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Hidden gems from the NASA photo archive

Wryfox
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sarir97 sarir97
Whoever has it knows exactly what it is and what it's worth. Maybe it's Buzz himself and this is all one big conspiracy.

Conspiracy theorists unite!

This has crossed my mind, because Buzz was in possession of his watch at the time. Perhaps he didn't want to say no to the Smithsonian (and suffer the bad press that would inevitably follow), or perhaps something else was afoot. The story always goes...'sometime in the early 70s Buzz send his watch to the Smithsonian and it was lost'. Well by 1971 he had already left NASA and was declining into alcoholism. Perhaps he just wanted to keep it...it was probably the most valuable (and portable) thing he owned, and with divorce looming, what better way to hide a valuable asset than to 'lose it'?
 
BrianMcKay
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mikesspeedy mikesspeedy
... has been on almost every space flight since Mercury 7

That's untrue.

And I note that Omega wristwatches on the moon popped off their goofy plastic domes and became jammed with lunar dust.

And I note that astronauts preferred Rolex-, Bulova-, and Breitling-brand wristwatches including those that could be set to two time zones.
 
mikesspeedy
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sarir97 sarir97
Whoever has it knows exactly what it is and what it's worth. Maybe it's Buzz himself and this is all one big conspiracy.
I love a conspiracy, go on speculate... I would have faked the whole posing thing and kept the watch in a deposit box along with the little bit of moon rock I kept hold of. I'm just not the kind of guy to let go of something like that. I would lie, cheat, beg, steal to keep that watch. I hope Buz has it squirreled away somewhere. Who could blame him?
 
SpeedyPhill
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Gemini IV footage
2:42 Edward White with clearly 2 Omega Speedmaster 105.003-64 on his left arm
3:44 McDivitt with both Omega Speedmaster chronographs going for a dip in the North Atlantic Ocean
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SpeedyPhill
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48 years Apollo 11 was on its way to the Moon ...
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tumblr_oselat4sfS1vzb1n7o1_1280.jpg
 
kleungsf
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Jones in LA Jones in LA
Gem #20

Back to Apollo 12. It seems I've got access again to the "deep" image library, so I'll keep digging as long as I'm able.

You MUST read the description below, carefully, then click on the image to see it in high-resolution. You'll never see anything like this anywhere else -- it's a GEM !

Official description in image library:

Al's picture of Pete taking Al's picture. Pete is holding the extension handle in his left hand. Note that he has re-attached the scoop. His cuff checklist can be seen on his left wrist and is open to one of the pages on which the backup crew has pasted a picture of a Playboy Playmate. Pete's watch is on his sleeve between his pressure gauge and his elbow. The LM is in the background, over Pete's left shoulder.

AS12-48-7071HR_picture.jpg

Wonder which playboy playmate photo made it to the moon?
 
TLIGuy
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kleungsf kleungsf
Wonder which playboy playmate photo made it to the moon?

The Playmates were Miss September and Miss October 1967. Their names were Angela Dorian and Reagan Wilson.
 
Jones in LA
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
The Playmates were Miss September and Miss October 1967. Their names were Angela Dorian and Reagan Wilson.

I knew you'd know!

I have another question @TLIGuy : I watched the documentary "Last Man on the Moon" the other day [available on Netflix] for only the second time -- and this was the first time that I'd watched it after gaining an appreciation for Speedmasters. I was blown away by the abundance of Speedies -- nearly one in every scene! But here's my question: in the modern-day interviews with Gene Cernan sometimes he's wearing an X-33, and sometimes a gold chronograph with black dial & bezel. The gold chronograph has me stumped -- it looks large-ish, like maybe a modern-day cal. 9300 Speedy. What do you think it was?
 
TLIGuy
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Jones in LA Jones in LA
I knew you'd know!

I have another question @TLIGuy....and sometimes a gold chronograph with black dial & bezel.

It was a Broad Arrow rose gold and stainless steel Speedmaster.

cernan.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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Doesn't always have to be manned spaceflight photos...
August 1979, ABC news reporter Jules Bergman, who covered NASA's manned space programs, awaits data in NASA Ames' newsroom as Pioneer 11 passed by the planet Saturn and its ring system. Bergman seems to be wearing an Omega Speedmaster 145.012-67 chronograph
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1979_Speedmaster_Ames.jpg
 
TLIGuy
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Nice find. It appears that the reporters covering the space program at that time were wannabe astronauts as well. At least Jules Bergman kicks up his game by adding the calendar to his Speedmaster bracelet.

Here is space fan Walter Cronkite wearing his Speedmaster.

IMG_0560.JPG
 
SpeedyPhill
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Interesting stuff I have included in my lecture on "Spacefarers' wristwatches"...
About Aldrin's 105.012-65 Apollo 11 Moonwatch, all we can say is... " Cerca Trova " 馃槖

More soon in the separate topic entitled " New reveals about the NASA space program watch choice " ... as we can't wait until 2019 to bring out great photos & facts... 馃槜
 
SpeedyPhill
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[QUOTE="
Who informed? Who's more reliable that NASA's own records?[/QUOTE]
...
Let's see 馃憥
You don't need a PhD to make a spreadsheet with the 6 Mercury missions, the 10 Gemini missions and the 12 Apollo missions listing each crewmember...
Check Your collection NASA photos, freely acquired between 1972 and 1992 (the pre-internet era), showing suit up procedures & mission scenes to check for watches in order to fill the spreadsheet with data on Speedmaster chronographs and additional watches taken up by each individual astronaut...
Done with that?
Repeat for the 3 Skylab missions, ASTP and the first 24 STS space shuttle missions 馃憤 ...
That's how easy it can be, it ain't rocket science 馃槜
 
Jones in LA
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Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino participates in a panel discussion titled The Big Picture, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

36267250731_e5237c9e26_k.jpg

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
 
SpeedyPhill
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August is always Apollo 15 month...
Note that Apollo 15 commander David Scott wore his gold Apollo tribute #16 Speedmaster chronograph at the post-mission press conference. The blood underneath his fingernails was caused by the heavy drill used to put deep-drill core tube in the lunar surface, which had to be hammered in to a depth of 70 cm... As always, more at https://moonwatchuniverse.tumblr.com/archive
馃槈
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1971_AS15-ScottGold.jpg
 
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