55 years automatic chronographs... Self-winding wrist watches in spaceflight

The fascinating story & history of the development of the very first automatic chronographs in the late 1960s, with the Zenith "El Primero " announced on January 10, 1969 while in a race with Seiko and the Heuer-Hamilton-Breitling partnership which announced their automatic chronographs in March 1969...
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A topic which I wanted to start as lots of "questions" & "stories" about automatic watches surfaced on the interwebs, and a topic involving Movado, a brand which according to certain wrist watch sites, is of no interest to their readers!
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In August 1965, US Navy test pilot Charles "Pete" Conrad was the first NASA astronaut to wear an automatic wrist watch in space as he had chosen to wear his personal Glycine Airman automatic pilot watch during the Gemini V mission. The third manned Gemini spaceflight was intended as a long-duration simulation of an 8 days long Apollo flight... or as Pete Conrad called it post-flight " Eight Days in a Garbage Can ".
In June 1965, during Gemini IV, both astronauts James McDivtt and Edward White each wore two NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.003 chronographs as they would stay 4 days in orbit with launch control at Cape Canaveral - Florida and mission control in Houston - Texas. Moreover the two-man Gemini capsule still didn't get the changes to the cockpit lay-out as requested by the Gemini III astronauts (Grissom & Young who each wore a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster and an Accutron Astronaut tuning fork pilot watch) as the astronauts urgently requested an extra GMT clock on the command pilot's side. (left side).
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So 4 watches on Gemini IV, but 5 watches on Gemini V as Pete Conrad decided to wear his Glycine Airman automatic pilot watch besides two NASA-issued Omega Speedmasters (Gemini V commander Gordon Cooper wore his Accutron Astronaut pilot watch worn on Mercury MA-9 Faith-7 and a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster).
In this way in August 1965, the Glycine Airman became the very first automatic wrist watch worn in space. Moreover in September 1966, during Gemini XI, Conrad's Glycine Airman automatic became the very first automatic watch directly exposed to the harsh outer space environment during the spacewalks of fellow astronaut Richard Gordon as the Gemini capsule had an open cockpit design with both astronauts sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.
(Photos: NASA & MoonwatchUniverse)
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If we really get to be " nerdy " we have to talk a bit more about the Gemini capsule and its cockpit lay-out.
Remember by the time of the Gemini program the availability of communication satellites allowed "live" images to be seen all over the world and NASA created a dedicated Gemini News Center where over 1100 journalists could cover the two man Gemini flights from pre-launch to post-recovery. Moreover, as the world was watching, manned spaceflight and the race to the Moon had its own level-of-political-propaganda during the Cold War 1960s & 1970s.
Each mission required a huge amount of planning & training, so feedback given by the astronauts was extremely valuable but implementation often took time but additional clocks & timers were crucial for the Gemini rendez-vous missions, be it with an Agena upper stage or another manned Gemini spacecraft (e.g. December 1965 with Gemini VI & VII). See the extra timer & clock in the cockpit lay-out below.
The Gemini program concluded with 10 manned missions, during which 16 astronauts flew and 9 spacewalks were performed. Records were broken as Gemini VII lasted 14 days and Gemini XI flew to an altitude of 1400 kilometers becoming the first crew to see Earth as a sphere!
(Tech drawing: NASA)
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Why all those clocks and wrist watches on Gemini IV ?
(by @Omegafanman )
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Fast forward to 1969, the year of Apollo 11, ARPANET, LASER-printer prototype, Concorde and... automatic chronographs.
Preliminary remark, by 1969 automatic chronographs had been presented by the Heuer-Hamilton-Breitling partnership (Chrono-matic), Seiko (6139 automatic) and Zenith (El Primoro i both Zenith & Movado automatic chronographs) and the endless debate of who-was-first continues...
But at least we know which were the very first automatic chronographs flown-in-space as the Skylab-4 mission was well-documented.
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On January 10, 1969 Zenith announced their (nowadays famous) " El Primero " (Spanish for " the first ") high beat frequency caliber 3019 movement as the heart of the Zenith automatic chronograph. To be complete cal 3019 PHC ( Power , Hour-totalizer , Calendar ) with 36K vibrations per hour (5 Hz) in theory capable of tracking elapsed time down to 1/10th of a second.
The Zenith automatic chronograph had 31 jewels while it looks like the Movado variant was down-sized to 17 jewels in order to reduce import tax duties based on jewel count in the USA 🤔.
For space-flown automatic chronograph we also have to mention the Seiko 6139-6005 "Pogue" which was long time considered as the very first automatic chronograph flown in space...
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In July 1969, veteran NASA astronaut Thomas Stafford (Gemini VI, IX, Apollo 10 & later ASTP) became Chief of the Astronaut Office, deciding on prime & backup crew rotations up to 1972. In March 1965, Thomas Stafford was one of the first astronauts to receive a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.003-64 and we know he was a wrist watch aficionado, later becoming a board member of Omega USA in November 1979.
(and Omega Speedmaster ambassador to this day).
Stafford must have known about the first automatic pilot watch flown-in-space during Gemini V & XI (Conrad's Glycine Airman automatic) and in 1971 had bought a Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph which he gifted to US Marine Corps aviator Gerald Carr, selected a NASA astronaut in Group 5 (1966) and announced as Skylab-4 Commander in January 1972.
During that official January 1972 Skylab crew announcement, Gerald Carr was already wearing the Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph with besides him Edward Gibson wearing an Omega Speedmaster Mark II but William Pogue was not wearing his Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph.
