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Hidden gems from the NASA photo archive

Omegafanman
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TLIGuy TLIGuy
Here are the last 3 to round out my favorites...

White with his iconic 105.003...

s65-29655.jpg


A great close up of Stafford's Speedmaster with a super crisp straight lug case...

s65-56185.jpg


And Finally this bat $h!t crazy a$$ set up worn by John Young. A riveted leather strap with, yes my friends, a metal calendar folded over the strap. I also find it interesting that the dial plots already appear to be deteriorating.

How can anyone wear this set up you ask? He's John Young and he can wear his Speemaster anyway he wants.

Screen Shot 2015-07-29 at 11.58.28 PM.jpg

I had missed John Young using a military style riveted leather bund strap for his Speedy. Looks like that was the same in the last photo posted by @SpeedyPhill - link below. Have not seen any others wearing a strap like that / would like to see the strap design in more detail.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/hidden-gems-from-the-nasa-photo-archive.27812/page-2#post-310594


https://omegaforums.net/threads/hidden-gems-from-the-nasa-photo-archive.27812/page-41#post-2122117
Edited:
 
Omegafanman
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
A few 1972 screenshots of John Young's leather rivet strap.
(Photos: NASA)
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1972_A16_Young.jpg 1972_A16_Young-TIMELY.jpg


Open ended / riveted design - maybe like this? He obviously had his own style thing going on.

Either way an amazing astronaut flying four different vehicles (still the only one to have done that?)
 
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SpeedyPhill
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Apollo 11 lunar mission... post splash-down , wrist watch wise
Via the MQF Mobile Quarantine Facility trailer onboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet via Pearl Harbor Hawaii (July 26, 1969) on C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft to Ellington AFB - Houston Texas.
Leaving the MQF trailer into the LRL Lunar Receiving Laboratory at NASA Houston (Michael Collins grew a " Moon moustache ") (July 27, 1969). Apollo 11 quarantine ended on August 10, 1969 with the Apollo 11 crew leaving LRL, wearing their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster chronographs. (Photos: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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2_A11_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg 3_A11_Neil.jpg 4_A11_Quarantine.jpg
 
DoctorEvil
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
Apollo 11 lunar mission... post splash-down , wrist watch wise
Via the MQF Mobile Quarantine Facility trailer onboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet via Pearl Harbor Hawaii (July 26, 1969) on C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft to Ellington AFB - Houston Texas.
Leaving the MQF trailer into the LRL Lunar Receiving Laboratory at NASA Houston (Michael Collins grew a " Moon moustache ") (July 27, 1969). Apollo 11 quarantine ended on August 10, 1969 with the Apollo 11 crew leaving LRL, wearing their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster chronographs. (Photos: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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2_A11_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg 3_A11_Neil.jpg 4_A11_Quarantine.jpg
Thanks for sharing. Good to know the US government is keeping us safe from whatever strange viruses or bacteria these astronauts could have brought back from the moon 👍
 
SpeedyPhill
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the level of detail: Out of 1515 photos in my collection, 130 show the chronograph running on the Omega Speedmaster chronograph !
#NASA #MoonwatchUniverse
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OMEGA-White.jpg
 
A
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Really enjoyed this thread, thanks to everyone who has contributed. Thought I'd add a couple more pictures that might be of interest, apologies if they've been shared before.

