The Omega Speedmaster, the "Moonwatch", selected by NASA for all the Apollo missions.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional, otherwise known as the "Moonwatch", is a manual winding chronograph introduced in 1957 and made famous by its selection by NASA for the Apollo Program. The Omega Speedmaster was the first watch worn on the moon, as Buzz Aldrin wore his Speedmaster 145.012 fitted with the Omega 321 caliber on 20 July 1969. (Neil Armstrong left his Speedmaster inside the landing module "Eagle" during his famous first walk). It is the only watch flight-qualified for EVA use by NASA.^[1] It is also the watch chosen for use in outer space by the Russian space agency NPO Energia.

[edit] History

When the step-by-step procedures of the Project Gemini space-walks were first mapped out, NASA realized that they did not have an approved wristwatch for space travel. The normal procedure of soliciting bids for the design, manufacture and testing of special “Space Proof” wristwatches was a time consuming process. To save time, NASA sent two systems engineers into downtown Houston “incognito” to purchase several reputable “off-the-shelf” chronographs to be tested for possible use in space. Contrary to popular belief, the choice of a manual-winding watch was unrelated to the assumption that zero-gravity conditions would have rendered a self-winding mechanism ineffective. The reason was much simpler: there were no automatic chronographs available at that time, the first ones being introduced in 1969 ^[2] .

Back of the Omega Moonwatch.

Five different brands of chronographs were purchased and returned to NASA for testing. The Speedmaster passed NASA's numerous tests, which included exposure to extreme temperatures, vacuum, intense humidity, corrosion, shock, acceleration, pressure, vibration and noise, whereas the Rolex, Breitling, Bulova, Longines and Heuer all failed.^[3]

The tests were completed on March 1, 1965. At the completion of the tests, three of the chronographs from different manufactures were still running, but only the Speedmaster had passed without any of the serious discrepancies encountered with the others. The Omega Speedmaster was adopted by NASA as the “Officially Certified Wristwatch For All Manned Space Missions.” At this point, Omega was completely unaware of these activities.^{[citation needed]}

The Omega Speedmaster was re-certified in 1972 and in September 1978, for the Space Shuttle missions.

Today, all NASA-issued wristwatches are government property and must be turned in once the astronauts return to Earth. Astronauts are permitted to check out the watches before launch and take them home to familiarize themselves with the watch’s operation.^{[citation needed]}

The Omega watch manufacturing company have always claimed that their most well known wristwatch, the Speedmaster is the first and only watch worn on the surface of the moon. This statement is not accurate as Dave Scott wore a Waltham chronograph on his third EVA as Apollo 15 commander after the hesolite crystal of his Speedmaster was found to be missing after his second EVA^[4]. This fact was confirmed by Colonel Scott at Autographica in London in 2008.

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2009)

• The Omega Speedmaster Professional first flew in space with Wally Schirra aboard Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) on October 3 1962.
• The first Omega Speedmaster Professionals were issued to the Gemini 3 crew, Grissom and Young. The watch was worn on the outside of the pressure suit with a long black Velcro band.
• On Gemini 4, Edward White left the space capsule with an Omega Speedmaster Professional on his wrist to become the first American to walk in Space.
• The Omega Speedmaster Professional was the first watch to be worn on the Moon with Apollo 11.
• On April 1970, it was used to manually time the secondary rocket burns to bring the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft back to Earth.
• The Omega Speedmaster is the only part of the NASA astronauts' equipment available for purchase by the general public.

[edit] See also

• Science and technology in Switzerland
• Waltham watch on the moon
• Swiss Space Office

[edit] References

1. ^ [1] Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Omega Speedmaster Watches (www.hq.nasa.gov)
2. ^ Stein, Jeffrey M. (2008), Project 99 -- The Race to Develop the First Automatic Chronograph, http://www.onthedash.com/docs/Project99.html 
3. ^ [2] Timezone: Omega Speedmaster Review
4. ^ Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal, Time: 142:14:22

[edit] External links

• Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronographs, NASA History page.
• speedmaster-mission.net, by Jean-Michel
• Do It Yourself NASA Velcro StrapPDF (2.77 MB)
• Omega