Story of the most famous watch in history of mankind!

[Quadophile]

In 1962, NASA decided to equip the astronauts of its future Gemini program with a highly accurate, legible, resistant and reliable wrist chronograph.

Donald K. Slayton, head of the flight Crew Operations , took action to select the chronographs :

For the purpose of comparison tests, NASA purchased chronographs different brands from Corrigan's, a large retailer in Houston, Texas the following watches where purchased : Elgin, Benrus, Hamilton, Mido, Piccard, Omega, Bulova, Rolex, Longine and Gruen. Of theses only 3 where selected for the comparative evaluation testing :

Longines, Omega and Rolex (Omega movement : Omega 321 , Rolex movement : Valjoux 72 , Longines : Longines 13 ZN)

1965 first qualification program :

Model tested : probably 105.012 no documents found for the moment to firmly state this , but for sure a Speedmaster equipped with Omega 321 calibre

High temperature: 48 hours at 71º C followed by 30 minutes at 93º C. This under a pressure of 0,35atm and relative humidity not over 15%.

Low temperature: Four hours at -18º C.

Temperature-pressure: 0,000001atm and temperature raised to 71º C. Temperature then lowered to -18º C in 45 minutes and again raised to 71º C in 45 minutes. This cycle was repeated fifteen times.

Relative humidity: 240 hours in relatuve humidity of at least 95% and at temperatures varying between 20º C and 71º C. The steam had a pH value of between 6,5 and 7,5.

Oxygen atmosphere: Exposure to 100% oxygen atmosphere at a pressure of 0,35atm and a temperature of 71º C for 48 hours.

Shock: Six 11 millisecond shocks of 40g each in six different directions.

Acceleration: Linear acceleration from 1g to 7,25g within 333 seconds.

Decompression: 90 minutes in a vaccum of 0 10-6 atm and a temperature of 71º C and 30 minutes in the same vaccum but at a temperature of 93ºC.

High pressure: Exposure to 1,6atm for one hour.

Vibration: Three cycles of 30 minutes (lateral, horizontal and vertical), the frequency varying from 5 to 2000cps and back to 5cps in 15 minutes. Average acceleration per impulse 8,8g.

Acoustic noise: 130dB over a frequency range from 40 to 10000Hz for 30 minutes

Results of the tests :

Omega Speedmaster : gained 21 minutes during decompression test and lost 15 minutes during the acceleration test , the luminescence of the dial was lost during the test

Rolex Daytona : stopped running on two occasions during the relative humidity test and during the high pressure test when the sweep second hand warped and press against the other hands

Longine Wittnauer : Crystal warped and disengaged during the high pressure test , same fault occurred during the decompression test

Final conclusion : the Omega chronograph performed satisfactorily

In 1965, NASA chose the Omega Speedmaster Professional as the official chronograph for the space program.

With the first Gemini flight (GT3) with astronauts Grissom and Young, the Speedmaster Professional became part of the standard equipment issued to the astronauts. The watch was worn on the outside of the pressure suit with the use of a large black velcro band.

The Speedmaster was worn during the first walk in space by an American, Edward White, in 1965. Two Speedmaster were worn by each Gemini astronaut one set on mission time , the other one on GMT or Houston time.

1967 : Apollo Program

Due to its performance, reliability and success with the Gemini program the Speedmaster Professional was selected again as the official chronograph by NASA for project Apollo.

Each astronaut wore one chronograph for spaceflight as a standard issue. Most, however, wore two during spaceflight. Some astronauts have used other watches as backup only one Speedmaster was issued to the astronauts.

The First watch worn on the moon ?

As the official chronograph for all Apollo missions, the Speedmaster Professional was worn by Frank Borman and crew on man's first journey to orbit the moon during Christmas of 1968

Anybody might think that the first watch on the moon was worn by Neil Armstrong ... but ...he did not wear his Speedmaster on his walk on the moon. An instrument had malfunctioned during the LEM's Decent and his Speedmaster was left in the LEM to serve as a replacement :

"our mission timer was out, and we decided we had better leave one wristwatch inside in case it (the one taken outside) got damaged. We would have at least one working watch to back up the mission timer or to use in place of the mission timer, in case we could not get it going again" Armstrong, from the 1969 Technical Debrief

Therefore the very first watch to be worn on the moon was Aldrin's Speedmaster

To be continued.................