Michael Hopkins wearing what looks like a Speedmaster 1861 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon heading to the ISS in November 2020.
1599px-NASA_astronauts_work_aboard_the_SpaceX_Crew_Dragon_%28iss064e004754%29.jpg
Saudi astronaut Ali AlQarni wearing a Speedmaster in a group photo aboard the ISS. A few X33s lurking too.
iss069e014094orig.jpeg
There are some interesting pictures of AlQarni's personal watch and his issued Speedmaster with an engraved caseback of the WatchesOfEspionage website.
image3_2_600x600.jpg
 
Jones in LA
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
Apollo 11 lunar mission... post splash-down , wrist watch wise
Via the MQF Mobile Quarantine Facility trailer onboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet via Pearl Harbor Hawaii (July 26, 1969) on C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft to Ellington AFB - Houston Texas.
Leaving the MQF trailer into the LRL Lunar Receiving Laboratory at NASA Houston (Michael Collins grew a " Moon moustache ") (July 27, 1969). Apollo 11 quarantine ended on August 10, 1969 with the Apollo 11 crew leaving LRL, wearing their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster chronographs. (Photos: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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2_A11_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg 3_A11_Neil.jpg 4_A11_Quarantine.jpg

I'm guessing the only reason Armstrong was allowed to wear the long velcro strap out in the real world is that it has no appreciable amount of Moondust on it.
Edited:
 
jsducote
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RIP Karol Bobko
Of all my space memorabilia, I only have one printed picture from space on the walls: a photo of the Houston area (my hometown) attributed to Bo on 51-J.
 
jsducote
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RIP Marilyn, devoted friend of the program -
image001.png

(from today's Houston Chronicle)
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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50 years ago: September 1973, Skylab-4 and an Omega Speedmaster Mk II
Skylab-4 Scientist Astronaut Edward Gibson makes notations at the work station simulator of the Apollo Telescope Mount at JSC - Johnson Space Center, Houston. SL-4 was launched in November 1973, with besides their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster, Gerald Carr wearing a Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph, William Pogue wearing a Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph and Edward Gibson wearing a second Speedmaster.
Whether the latter was a Speedmaster Mark II remains hard to tell as no onboard photos showing the Mk II were found but Ed Gibson wore his Omega Speedmaster Mark II 145.014 during complete Skylab training and immediately post-landing in February 1974 !
(Photos: NASA)
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1973_Skylab4_Speedmaster_mark2.jpg 1974_Speedmaster_Mark2.jpg
 
Jones in LA
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@SpeedyPhill , your latest post reminded me to ask you a couple of nagging questions: Was there ever a time when NASA would NOT allow a wristwatch on board one of its spacecraft that didn't have an acrylic crystal? Similarly, was the make-up of the crystal ever a factor in considering what wristwatch(es) NASA should issue to its astronauts?

Personally, I see a possible advantage for acrylic vs. brittle glass or synthetic sapphire, as acrylic would (to me) seem less likely to lose tiny, sharp bits should it get fractured in the limited confines of a spacecraft in Zero-G.
 
spacemission
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Jones in LA Jones in LA
@SpeedyPhill , your latest post reminded me to ask you a couple of nagging questions: Was there ever a time when NASA would NOT allow a wristwatch on board one of its spacecraft that didn't have an acrylic crystal? Similarly, was the make-up of the crystal ever a factor in considering what wristwatch(es) NASA should issue to its astronauts?

Personally, I see a possible advantage for acrylic vs. brittle glass or synthetic sapphire, as acrylic would (to me) seem less likely to lose tiny, sharp bits should it get fractured in the limited confines of a spacecraft in Zero-G.

Yema_Spacegraf_ZERO-G_4.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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@Jones in LA
I don't think so (early days saw 5 different watch makes worn) but I do remember that the original " Fallen Astronaut " was incased in an acrylic tube and NASA forbid the artist (Paul Van Hoeydonck) to give such a piece of acrylic to the Apollo 15 astronauts. Acrylic considered fire hazard!
So one day before launch, Apollo 15 Commander David Scott received a "naked" Fallen Astronaut to be put on the Moon in August 1971...
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PVH_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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Happy 88th birthday to NASA astronaut, Apollo 16 LMP Charles "Charlie" Duke
Charlie Duke during suit-up on Apollo 16 launchday, April 16, 1972... a photo which clearly shows he wore a 2nd Omega Speedmaster underneath the A7LB Apollo space suit !
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1972_April16_Duke.jpg
 
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