WEBVTT
00:00:00.526 --> 00:00:03.855
For the Best Aerospace Era this is the mansplaining podcast.
00:00:03.926 --> 00:00:05.905
Here is your host Anthony L.
00:00:05.905 --> 00:00:06.376
Sealey
00:00:11.224 --> 00:00:12.913
Welcome aerospace enthusiasts.
00:00:13.784 --> 00:00:17.085
Imagine it's May 16th, 1963.
00:00:17.876 --> 00:00:27.719
You are astronaut Gordon Cooper aboard Faith 7 in orbit when suddenly your Mercury spacecraft's electrical system and navigation system malfunction.
00:00:35.406 --> 00:00:36.167
What now?
00:00:37.662 --> 00:00:42.872
Cooper had to perform reentry maneuvers manually with the computer and navigation down.
00:00:44.304 --> 00:00:48.990
For this, he needed to make some accurate calculations, and time was of the essence.
00:00:50.307 --> 00:00:54.158
He fumbled around inside his spacesuit's pockets to pull out his pocket watch.
00:00:55.959 --> 00:00:57.851
No, that's not how it happened.
00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:32.789
We will talk about Gordon Cooper and the Mercury Atlas 9 mission later on.
00:01:34.227 --> 00:01:38.368
Now in addition to being an aerospace enthusiast, I am also a watch enthusiast.
00:01:39.894 --> 00:01:47.621
There's just something about looking down at a small device on your wrist that displays the time ran by a mechanical or quartz movement.
00:01:49.028 --> 00:01:55.734
I often stay up late at night looking at pictures and watch YouTube review videos of different watch brands and watches.
00:01:56.813 --> 00:01:58.784
Tell me I'm not the only one that does this.
00:01:59.751 --> 00:02:07.694
I love the history, and particularly the aerospace history, of these timepieces, and that's what I want to talk about here on this episode of Mansplaneing.
00:02:08.776 --> 00:02:12.658
It's time to talk about space watches, just as I have promised before.
00:02:14.093 --> 00:02:19.536
I mention this for those that remember the Mansplaneing podcast episode on time from Series 2.
00:02:20.903 --> 00:02:28.673
It is one of our early Mansplaneing podcast episodes, But if you are a watch enthusiast like myself, then you should check that episode out as well.
00:02:30.361 --> 00:02:43.568
In that episode, I covered why time is so important to aviation, in particularly for the airlines and military operations, and why wristwatches made sense for aviators in the first few years of the best aerospace era.
00:02:44.525 --> 00:02:55.448
Aviators of the earliest flying contraptions like the Wright Model A Flyer, the Blériot, or the 14 Bis needed to keep their hands on the controls of their aircraft at all times.
00:02:56.674 --> 00:03:11.057
Reaching into one's pocket and then opening up the case to tell the time in the same way a train conductor or a businessman would have was impractical and dangerous Like those idiots on the road that are looking at their phone as they drive.
00:03:11.843 --> 00:03:12.901
Don't be that person.
00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:21.617
Just taking off and landing was dangerous enough in those wood, wire, and fabric flying machines in the first decades of the best aerospace era.
00:03:23.122 --> 00:03:33.469
We profiled some of the first pilot watches from Zenith, Cartier, Oris, among other brands, And modern day recreations that pay homage to those timepieces.
00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:38.286
At the end of the episode, I did promise to cover space watches one day.
00:03:39.537 --> 00:03:44.389
Well, that's what we're gonna do here on this episode with watches that were used in space.
00:03:45.866 --> 00:03:53.573
Just as having a timepiece on your wrist was the logical way to go for pilots, the same goes for astronauts and cosmonauts in orbit above the Earth.
00:03:54.652 --> 00:03:58.860
Imagine you're in a cramped Mercury or Vostok spacecraft by yourself.
00:03:59.972 --> 00:04:06.711
Suddenly your computer system goes down and you need to know what time it is to make calculations to perform a safe reentry maneuver.
