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1969-2019 = 50 years Alaska project

lustrousaurus
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Ahh the radial dials! I think it's my favorite feature from the Speedy Tuesday LE. I am glad they brought that back for the watch. I agree, if they kept the 60 minute bezel then it would have been the perfect watch for easy reading.
 
SpeedyPhill
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Indeed, never understood why Omega didn't include the 60 minutes bezel as a Tachymètre is useless in spaceflight operations 👎
Here's the Alaska III radial dial Speedmaster currently on display in the Omega museum in Bienne/Biel canton Bern - Switzerland...
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Alaska3_Moonwatch.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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Wonderful & astonishing how they came up with the Gemini capsule like hands for the subdials... increasing readability during high vibration conditions on the Lunar Roving Vehicle...
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1969-.jpg
 
Albe100
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Definitely a “follow” thread!
I’m currently in Russia, and now more excited to see if one of these are at the museum!
Thanks for this great thread.
 
SpeedyPhill
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It's an exciting story, and when I informed the team at the Omega Museum in Switzerland, they promised to dig further to find out more about this space adventure with their contacts in Russia... It would be amazing if these flown "ex-Alaska" time pieces would surface !
Ex-Alaska that's how we should call these and magnified sections of my old photos clearly show these were the 1972 version with three black Gemini-capsule like hands on the subdials...
To make a long story short, my upcoming article will celebrate the 40th anniversary of these being used during the July 1978 EVA (spacewalk)
For the rest we'll have to wait another 8 months to find out if Omega will bring out a 50th anniversary LE " Alaska Project " 🍿
 
SpeedyPhill
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Currently working on the question what NASA did with the following Omega Speedmaster time pieces:
1976 - Speedsonic f300Hz radial dial at 80 pieces delivered for NASA
1979 - Alaska IV LCD quartz at 20 prototypes but 12 pieces delivered for NASA ( so far no proof these were used in spaceflight missions )
For the latter there was also the issue of the LCD screens turning blank in extreme conditions, as stated by several sources 👎
To be continued...
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Edited:
 
lustrousaurus
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I found this a while back for the Speedsonic. Possibly (or confirmed) as one of the Alaska Project III prototypes? All I know is, I like the radial dials on this one too!

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/omega-a-very-fine-and-rare-automatic-6102797-details.aspx

2017_GNV_14792_0138_000(omega_a_very_fine_and_rare_automatic_stainless_steel_star_case_chronog).jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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No idea yet if we can classify this under the Alaska Project as it didn't get a separate "Alaska number"... but NASA did receive a batch of these Speedsonic Speedmaster chronometers... I believe 80 were made and NASA got at least a dozen.
I have been collecting NASA photos & documentation for almost 50 years and never noticed this model in training nor spaceflight 👎
It used an electro-mechanical tuning fork movement similar to Bulova's Accutron Astronaut watch and I beleive it was the first Omega model to display both day & date... the bracelet model got nick-named the lobster's tail but the radial dial version was the summum bonum of Omega watches designed for NASA...
 
SpeedyPhill
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Yep have seen that Tuning Fork Speedsonic going ten times what an ordinary goes, a premium for the radial dial...
The problem with this " Alaska III - like " Speedmaster and its Alaska IV LCD successor lay in the use of batteries combined with the fact that both types of watches didn't cope well with extreme temperatures, draining the batteries quickly...
Both types were not considered by NASA but the research finally lead to the X-33 prototypes in 1997, used 1998 onwards...
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Alaska project display cabinet in the current Omega museum in Bienne/Biel Switzerland
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Alaska_Bienne.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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40 years ago ... July 1978... an important date for Omega watches' Alaska Project as the Soyuz 29 crew rehearsed an EVA - spacewalk on thursday 27th July and conducted the actual spacewalk outside the Salyut-6 space station on saturday 29th July 1978...
We know Omega watches' heritage team are researching the history of this remarkable project but MoonwatchUniverse brings new information and color images to celebrate this anniversary 👍
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Check: https://moonwatchuniverse.tumblr.com/archive
 
SpeedyPhill
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Exactly 40 years ago, July 27, 1978 the Soyuz 29 crew suited up in Orlan spacesuits in order to rehearse their upcoming spacewalk, which was conducted 2 days later on July 29, 1978... ex-Alaska 2 Speedmaster chronographs in red outer case were part of that spacewalk!
MoonwatchUniverse found Russian contacts to find out more in order to celebrate 50 years Alaska Project during our next GTG in Geneva, Zagreb and London... Of course there's an exclusive series of artworks to celebrate this event 👍
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Alaska2.jpg
 
kilofinal
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I just watched a Youtube review of the Alaska Project Speedmaster that was recorded in 2015. The best part was reading the comments from back in 2015 where people commented that the watch wasn't worth the $5600 retail price. How things have changed!
 
SpeedyPhill
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As promised more BREAKING news...
on this SpeedyTuesday 7th August 2018...
Last weekend, we actually spoke to one of the cosmonauts who conducted the July 1978 spacewalk and we can confirm that both ex-Alaska II time pieces were brought back to Earth and are in Russia today !
Once we have new & recent photos of the actual time pieces... MoonwatchUniverse will bring the news !
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vbrad26
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Where were they thought to have gone, originally?
 
SpeedyPhill
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@vbrad26
It was unclear if these returned back to Earth, but now, after talking to cosmonauts, we know the complete story... and watches, even station clocks are never abandoned but brought back to Earth!
 
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