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Thanks!
Special
thanks to Mr Chuck Maddox for the use of his articles......
| Use
in Space: The
Omega Speedmaster "Moon Watch" has a long, distinguished
history in space. Since Walter Shirra's Mercury Atlas mission
in 1962; through all of the manned Gemini and Apollo missions;
Skylab 1, 2, and 3; to the modern Space Shuttle missions,
the Omega Speedmaster has accompanied astronauts into the
unforgiving extremes of space. Since
the historic Apollo-Soyuz rendzevous in 1975 until as recently
as 1994, Soviet and Russian cosmonauts have also used the
Speedmaster Professional.
This
extraordinary timepiece is the only 'official' watch ever
worn on the Moon and the only watch flight certified for
astronauts and cosmonauts during their walks in space. Some
astronauts elected to wear their own personal watches into
space also and there is official Nasa photographic evidence
to support this .....
Read
Chuck Maddox's article on this....
In order
to be selected for space use by Nasa, a selection of chronometers
were purchased and tested exhaustively. CLICK
HERE FOR DETAILS The Omega Speedmaster emerged as the
victor and was proclaimed as "Flight Qualified"
on March 1, 1965. Although the Speedmaster had been to space
as early as 1962, it was now to be the sole "issue"
watch.
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| After
achieiving "Flight Qualification" in March 1965,
the Speedmasters first official voyage was the first Gemini
flight GT-3 with astronauts Virgil 'Gus' Grissom and John
Young.
Following
this, history was made when the Speedmaster was worn on the
arm of Edward White when he became the first American to walk
in Space during the GT-4 mission in June 1965. In recognition
of this feat, Omega renamed the Speedmaster....."The
Speedmaster Professional". |
CLICK
TO ENLARGE 
Edward
White GT-4 |
| Strangely,
at this time, Omega were blissfully unaware that the Speedmaster
had been into space and about the NASA evaluation tests. It
was brought to the attention of the company in April 1966
and understandably delighted, they responded to the news by
adding the word 'Professional' to the dial. The only necessary
modification to the watches had been the replacement of the
strap with a longer velcro fastened one to fit over bulky
space suits.
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CLICK
TO ENLARGE 
Apollo
1 Crew |
After
the completion of the Gemini program, disaster struck on February
21, 1967 when the Apollo 1 command module was engulfed in flames.
Sadly, all three astronauts, including Edward White who made
Speedmaster history two years earlier with his space walk, perished.
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Virgil
'Gus' Grissom
Edward White
Roger Chaffee |
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The
Speedmaster continued to be worn throughout the subsequent
Apollo missions and had its 'big moment' on July 21, 1969
when a Speedmaster was worn by Neil Armstrong when he took
his famous step on to the surface of the moon. It seems
that he was actually wearing the watch of fellow astronaut
Buzz Aldrin after the clock in the lunar module misfunctioned
and Armstrongs watch was left behind in 'Eagle' as a backup.
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Upon
landing the Lunar module 'Eagle', Armstrong uttered the
now immortal words ... "Hello Houston, Tranquility
base here, the Eagle has landed".... Transcript
of the landing & EVA
Omega
released a 30th anniversary model in 1999 with these immortal
words inscribed on the case back. Although a limited edition
the run number of 10,000 is a lot larger than similar editions.
|
| CLICK
TO ENLARGE
Buzz Aldrin
Apollo 11 |
30th
Anniversary model rear caseback inscription |
CLICK
TO ENLARGE
Neil Armstrong
Commander Apollo 11 |
During
the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, an on-board explosion
of an oxygen tank in the service module left the crew with
a dangerously low quantity of oxygen and no electrical power
in the Command Module or Service Module except for emergency
re-entry power. This left the on-board computerised timing
devices inoperative. Rather than abort the mission and return,
it was decided to continue, orbit the moon and use its gravity
to slingshot the craft home.
The
crew had to use the Lunar Module for survival and had to
power down everything in the Lunar Module. The Lunar Module
was designed to provide approximately two days of electrical
power. The crew and NASA had to devise a way to make this
last the five days it would take to return to earth. The
only electricl equipment turned on in the Lunar Module was
a radio receiver, not even a transmitter. This left the
crew of Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and last minute stand-in,
Jack Swigert without the use of on-board computers and their
associated timing devices.
|
CLICK
TO ENLARGE
Apollo
13 Crew |
With
all computer systems 'down', Commander James Lovell used his
Speedmaster Professional for both the timing and interval
of thrust for critical engine burns as they rounded the moon
and set a course for home.
Again,
the Speedmaster was crucial in assisting the timing of the
engine burns to attain the correct re-entry angle. This contributed
not only to saving the lives of the crew, but the vessel as
well for which Omega were presented with the Snoopy award
by Nasa's astronauts. |
| The
Speedmasters work on the the Lunar surface was nearly done
and had its last Lunar adventure on the arms of Cernan,
Evans & Schmitt in Apollo 17.
However,
the Speedmaster still had a lot of work to do for Nasa........ |
CLICK
TO ENLARGE
Apollo
13 Crew |
continue
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