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SpeedyPhill
·An overview video, but FREE registration is needed: https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/exclusive/watches-of-nasa
My five cents about the whole episode:
☕
Yuri Gagarin's Shturmanskie pilot watch was strapped on the outside of the orange SK1 spacesuit, as Shturmanskie pilot watches were during all six Vostok cosmonauts including Valentina Tereshkova !
Author might be confused by the 1965 Voshkod II crew, Leonov & Belyayev who wore their Strela chronograph underneath the Berkut space suit.
Well, intially NASA wanted a 24 hours movement & dial wrist watch, hence the bespoke LeCoultre "Mercury 7" based on the LeCoultre Quartermaster.
These were only used in training & PR events but for future long duration missions, space agencies again look at 24 hours movement time pieces!
Personal watches for the Russians, well the Roscosmos guest cosmonauts did so but the Russian watch factory created watches specifically for spaceflight (e.g. 1968 NIIChasprom Electronic). Practically all cosmonauts wore the Russian-made Poljot 3133 and later 31659 chronograph up to 1994 when Fortis stepped in. There's a book coming up about these Poljot time pieces!
The first automatic watch in space was worn by Charles Pete Conrad as he wore his personal Glycine Airman GMT pilot watch on Gemini V and later on Gemini XI exposing it to outer space during Richard Gordon's EVAs!
During Skylab SL-4 both Gerald Carr (Movado Datachron) and William Pogue (Seiko 6139-6005) wore the first automatic chronographs in space!
The Alaska Project Speedmaster with outer case was not pressurized but the red anodized outer shell was designed for use on the Lunar Rover Vehicle on the bumpy & dusty lunar surface. Apollo 17 to 20 were cancelled so the Alaska Project II Speedmaster was not used by NASA but was ordered by the Soviet-Russians!
Moreover, the Alaska Project III Speedmaster "radial dial" had practical features requested by the NASA astronauts in 1968 and after the Apollo 13 flight. This "radial dial" Speedmaster was flight-qualified for the space shuttle and used between 1981 and 1995!
Currently the Speedmaster X33 is the spacefarers' practical watch both for Russians, Europeans and Americans. ESA even had its own X33 Skywalker version.
It's a fact that all along 65 years of spaceflight, a wrist watch remains the most personal even emotional memento for each spacefarer!
Thus far 15 different wrist watch brands have been used during spacewalks being directly exposed to the harsh outer space environment...
My five cents about the whole episode:
☕
Yuri Gagarin's Shturmanskie pilot watch was strapped on the outside of the orange SK1 spacesuit, as Shturmanskie pilot watches were during all six Vostok cosmonauts including Valentina Tereshkova !
Author might be confused by the 1965 Voshkod II crew, Leonov & Belyayev who wore their Strela chronograph underneath the Berkut space suit.
Well, intially NASA wanted a 24 hours movement & dial wrist watch, hence the bespoke LeCoultre "Mercury 7" based on the LeCoultre Quartermaster.
These were only used in training & PR events but for future long duration missions, space agencies again look at 24 hours movement time pieces!
Personal watches for the Russians, well the Roscosmos guest cosmonauts did so but the Russian watch factory created watches specifically for spaceflight (e.g. 1968 NIIChasprom Electronic). Practically all cosmonauts wore the Russian-made Poljot 3133 and later 31659 chronograph up to 1994 when Fortis stepped in. There's a book coming up about these Poljot time pieces!
The first automatic watch in space was worn by Charles Pete Conrad as he wore his personal Glycine Airman GMT pilot watch on Gemini V and later on Gemini XI exposing it to outer space during Richard Gordon's EVAs!
During Skylab SL-4 both Gerald Carr (Movado Datachron) and William Pogue (Seiko 6139-6005) wore the first automatic chronographs in space!
The Alaska Project Speedmaster with outer case was not pressurized but the red anodized outer shell was designed for use on the Lunar Rover Vehicle on the bumpy & dusty lunar surface. Apollo 17 to 20 were cancelled so the Alaska Project II Speedmaster was not used by NASA but was ordered by the Soviet-Russians!
Moreover, the Alaska Project III Speedmaster "radial dial" had practical features requested by the NASA astronauts in 1968 and after the Apollo 13 flight. This "radial dial" Speedmaster was flight-qualified for the space shuttle and used between 1981 and 1995!
Currently the Speedmaster X33 is the spacefarers' practical watch both for Russians, Europeans and Americans. ESA even had its own X33 Skywalker version.
It's a fact that all along 65 years of spaceflight, a wrist watch remains the most personal even emotional memento for each spacefarer!
Thus far 15 different wrist watch brands have been used during spacewalks being directly exposed to the harsh outer space environment...
