How the Speedmaster became the Moonwatch

[Robert-Jan]

49 years ago, the Apollo 11 was on its way to the Moon (and back), from July 16th to July 24th. Time for us to freshen up your memory (or knowledge) a bit with the verified facts around the Moonwatch and the moon landing. On July 20th 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module put astronauts […]

Visit How the Speedmaster became the Moonwatch to read the full article.

 

[Foo2rama]

Nice article!

No mention of the 2 145.022 that at least went around the moon? One was a personal watch sold at auction awhile back the other was found via this forum last year that was included in an experiment, as per NASA archives.

 

[Amaza]

Interesting. I had missed that Collins speedmaster was a 145.012-68 and not a 67.

Is there any further revelation about the Apollo XI speedmasters expected from Omega for the 50th anniversary next year?

 

[Robert-Jan]

Foo2rama

Nice article!

No mention of the 2 145.022 that at least went around the moon? One was a personal watch sold at auction awhile back the other was found via this forum last year that was included in an experiment, as per NASA archives.

No, we covered that separately. This is also how the Speedmaster became the Moonwatch and which ones were just on the Moon (not near the Moon) ;-) The Apollo 17 one from Evans was a 145.022, but it was mounted to the 'dashboard' for tests, it wasn't really worn. And also not on the Moon for sure.

 

[Robert-Jan]

Amaza

Interesting. I had missed that Collins speedmaster was a 145.012-68 and not a 67.

Is there any further revelation about the Apollo XI speedmasters expected from Omega for the 50th anniversary next year?

Well, my personal hope is that there will be something really unique. I already loved the titanium/Sedna model from 4 years ago, but I hope Omega will go even beyond that in 2019.

 

[boogedyboo]

Amazing how you are able to pinpoint the exact case numbers Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins. Guess this will be important for those who are pedantic about their search for the moonwatch.

 

[gemini4]

Thanks for another great article.
Too bad you can’t install a caseback inside out 😀

 

[ulackfocus]

So you're saying Stanley Kubrick didn't have anything to do with making the Speedmaster the Moonwatch?

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Robert-Jan

Well, my personal hope is that there will be something really unique. I already loved the titanium/Sedna model from 4 years ago, but I hope Omega will go even beyond that in 2019.

They will... Cerca Trova !

 

[vbrad26]

U ulackfocus

So you're saying Stanley Kubrick didn't have anything to do with making the Speedmaster the Moonwatch?

Are you suggesting that 2001 Space Odyssey was just.....practice?
HAL does not approve...



Enjoyable read however.

 

[SpeedyPhill]

The more we have learnt about the practical side of the 6 lunar landings, the more astonishing it is these chronographs worked flawlessly...
By Apollo 17, it was clear that the longer stay J-missions encountered issues with the annoying lunar dust - regolith particles, as the Teflon-fibre layer in the A7L space suits caused a tiny electric charge so lunar regolith stuck to the suits. Thereafter, when the astronauts unsuited in the re-pressurised cabin of the lunar lander, the lunar regolith sat under their finger nails and irritated the astronauts' eyes.
Would surely like to see how Charlie Duke's Apollo 16 Speedmaster looked like after it lost its hesalite glass 🤔

 

[nonuffinkbloke]

Fascinating article Robert-Jan. Thankyou.👍

Lovely to sit down for half an hour, have a beer and read that about how the Omega Speedmaster 105.012-65 became 'The Original Moonwatch'.

And made even more enjoyable by the occasional glance at my Dad's old 105.012-65 on my wrist.

 

[ras47]

So this picture is actually Buzz Aldrin stepping onto the moon? I always thought it was Neil Armstrong, but the watch strapped to the astronaut's wrist suggests it's Buzz.

 

[sevenhelmet]

ras47

So this picture is actually Buzz Aldrin stepping onto the moon? I always thought it was Neil Armstrong, but the watch strapped to the astronaut's wrist suggests it's Buzz.

How could it be Neil? There was nobody on the Moon to hold the camera...

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Neil Armstrong's step was recorded by a camera on the outside of LM "Eagle" he switched on before stepping on the Moon...
The training of Leonov's EVA - spacewalk is interesting footage as large part of the training was to make sure he activated the camera and brought it back in afterwards... Both Russians and Americans captured their endeavours!
The well-known 30 minutes NASA documentary film on Apollo 11 actually shows footage of the suit up for the Countdown Demonstration Test training as the astronauts didn't wear the mission logo patch during training.
On launchday July 16, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins wore the Speedmaster on the right hand glove, while Aldrin wore it on his left glove... Four days later, stepping off the LM ladder, Aldrin wore the Speedmaster on his right hand glove...
In fact there's only one photo showing Neil Armstrong standing on the Moon, as part of a panoramic shot by Aldrin...
Check it out on top of this NASA website:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html
👍

 

[CTS-V]

sevenhelmet

How could it be Neil? There was nobody on the Moon to hold the camera...

Oh....that's an easy one....it was Studio Cameraman #3 that snapped the photo.

 

[nonuffinkbloke]

sevenhelmet

How could it be Neil? There was nobody on the Moon to hold the camera...

You're wrong on that one mate!.👍