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Earliest dates when we can spot these automatic chronographs in official NASA photos:
1972, January 19: Skylab-4 announcement: Gerald Carr wearing his 1971 Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph
1973, August : Skylab-4 training: William Pogue wearing his 1972 Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph
(Photos: NASA)
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1972-73 Skylab-4 training photos:
SL-4 commander Gerald Carr : 1971 Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph (striking Black & White bakelite bezel)
SL-4 pilot William Pogue : 1972 Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph (striking large yellow dial)
(Photos: NASA)
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We have to remember that the Skylab-4 was an all-rookie crew and their (wrist watch) story always amazed me but both astronauts, Gerald Carr and William Pogue, described this in their books! (e.g. Around the World in 84 days + Homesteading Space the Skylab story)
November 16, 1973 while William Pogue wore his Seiko 6139-6005 on a metal bracelet at his lefthand wrist underneath the space suit, Gerald Carr put the Movado Datachron HS360 on metal bracelet in the fireproof sock at his ankle in the space suit !
During the November 16, 1973 pre-launch breakfast we clearly spot each astronaut wore a personal wrist watch on metal bracelet.
Besides the fact-checked " Snuck Into Space " story (Hodinkee), pre-launch suit-up showed a 2nd wrist watch worn by Ed Gibson under spacesuit.
Both the Seiko 6139-6005 and the Movado Datachron HS360 can be spotted in dozens onboard Skylab space station photographs, but Ed Gibson's Omega Speedmaster Mark II can only be seen pre-launch and post-splash-down & recovery on February 8, 1974.
(Photos: NASA)
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Spicy watches and tabasco forever.

February 8, 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Skylab-4 mission, which lasted 84 days.
84 days onboard the Skylab space station, during which in numerous NASA photos we can spot both William Pogue's 1972 Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph and Gerald Carr's 1971 Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph... even when they prepared for a spacewalk !
However, no sight of an Omega Speedmaster Mk II on the wrist of Ed Gibson onboard the space station, but it looks like they always wore their watches and even underneath the space suit during EVA - spacewalks !
Carr 3 EVA, Pogue 2 EVA & Gibson 3 EVA
(Photos: NASA)
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About the features of the Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph:
Early 1970s Super SubSea 10 ATM chronograph with Inox steel cushion case with robust pointy crown guards.
Two tone black/white unidirectional (anti-clockwise) bakelite bezel.
High beat "El Primero" 36K vph 3019 PHC automatic movement ( Power Hour-totalizer Calendar ).
Very legible reverse panda dial with the subtle date window at 12 o'clock position. These came on a steel Gay Frères bracelet.
AFAIK the name " DataChron " was only used in 1970 & 1971 as by 1972 it was changed into " Datron ".
Remarkably there were HS360 branded with both Movado and Zenith on the dial !
(YouTube screenshot: Analog Shift)
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Besides being a first in spaceflight, Skylab-4 commander Gerald Carr's particular Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph must be the best documented case of a wrist watch dial turning into " chocolate " patina !
Check the February 8, 1974 splash-down photos (blue dial) and the 2022 Hodinkee photos ( "chocolate" brown dial) of Carr's Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph.
(Photos: NASA/Hodinkee)
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A last note on the Zenith (Movado) "El Primero" automatic movement which was endangered to disappear completely, where it not in 1975 a Swiss Zenith engineer/watchmaker named Charles Vermot saved the brilliant high beat calibre when the owners of the brand decided to abandon the idea of a mechanical chronograph and focus on Quartz timepieces. Vermot had hidden away a complete stack of diagrams, spare parts & tools!
Remember the pre-quartz Movado chronographs were good toolwatches and the "El Primero" movement was later re-used for the five digit Rolex Daytona automatic chronographs (which have not yet flown in space, the last space-flown Rolex Daytona was a manual wind 6263 in 1989).
The interesting Charles Vermot " El Primero's Guardian " story is here:
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Omega automatic chronographs in space ?
Well, in 1973 Omega celebrated its 125th anniversary and launched the world’s first chronometer-certified automatic chronograph watch.
An Omega Speedmaster 125 automatic chronograph was space-flown 3 times by Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov (Soyuz T-6 (1982), T-12 (1984) and T-13 (1985)) totalling 131 days 20 hours in space.
In April 1991, cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov returned the space-flown Omega Speedmaster 125 and its brown strap to the Omega museum in Bienne, where it's sometimes put on display.
(Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)
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50 years ago, Two automatic chronographs return from space!
February 8, 1974 as the third and final manned Skylab space station mission SL-4 safely returned to Earth with a splash-down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, awaited by the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans.
Each of the Skylab-4 astronauts used an extra personal wristwatch during NASA Skylab training;
Gerald Carr: Movado Datachron HS-360 automatic chronograph
William Pogue: Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph
Edward Gibson: Omega Speedmaster Mark II chronograph
We know for sure both Gerald Carr and William Pogue wore their automatic chronograph onboard the Skylab space station (Orbital Work Shop OWS) during 84 days between November 1973 and February 1974.
Gerald Carr's Movado HS-360 automatic chronodiver had a distinctive black & white bakelite bezel, easy to spot in photographs!
Note SL-4 commander US Marine Corps LtCol Gerald Carr’s Movado Datachron had a reverse panda blue dial which over the decades/years turned “chocolate” in the 2022 photograph!
In 2019 MoonwatchUniverse co-authored the research into this amazing Movado automatic chronograph resulting in a HODINKEE magazine article “Snuck Into Space!”.
(Photos: NASA/HODINKEE)
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In case You didn't know: https://www.hodinkee.com/magazine/snuck-into-space