 

[Quadophile]

Bulova vs Omega

The use of Swiss chronographs in the American space program met with political resistance by a number of American watch makers, specifically the Bulova Watch Company. In the early days of the space program, Bulova did not make a chronograph, but makes a considerable pressure on NASA to use Bulova products. There were various meetings with NASA officials in order to promote the use of their products.

The conclusion of the Apollo program was nearing with Apollo 17 scheduled for December 1972. As this date approached, the Bulova Watch Company became increasingly concerned that its products be used for this last manned lunar mission. General Bradley (President of Bulova) having determined that it would be impossible to overturn the support for Omega, switched strategy of obtaining the highest political support in the US government.

The wqtch issue was taken up to the congress which asked why the space program, undertaken by the nation, did not use a domestically produced watch

Thus it was decided by the Administrator on NASA, James Fletcher, that if a suitable Bulova chronograph could be found, it would be used on the last Apollo mission. Bulova had insisted that chronographs chosen by NASA follow the policy of the "buy American" regulations established by the Senate.


1972 qualification tests :

Omega Model tested : 145.022 according to Omega

1. Vacuum testing
The chronograph shall be subjected to a vacuum of 1x10-6 Torr or better for a total of 72 hours. During the first 10 hours of testing the temperature of the items shall be increased to 160 (+/-10) degrees F. The temperature shall then be returned to 78 (+/-10) degrees F for the remainder of the test.

2. Oxygen Atmosphere/Temperature Test
The test items shall be placed in atmosphere of 95 +/-5 percent oxygen at a pressure of 5+/-0.1 psia and a temperature of 155 +/-5 degrees F for 72 hours. Gas samples extracted from the chamber area shall be analyzed for organic and CO content per test number 6 of D-NA-0002.

3. Low Temperature
The test items shall be lowered to 0 +/- 5 degrees F. This temperature shall be maintained for 10 +/-0.5 hours. The test items shall be allowed to return to ambient before functional testing.

4. Acceleration
The test items shall be subjected to 20's +/- 2 g's in each direction of the three (3) perpendicular axes.

5. Random Vibration
The test items shall be installed in a fixture and submitted to 7.8 g's RMS for 5 +/-0.1 minutes, as defined in figure 2 in each of 3 axes. The test fixture with the test items shall then be submitted to 3.2 g's for 12 +/-0.1 minutes as defined in figure 1, in each of the 3 axes [Eds. Note: Figures not provided].

6. EMI Test
The test items shall be subjected to all applicable requirements of Mil-STD-461A, if an electromechanical movement is employed.

7. Humidity Testing
The test items shall be submitted to a humidity test per MIL-STD-810B, Method 507, Procedure I, except minimum temperature shall be 68 deg F and maximum temperature shall be 120 deg F.

Results of the tests :

During humidity test the bulova watch stopped three times, and stopped again during the acceleration test. According to the criteria, it must be conclued that the Bulova chronograph is not appropriate for the Apollo missions.

1978 qualification tests :

The topic of astronaut timepieces was quiet for several years until 1976 when Bulova became interested in supplying time pieces for the Space Shuttle missions.

Once again, NASA initiated a competetive solicitation. A new deadline was extended several times so Bulova could participate.

In September 1978, astronaut chronograph watches wishing to be considered for the space shuttle program underwent yet another round of prescribed space flight environmental testing.

This included:

Vacuum
Low temperature
Pressure
Vibration
Acceleration
Salt-fog
Humidity
Shock testing

The test where acheived by two independant laboratories : one in Switzerland : the Neuchatel Observatory and the LSRH and one in the US : : Approved test laboratories of Chatsworth in California

Omega submit 3 different models of watches for thoses tests : the Speedmaster Professional (cal 861) the Speedmaster "125" (cal 1041) and the Speedsonic (cal tuning fork 1255)

The technical evaluation team determined that, of the chronographs submitted by Bulova for space flight environmental testing, no single watch was exposed to all environmental tests. Also, one watch failed in salt-fog testing and all 3 watches exposed to vacuum testing failed. Accordingly, the Bulova chronographs were determined to be in non-compliance with the specified environmental requirements.

