Visible crew/equipment: During the climax on the plane Kamal Kahn asked the henchman with the turban to get Bond. When Bond uses the antenna to push him off the plane, you see the henchman fall off from a below view, you can see that the henchman is wearing a parachute.
Visible crew/equipment: When General Orloff first catches the train up, the reflection of the camara helicopter can be seen in the car's windows.
Visible crew/equipment: When the movie starts, Bond arrives at the horse show and steps down from the car. A set of 10 stage lights are reflected on it.
Answer: It wasn't meant to be related at all. It was just an action sequence to start off the film as Bond completes a previous assignment before a segue into the familiar 007 opening theme and a new song. I recall there were some other earlier Bond films that also used this formula. After the opening bit, the story starts as Bond meets with "M" for a new mission, then a briefing with "Q" about the latest spy gadgets. There was also the obligatory flirtatious banter between Bond and Miss Moneypenny.
raywest ★
I see what you mean. I'm thinking of those films where the opening scene has some link to the main plot (e.g. The Spy Who Loved Me), but Moonraker is like this one, it starts off (spectacularly) with Bond at the end of a previous assignment.