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SpeedyPhill
·Top 10 by " IDGuy "
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My five cents;
7:40 During the May 1973 cosmonaut delegation visit to Omega HQ in Bienne - Switzerland, they were shown the Alaska Project II Speedmaster. By May 1977 these Alaska Project II Speedmaster chronographs were ordered by fax from StarCity to be used on the new Orlan space suits onboard the new Salyut-6 space station, the first station with 2 docking ports, so 2 craft could visit simultaneously.
Fun fact: 1962, US Navy LtCdr Scott Carpenter gave feedback to Breitling how he wanted a bespoke Breitling Navitimer chronograph with a legible dial, a practical bezel and a stretchable bracelet. For a simplified slide rule he explicitly didn't want a tachymetre scale. Fast forward to the transitional year 1967 during which NASA astronauts gave feedback about all hardware of the Gemini program, including the NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster. The recurring request was to get rid of the tachymetre bezel and get a more practicle legible "60 seconds" bezel for the Speedmaster.
Initially this "60 seconds" bezel request fell on deaf ears, but post-Apollo 13, the Apollo 12 backup crew, now the Apollo 15 prime crew received their bespoke "60 seconds" bezel on the Speedmasters they used in training. A year later, Omega incorporated the "60 seconds" bezel in the Alaska Project II Speedmaster (1972) but by that time Apollo 18, 19 and 20 were already cancelled...
Remarkably, anno 2025, the 60th anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster becoming NASA's flight-qualified chronograph, the practical "60 seconds" bezel is only available by third party vendors... a small item but a huge difference for a toolwatch!
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My five cents;
7:40 During the May 1973 cosmonaut delegation visit to Omega HQ in Bienne - Switzerland, they were shown the Alaska Project II Speedmaster. By May 1977 these Alaska Project II Speedmaster chronographs were ordered by fax from StarCity to be used on the new Orlan space suits onboard the new Salyut-6 space station, the first station with 2 docking ports, so 2 craft could visit simultaneously.
Fun fact: 1962, US Navy LtCdr Scott Carpenter gave feedback to Breitling how he wanted a bespoke Breitling Navitimer chronograph with a legible dial, a practical bezel and a stretchable bracelet. For a simplified slide rule he explicitly didn't want a tachymetre scale. Fast forward to the transitional year 1967 during which NASA astronauts gave feedback about all hardware of the Gemini program, including the NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster. The recurring request was to get rid of the tachymetre bezel and get a more practicle legible "60 seconds" bezel for the Speedmaster.
Initially this "60 seconds" bezel request fell on deaf ears, but post-Apollo 13, the Apollo 12 backup crew, now the Apollo 15 prime crew received their bespoke "60 seconds" bezel on the Speedmasters they used in training. A year later, Omega incorporated the "60 seconds" bezel in the Alaska Project II Speedmaster (1972) but by that time Apollo 18, 19 and 20 were already cancelled...
Remarkably, anno 2025, the 60th anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster becoming NASA's flight-qualified chronograph, the practical "60 seconds" bezel is only available by third party vendors... a small item but a huge difference for a toolwatch!