Once again, the Omega Speedmaster professional chronograph was superior to the other chronographs tested. The Speedmaster Professional met all environmental requirements, had the highest technical score, and was offered at the lowest price. Therefore, the Omega was accepted for procurement. The watch was offered to NASA at the cost of $0.01 per watch. NASA bought a series of 56 watches after those tests.


In April 1981, STS-1, the first shuttle mission, was launched with Commander John Young wearing the Speedmaster Professional.

Now that the shuttle flights have become operational, there are no longer requirements by NASA for specific watches to be worn during shuttle missions. With the exception of extravehicular activity, all astronauts are confined within the pressurized environment of the shuttle. Nonetheless, the Speedmaster continues to be used by many of the shuttle astronauts.

In 1989, with the Soviet Union's improved attitude toward the West, the Soviet Union selected Omega as the watch supplied to all cosmonauts.



Omega (Ω ) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet, Omega is often used to denote the last, the end, or the ultimate limit of a set.



Research, photos and text courtesy Jean-Michel at Watch you seek and Lesmala net

 

[psd99]

bloody heck

u must have the record for the longest pcr post ever!!!

 

[Quadophile]

Screensavers

Some of the best screen savers that I have ever come across, particularly the The Moon Watch and Railmaster! Try them I can assure you they look beautiful on the screen.


The Moon Watch (You can actually start and stop the second hand with mouse click!)

Railmaster (full screen automatic sweeping second hand)


Slideshow (Moon Watch - history in the making)

I hope you enjoyed the story, pictures and screensavers as much as I, putting it together







Now where is our Rocket Scientist?

 

[Ian]

Very interesting read there Anis I have to be difficult though, and ask when did digital watches come about (80's?) - they'd work ok up there I guess?

 

[Quadophile]

Very interesting read there Anis I have to be difficult though, and ask when did digital watches come about (80's?) - they'd work ok up there I guess?

An icon of the space age 70's - The first digital watch, a Pulsar prototype in 1970, was developed jointly by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro-Data. The first LCD watch with a six-digit LCD was the Seiko 06LC introduced in 1973. In my opinion the digital watch should pass most of the tests but not all. As you may have noticed while reading the article that the current requirement is not as stringent as it used to be while rockets were used as now the space shuttle provides very comfortable environment for the watch to be in.
I guess now the digital watches could be used.

 

[Quadophile]

Invention of the Wristwatch

The wristwatch was invented by Patek Philippe at the end of the 19th century. It was however considered a woman’s accessory. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont, who had difficulty checking the time while in his first aircraft (Dumont was working on the invention of the aeroplane), asked his friend Louis Cartier for a watch he could use more easily. Cartier gave him a leather-band wristwatch from which Dumont never separated. Being a popular figure in Paris, Cartier was soon able to sell these watches to other men.

During the First World War, officers in all armies soon discovered that in battlefield situations, quickly glancing at a watch on their wrist was far more convenient than fumbling in their jacket pockets for an old-fashioned pocket watch. In addition, as increasing numbers of officers were killed in the early stages of the war, NCOs promoted to replace them often did not have pocket watches (traditionally a middle-class item out of the reach of ordinary working-class soldiers), and so relied on the army to provide them with timekeepers. As the scale of battles increased, artillery and infantry officers were required to synchronize watches in order to conduct attacks at precise moments, whilst artillery officers were in need of a large number of accurate timekeepers for rangefinding and gunnery. Army contractors began to issue reliable, cheap, mass-produced wristwatches which were ideal for these purposes. When the war ended, demobilized European and American officers were allowed to keep their wristwatches, helping to popularize the items amongst middle-class Western civilian culture.

Today, many Westerners wear watches on their wrists, a direct result of the First World War.



Source: Wikipedia

 

[Quadophile]

Ian,

I am posting a link to some interesting information I found about use of digital watches in space.

Digital watches in space

 

[muckshifter]

If you see an astronaut with a white band on the wrist area, that means he or she is wearing a watch

But why don't they just use the Sun.

 

[muckshifter]

I just dug out my Dad's old service watch ...

 

[Quadophile]

I just dug out my Dad's old service watch ...

That sure is a simple yet elegant watch, but most important - you took care of it and still have it.

I had my old mans watch for three years but unfortunately it was stolen, an Omega Seamaster in rose gold circa 1956. It was given to him by my grat grand father in this very month. If I had it still it would be 50 years old.