Flight Qualified by NASA for all manned space missions
March 1, 2019 8:35 AM Subscribe
Today, mechanical wrist watches are often considered expensive, superfluous jewelry, but they're also magnificent miniature mechanical machines, and many of today's watches have important provenance in Aviation, Auto Racing, Diving and Space Exploration. Perhaps the most important mechanical watch in the history of Space Exploration is the Omega Speedmaster professional.
The Speedmaster was originally designed as a chronograph for motorsports, hence it has an external Tachymeter bezel.
It wasn't, however, the first watch worn in space. That honor goes to Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1 flight on April 12, 1961 - Gagarin wore a manual wind Sturmanskie and ignited the space race
The Speedmaster was selected by NASA in 1964, mainly by a single engineer - Jim Ragan.
The Speedmaster was also not the first watch worn by an American in space, that was a 24 Hour Breitling Navitimer worn by Scott Carpenter during Mercury 7, on May 24, 1962
The astronauts personal Speedmasters were worn by Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper before NASA started issuing the Speedmaster before Gemini 3. Gemini 4 saw the Speedmaster's first use during EVA
This history of this watch and its role in the space program is more than that of just an artifact. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in the tragic fire abord Apollo 1, while conducting a ground test at Cape Kennedy.
Apollo 1 dented our pledge to go to the moon. Apollo 8 was brought forward with the audacious goal of orbiting the moon sooner than originally planned. The astronauts wore Speedmasters when they first disappeared behind the moon and Jim Lovell said "We'll see you on the other side". This was a critical moment. While behind the moon, Apollo 8 had to fire its engine to achieve LOI, Lunar Orbit Insertion.
A Speedmaster was the first watch worn on the moon, during Apollo 11. It wasn't on the arm of Neil Armstrong, though, it was worn by Buzz Aldrin. Neil's watch was left behind in the Lunar Module as a backup to the broken mission timer
During the ill-fated Apollo 13, the crew used their Speedmasters to time critical course correction burns necessary to return home to earth. For this, Omega was given a Silver Snoopy Award
Omega is, likely, the only continous contractor to NASA still in operation. Speedmasters are still worn by astronauts on the Space station today.
Most mechanical watches sold today are Veblen Goods and priced far above their cost and probable utility.
Oh yeah, there's a new documentary about Apollo 11 being released, previously.
A last article on the story of the Omega Speedmaster and NASA
The Speedmaster was originally designed as a chronograph for motorsports, hence it has an external Tachymeter bezel.
It wasn't, however, the first watch worn in space. That honor goes to Yuri Gagarin's Vostok 1 flight on April 12, 1961 - Gagarin wore a manual wind Sturmanskie and ignited the space race
The Speedmaster was selected by NASA in 1964, mainly by a single engineer - Jim Ragan.
The Speedmaster was also not the first watch worn by an American in space, that was a 24 Hour Breitling Navitimer worn by Scott Carpenter during Mercury 7, on May 24, 1962
The astronauts personal Speedmasters were worn by Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper before NASA started issuing the Speedmaster before Gemini 3. Gemini 4 saw the Speedmaster's first use during EVA
This history of this watch and its role in the space program is more than that of just an artifact. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in the tragic fire abord Apollo 1, while conducting a ground test at Cape Kennedy.
Apollo 1 dented our pledge to go to the moon. Apollo 8 was brought forward with the audacious goal of orbiting the moon sooner than originally planned. The astronauts wore Speedmasters when they first disappeared behind the moon and Jim Lovell said "We'll see you on the other side". This was a critical moment. While behind the moon, Apollo 8 had to fire its engine to achieve LOI, Lunar Orbit Insertion.
A Speedmaster was the first watch worn on the moon, during Apollo 11. It wasn't on the arm of Neil Armstrong, though, it was worn by Buzz Aldrin. Neil's watch was left behind in the Lunar Module as a backup to the broken mission timer
During the ill-fated Apollo 13, the crew used their Speedmasters to time critical course correction burns necessary to return home to earth. For this, Omega was given a Silver Snoopy Award
Omega is, likely, the only continous contractor to NASA still in operation. Speedmasters are still worn by astronauts on the Space station today.
Most mechanical watches sold today are Veblen Goods and priced far above their cost and probable utility.
Oh yeah, there's a new documentary about Apollo 11 being released, previously.
A last article on the story of the Omega Speedmaster and NASA