Andrew McConnell: Space Travel
Andrew McConnell’s book “Some Worlds Have Two Suns” documents the landings of a spacecraft that brings astronauts from the International Space Station to the remote grasslands of Kazakhstan.
Soyuz is a series of spacecraft active since the 1960s, part of the Soviet Space Program. Drawn to the human effort behind space travel, photographer Christopher McConnell set out to see its landings as the astronauts go back and forth from the International Space Station, only to find an equally compelling story on the ground.
Soyuz rocket TMA-19M sits on Launch Pad One, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan 2015. Launch Pad One is where the first human, Uri Gagarin, launched to space on April 12, 1961 © Andrew McConnell
Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Peake have their spacesuits tested before launch, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan 2015 © Andrew McConnell
Aten the shepherd, Karaganda region, Kazakhstan 2020 © Andrew McConnell
Khan Shatyr building, Astana, Kazakhstan 2017 © Andrew McConnell
The launches and landings of these spacecraft take place in the steppes of Kazakhstan, where the life of an isolated community is shaped by tradition while being closely connected to this modern frontier of space.The images explore the paradox of a people largely indifferent to the spacefarers, yet forever bound to this ritual of departure and return.
Roman rests from collecting recyclables, near Saran, Kazakhstan 2018 © Andrew McConnell
Rocket parts, near Kenjebai-Samai, Kazakhstan 2019 © Andrew McConnell
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and Japanese flight engineer Takuya Onishi pictured moments after returning to earth on Soyuz MS-01, Kazakhstan 2016 © Andrew McConnell
Bekner plays on space junk near her home in Kenjebai-Samai, Kazakhstan 2022 © Andrew McConnell
The book “Some Worlds Have Two Suns” is published by GOST and available at the price of 70 Euro.