00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:21.668
If not done at the correct time in orbit, your spacecraft could come down in the wrong area, Like in the mountains or a swamp, or you could land in a hostile nation or territory, or you could come down on someone's house.
00:04:22.892 --> 00:04:25.555
Imagine calling your homeowner insurance for that claim.
00:04:26.937 --> 00:04:30.567
Now visualize you're in a bulky, uncomfortable spacesuit fumbling around.
00:04:31.341 --> 00:04:36.639
You finally retrieve your pocket watch, but it slips out of your hand and it floats away from you.
00:04:37.733 --> 00:04:38.930
That's not going to work, is it?
00:04:40.685 --> 00:04:52.153
This is why astronauts and cosmonauts wore wristwatches to tell the time in space They were a vital tool to have in the event of a mechanical or electrical failure on your spacecraft.
00:04:53.271 --> 00:05:01.555
By the way, before we go any further, we are not gonna talk about the space-time continuum, the speed of light, or the theory of relativity in this episode here.
00:05:02.372 --> 00:05:03.937
I'm not the best person for that.
00:05:04.704 --> 00:05:08.463
I studied history at Reinhardt University, not astrophysics.
00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:14.016
You would be better off watching Back to the Future, Interstellar, or Frequency for that.
00:05:15.317 --> 00:05:16.906
Those are some awesome movies, by the way.
00:05:18.182 --> 00:05:27.663
I can say that during the Apollo program, the missions needed to be launched from Cape Canaveral at the right time in order to catch the moon as it swung by on its orbit.
00:05:29.096 --> 00:05:36.519
If the launch and the trans-lunar injection burns were not performed at the right time, they would miss the moon entirely and fall behind.
00:05:37.665 --> 00:05:44.697
The same goes for space launches in low Earth orbit intended for ISS or the Chinese Tiangong space stations.
00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:53.654
Timing the launches so that your spacecraft meets or rendezvous with the space station as it swings by on its orbit is paramount.
00:05:54.810 --> 00:06:00.997
Now, before we get into any specific examples of the watches themselves, does anyone know what Time Zone Space is?
00:06:02.677 --> 00:06:05.293
What time zone should you set your watch before launch?
00:06:06.427 --> 00:06:11.346
Now it makes sense to have your watch set to the same time zone as Mission Control in Houston, Texas, right?
00:06:13.014 --> 00:06:18.228
That is also where your wife and kids are, so it might be nice to mentally keep tabs on what was going on back home.
00:06:19.497 --> 00:06:21.391
But will that work for space missions?
00:06:22.535 --> 00:06:33.173
For the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, ground elapsed time, or GET, is what they went by to make sure our astronauts and mission control were on the same page.
00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:51.990
Like for example, on an Apollo mission, a burn would be scheduled for let's say 23 hours into the mission rather than saying 2:00 AM This clock starts just as a rocket leaves the launchpad, and that works for each individual space mission and operation.
00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:58.536
What gets complicated is when dealing with multiple space agencies and operations in orbit.
00:07:00.112 --> 00:07:04.348
Today, space agencies use coordinated universal time or UTC.
00:07:05.841 --> 00:07:10.088
This is based on the atomic timekeeping that takes place in Greenwich, England.
00:07:11.771 --> 00:07:14.379
This is why you may have heard the term Greenwich Mean Time.
00:07:15.745 --> 00:07:20.826
You may have also heard the term Zulu time, which is kind of the same thing said a different way.
00:07:22.398 --> 00:07:27.576
This helps solve some confusion between various space agencies that work together on ISS.
00:07:28.778 --> 00:07:37.396
Like for example, when you have a space agency in Japan working with a space agency in Canada But the question is, will this work in the future?
00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.473
What happens in, let's say, 200 years from now?
00:07:41.802 --> 00:07:46.134
We have more space stations, a moon base, and possibly a base on Mars.
00:07:48.146 --> 00:07:49.666
Sci-fi author Arthur C.
