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Hidden gems from the NASA photo archive

SpeedyPhill
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60 years ago... NASA astronaut group 3
October 18, 1963 as NASA presented the third astronaut group nicknamed "" The Fourteen "" with 7 USAF officer pilots, 4 US Navy officer aviators, 1 US Marine Corps officer navigator and 2 civilians.
Those coming from the military were often wearing Bulova 3818 wrist watches with a 24 hours dial.
(Photo: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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Tudor watches... Swiss-made in Le Locle Canton Neuchâtel
The MoonwatchUniverse alphabetical count down continues, this month focusing on Tudor tool watches used in spacflight operations…
Tudor aka the smart man’s Rolex.
(Photo: MWU)
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SpeedyPhill
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25 years ago… John Glenn in space again
Between October 29 and November 7, 1998 US senator, US Marine Corps naval aviator and NASA veteran astronaut John Glenn made his second spaceflight aged 77, making him the oldest person to travel into Earth orbit.
In February 1962, John Glenn had become the first NASA astronaut to orbit the Earth onboard "Friendship 7" spacecraft.
Space shuttle orbiter mission STS-95 lasted 8 days 21 hours 43 minutes. Glenn performed both biological & medical experiments as a human guinea pig for geriatric studies.
During the flight, Glenn wore a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster X-33, the indispensable toolwatch for modern day spacefarers.
(Photos: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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60 years ago... November 5, 1963
NASA reorganised the complete Project Mercury personnel structure in order to strengthen upcoming Gemini & Apollo management.
Two weeks earlier, the "Mercury 7" astronauts had already said goodbye to the Mercury program with a last group photo. On the right Scott Carpenter was wearing a new Breitling Navitimer chronograph as his space-flown version got water damaged during the May 1962 "Aurora 7" mission splash-down & recovery operations in the Caribbean sea, North-east of Puerto Rico.
(Photo: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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25 years ago… NASA Mir resident astronauts
In late 1998, NASA completed the Space Shuttle – Mir space station program as 7 American astronauts stayed in space during 1186 days compromising 9 successful shuttle-Mir dockings.
This NASA group photo shows all 7 resident astronauts, Norman Thagard, Shannon Lucid, John Blaha, Jerry Linenger, Michael Foale, David Wolf and Andrew Thomas. Note at right, astronaut David Wolf wore a wonderful Gold Fortis Cosmonauts’ chronograph on black leather bracelet.
2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of Fortis wrist watches being used in space & during spacewalks, and the 15th anniversary since female NASA astronauts started using Fortis chronographs onboard the International Space Station.
(Photo: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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Just received a .pdf proof-reading version of my article " First Swiss-made watch in space: Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute "
It reads a bit like a day-to-day account article showing that a launch delay due to a parachute hardware fault enabled Carpenter to receive the 1962 "Cosmonaute" in time to be worn as the first Swiss-made wrist watch in space!
Here're some interesting Carpenter photos, confirming that between US Navy Sealab assignments (testing Rolex Submariner), in 1966 Malcolm Scott Carpenter almost exclusively wore a Breitling Navitimer chronograph again !
2024 = celebrating 140 years Breitling watches
(Photos: NASA/USN/AP)
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SpeedyPhill
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50 years ago.. Skylab-4 and 2 automatic chronographs
November 16, also known as international "Pogue" day !
Besides their official NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster, two Skylab-4 astronauts wore a personal automatic movement wrist watch.
November 1973, USAF testpilot / astronaut William “Bill” Pogue onboard the Skylab space station mission, wearing his personal Seiko 6139-6005 yellow-dial wristwatch, which became known as one the first automatic chronographs in space during the 84 days SL-4 mission.
Remember both Pogue and his commander Gerald Carr already wore their automatic chronograph during NASA training.
Skylab-4 commander, US Marine Corps Colonel Gerald "Gerry" Carr also wore an automatic chronograph during the same spaceflight mission, a reverse panda blue dial Movado Datachron HS 360 chronodiver, suitable for an USMC naval aviator on a 84 days spaceflight mission, from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974.
(Photos: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse #Seiko
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SpeedyPhill
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November 1973... Two automatic chronographs in space !
50 years ago, on November 16, 1973, the third and final manned Skylab space station mission SL-4 was launched. Besides their NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster, each of the Skylab-4 astronauts took an extra wristwatch up to NASA’s space station, with William Pogue’s yellow dial Seiko Automatic 6139-6005 as the best-known example. However, SL-4 commander US Marine Corps LtCol Gerald Carr was seen wearing a blue dial reverse panda Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph during training in 1972/1973. In this photograph, the Skylab-4 crew shows Carr on the right, clearly wearing the Movado chronograph on his wrist, note the distinctive black & white bakelite bezel.
In 2019 MoonwatchUniverse triggered research into this amazing automatic chronograph, resulting in Hodinkee's article entitled "Snuck Into Space!"
(Photos: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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50 years ago... ASTP to Moscow
Between November 18 and December 1, 1973, the complete NASA group of astronauts visited the USSR. In June 1972, the project was named ASTP - Apollo Soyuz Test Project with an agreement that astronauts & cosmonauts would train equal time in the American & Russian training centers.
Already in October 1972, Thomas Stafford had visited the Star City cosmonauts training center North East of Moscow but this time all (backup) astronauts were present; Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, Deke Slayton, Eugene Cernan, Alan Bean, Jack Lousma, Robert Overmyer, Ron Evans, and Karol Bobko.
During this 1973 visit, Thomas Stafford wore his Gold "Apollo 11 tribute" Speedmaster BA 145.022-69 and Donald Deke Slayton might have done as well?
(Photo: NASA)
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SpeedyPhill
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No longer posting separate aviation/spaceflight photographs in this topic, but the MoonwatchUniverse alphabetical count down continues, from Z - Zodiac to A - Accutron, this November 2023 month focusing on Seiko tool watches used in manned spaceflight operations…
Seiko watches in space ... Celebrating 50 years Seiko chronographs worn during spaceflight missions, from the 1973 Seiko 6139-6005 automatic chronograph onboard NASA Skylab space station (William Pogue), over the 1983-1996 worn Seiko quartz Alarm chronographs on space shuttle missions to the 2008 special Seiko SpringDrive Spacewalk chronographs which were worn during the December 23, 2008 EVA-spacewalk by ISS expedition 18 cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.
Making Seiko one of 12 different wrist watch makes which have been directly exposed to the harsh outer space environment.
#MoonwatchUniverse
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SpeedyPhill
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1971... a 2nd wrist watch for Apollo 15 CMP Alfred Worden ?
July 26, 1971, check at 12:00 where it looks like a dial underneath the fireproof underwear glove at his lefthand wrist ? During Apollo 15, Alfred Worden was Command Module Pilot and stayed in lunar orbit while David Scott and James Irwin stayed 20 hours on the lunar surface.
Thus far we had on file:
1971 Apollo 15
David Scott Left= Speedmaster ( PPK contained Bulova 88510 chronograph worn on the Moon )
James Irwin Left = Speedmaster velcro over space suit
Alfred Worden Left = Speedmaster velcro over space suit
(Photo: NASA) #MoonwatchUniverse
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pdxleaf
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My guess would be that this was his issued Speedmaster that he wore during liftoff. I don't recall when but probably after TLI, they took off their suits for the 250K mile ride to the moon.

