilots for whom instruments were never accessories, but elements of safety, precision and decision-making.  

Selected by CNES alongside Jean-Loup Chrétien in 1980, he trained in the Soviet Union and became backup to the first French citizen sent into space. He later joined the United States and trained at Johnson Space Center for the first crewed Franco-American mission. This transition between Star City and Houston illustrates a unique period in French space history, when the country’s first spacefarers had to learn to work within two radically different technical cultures.

On June 17, 1985, Discovery lifted off from Launch Pad 39A for mission STS-51G. Patrick Baudry participated as a payload specialist. The mission lasted 7 days, 1 hour, 38 minutes and 52 seconds, completed 112 orbits and deployed three communications satellites — Morelos-A, Arabsat-A and Telstar-3D — together with the scientific platform SPARTAN-1.  

Within an environment where every operation belongs to a precise timeline, the watch takes on a different meaning. It is no longer merely a personal object on the wrist. It becomes a secondary reference independent from onboard consoles, retaining immediate access to time, alarm, date and chronograph functions.

The Spationaute II therefore tells the story of measurement as much as it tells the story of space travel. Space exploration is not limited to launch, speed or spectacular images of Earth. It depends on repeated procedures, observation, comparison and the ability to place every experiment within precisely defined time. The watch translates that discipline into a compact wrist-worn object.

The Hattori-Seiko Y652A movement belongs fully to this period. Its architecture combines a stepping motor driving the hands with an electronic circuit controlling the LCD display. Its stated accuracy is better than fifteen seconds per month under normal conditions. It uses a 1.55-volt battery, offers theoretical autonomy of approximately two years and rests on a two-jewel construction, the jewels being used on mechanical components subject to friction.   A quartz movement has neither a balance wheel nor a frequency expressed in vibrations per hour. Its electronic oscillator divides the stable frequency of a quartz crystal in order to control the analogue and digital displays. Nor is there a power reserve after winding, since the watch is not wound. Its autonomy depends on the battery and on use of the most energy-intensive functions, particularly illumination and alarm.

Quartz should not be considered a secondary solution here beside traditional mechanics. In 1985, it represented precision, stability and the possibility of combining several functions within a reasonable volume. The Spationaute II belongs to a moment when electronics formed one of the most advanced languages of the professional watch.

The replacement blue silicone strap fitted to this example must be presented with the same precision. It is not the steel bracelet originally supplied with the reference. The watch is now offered on a contemporary, supple and comfortable strap whose colour naturally extends that of the dial.

This configuration offers several advantages to someone intending to wear the watch. Silicone follows the wrist easily, resists perspiration, cleans simply and visually lightens the case. Blue creates continuity with the dial and gives the Spationaute II a more modern interpretation, almost closer to the technical and space-related world with which it is associated.

The replacement strap does not attempt to pass as an original component. This distinction must remain completely clear to the collector. The absence of the historical steel bracelet forms part of the reading of the example and must be included in its assessment. In return, the blue silicone offers a comfortable, immediately wearable and fully reversible solution.

A future owner may retain this configuration, particularly pleasant for daily use, or later search for a period steel bracelet in order to bring the watch closer to its historical presentation. The watch itself has not been modified to receive this strap; the choice therefore remains open and does not permanently alter the piece.

The silicone strap naturally does not change the precautions required around water. Despite the original 100-metre water-resistance rating, Mostra does not today guarantee immersion for an electronic watch produced in 1985. Its seals, pushers, crystal and control components are more than forty years old. This Spationaute II should be considered a functional collector’s piece to be worn with care, not a contemporary aquatic watch.  

The mineral crystal also belongs to its period. It has a transparency and warmth different from modern sapphire, yet requires greater care around scratches and impacts. On a historical watch of this generation, this characteristic forms part of the original object and the way it has crossed time.

The screw-down caseback carries the commemorative engraving of the first Franco-American orbital flight. When the watch leaves the wrist, this inscription immediately recalls its context. It refers not to a general idea of space exploration, but to a precise mission, date and spacefarer.  

The rare original Yema box considerably strengthens the interest of this example. Electronic watches of the 1980s were frequently worn every day and later preserved without their packaging. Boxes disappeared through moves, inheritances and changes of owner. Finding a Spationaute II today with its period box restores an important part of its original presentation.

For the collector, this presence partly offsets the absence of the original steel bracelet without erasing it. The correct reading of the watch rests on both elements: a historical box that has become rare and a current strap clearly identified as a replacement. This transparency gives the whole honest coherence and allows the future owner to understand exactly what is being acquired.

Within a collection of space watches, the Yema Spationaute II Patrick Baudry occupies a highly particular place. Beside an Omega Speedmaster, Breitling Cosmonaute or Soviet space watch, it brings a specifically French history directly connected with CNES and the first French participation in an American Shuttle mission.

Its interest also extends beyond space history. It represents an important testimony to 1980s electronic watchmaking, when ana-digital display was a genuine advance rather than a retro effect. LCD modules, circuits and pushers from this generation are now more complex to preserve than conventional mechanical movements. Legible, functional and aesthetically coherent examples are naturally becoming rarer.

Wearing this watch today means choosing a piece whose story may not reveal itself at first glance. Its 39 mm case remains easy to wear, its blue silicone strap gives it modern comfort and its dial preserves the immediately recognisable aesthetic of 1980s space instruments. It naturally accompanies casual clothing, a technical jacket, blouson or shirt.

This example is offered as a 1985 Yema Spationaute II STS-51G Flight reference E5OM8, with its blue ana-digital dial, commemorative caseback, replacement blue silicone strap and rare original Yema box. The watch is sold pre-owned by Mostra following careful inspection of its authenticity, quartz module, hands, LCD display, pushers, alarm, chronograph and overall coherence.

Choosing a Yema Spationaute II from Mostra requires a perspective extending beyond the immediate operation of the watch. One must understand its place within Yema history, verify the coherence of its components, appreciate the condition of an ageing electronic module and distinguish precisely between original and replacement elements. This Spationaute II has been examined according to that complete reading.

You benefit from personalised guidance and a 3-year Mostra warranty, a particularly significant commitment on an ana-digital collector’s watch of this generation. The original box accompanies the piece in a presentation that has become rare, while the blue silicone strap allows it to be worn immediately in comfort. This watch is chosen for its connection with Patrick Baudry, its CNES-NASA history, its ana-digital display, rare original box and the quality of the perspective applied to it before acquisition.