It might be unusual to wear it under the suit, as he wouldn't have access to it during liftoff. But the Saturn V shook so much they had a hard time reading their watches, as I recall.

This is my initial instinct about his watch and initial instincts are often wrong. It would be interesting to know there was another watch on Apollo. Good eyes on spotting that lump on his wrist.
 
SpeedyPhill
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50 years ago… official ASTP NASA crew photos
In January 1974 NASA released official crew & portrait photos of the astronauts for the upcoming Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission.
These three NASA astronauts are the American flight crew for the 1975 ASTP mission. The prime crewmen for the joint U.S.-Soviet Union space flight are, left to right, Donald K. Slayton, docking module pilot; Vance D. Brand, command module pilot; and Thomas P. Stafford, commander. The crew was announced on January 30, 1973. The backup crew were Alan Bean, Ronald Evans and Jack Lousma.
Posing in their white space suits with a scale model of the Apollo-Soyuz capsules in docking mode in front of them. Note both Deke Slayton and Tom Stafford wore their Gold “Apollo 11 tribute” Omega Speedmaster chronographs, respectively numbers 27 & 13, awarded in November 1969.
Donald "Deke" Slayton was one of the original “Mercury 7” astronauts but grounded for a heart problem, 12 years later NASA had returned him to active flight status in March 1972.
Note his Gold “Apollo 11 tribute” Omega Speedmaster chronograph n° 27, which had the bezel missing and a foldable “Timely” calendar around the bracelet.
(NASA photos S74-15240 & S74-15241)
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Jones in LA
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
50 years ago… official ASTP NASA crew photos
In January 1974 NASA released official crew & portrait photos of the astronauts for the upcoming Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission.

Which yielded a dramatic piece of art...

rsz_s74-24913.jpg

Image credit: NASA


...which yielded yet another piece of art

IMG_1662.jpg
 
SpeedyPhill
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Ad Astra Richard Truly…
On February 27, 2024, US Navy Vice-Admiral & NASA astronaut Richard “Dick” Truly passed away aged 86. In 1965, Truly was among the first military astronauts selected to the MOL space station program. In 1969 he joined NASA astronaut group 7 and acted as CapCom on the 1973 Skylab and 1975 ASTP missions, before flying in space on shuttle missions STS-2 and STS-8.
Between May 1989 and May 1992, Truly was the first former NASA astronaut to head the American space agency. For his service to the United States' efforts in space Truly was awarded two NASA distinguished service medals, the NASA outstanding leadership medal, two NASA exceptional service medals and two NASA space flight medals.
This November 1981 photo shows Richard Truly onboard space shuttle Columbia mission STS-2, the first crew to wear the NASA-issued Omega Alaska Project III “radial dial” Speedmaster chronograph.
(Photo: NASA)
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Jones in LA
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
... the first crew to wear the NASA-issued Omega Alaska Project III “radial dial” Speedmaster chronograph.
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...and it should be noted, worn with the long velcro strap and Aldrin Wrap 😀
 
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