00:07:49.668 --> 00:07:54.632
Clarke wrote about the need for a universal time zone in the future for all humanity.
00:07:55.853 --> 00:08:04.776
I've read a few of his books, and I really like that author Do you think mankind will need to implement a universal time zone to conduct business in the future?
00:08:05.834 --> 00:08:07.173
We are getting off track here.
00:08:07.689 --> 00:08:10.398
Let's get back to the topic at hand for this episode.
00:08:11.557 --> 00:08:13.363
Let's get to the watches themselves.
00:08:14.406 --> 00:08:19.826
And when you think about watches in space, you first think of this brand, of course, Sturmanskie.
00:08:50.815 --> 00:08:52.755
Yes, you heard that right.
00:08:53.227 --> 00:08:54.187
Sturmanskie.
00:08:55.128 --> 00:08:56.600
Expecting something else here?
00:08:57.777 --> 00:09:00.062
Let's talk about some watches the cosmonauts wore.
00:09:01.774 --> 00:09:07.089
Sturmanskie first began making watches in Moscow, Russia in 1949.
00:09:07.852 --> 00:09:10.674
Before making watches, they made parts for rockets.
00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:19.296
Sturmanskie watches were intended for use only for the military, and they were not sold to the public until the 1980s.
00:09:20.736 --> 00:09:32.216
This watch brand is of note because a Sturmanskie watch was on the wrist of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on April 12th, 1961, making it the first watch in space.
00:09:34.071 --> 00:09:38.099
This brand seems to be all about space just from looking at their website.
00:09:39.091 --> 00:09:44.461
Their watch collection includes names like Sputnik, Open Space, And the First in Space.
00:09:46.153 --> 00:09:53.203
The First in Space collection are the ones dedicated to the watch Gagarin and other cosmonauts wore, and they look interesting.
00:09:54.653 --> 00:10:00.254
The dials are simple and legible with bold numerals, which is exactly what you would need.
00:10:01.715 --> 00:10:13.149
According to the website, there is only one authorized dealer in the US, so unfortunately, I have never seen a Stromanski watch, nor have I seen one of these, a Strela watch.
00:10:14.409 --> 00:10:17.413
Strela in Russian means arrow, which is cool.
00:10:18.927 --> 00:10:25.451
They began manufacturing watches in 1959, incorporating a Swiss-based chronograph movement.
00:10:26.355 --> 00:10:34.196
Strelas were only produced and issued to pilots in the Soviet Air Force, high-ranking party officials, and of course, cosmonauts.
00:10:35.784 --> 00:10:37.293
Now, why is this one significant?
00:10:39.265 --> 00:10:42.394
Here are three letters for you, EVA.
00:10:43.288 --> 00:10:45.625
That stands for extravehicular activity.
00:10:46.427 --> 00:10:48.315
This is also called a spacewalk.
00:10:50.119 --> 00:11:04.072
If being launched into orbit isn't daring enough, how about climbing out of your spacecraft wearing a spacesuit made of multiple layers of synthetic fibers and looking down at the Earth as it spins below you as you float freely in the void of space.
00:11:05.392 --> 00:11:07.346
It's almost impossible to imagine this.
00:11:08.645 --> 00:11:09.889
What would you be thinking here?
00:11:11.207 --> 00:11:20.552
Now, on March 18th, 1965, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov did this for the first time, and a Strela was on his wrist.
00:11:21.552 --> 00:11:26.631
This was the first EVA or spacewalk ever on the second Voskhod mission.
00:11:27.921 --> 00:11:34.403
You can actually find videos of this on the internet of Leonov letting go of the Voskhod, and floating freely in Earth's orbit.
00:11:35.368 --> 00:11:41.136
This mission did not go as planned, though, and Leonov almost did not make it back inside of the Voskhod spacecraft.
00:11:42.274 --> 00:11:45.682
We will talk about Alexei Leonov in the future and this mission.
00:11:47.004 --> 00:11:52.102
But speaking of videos, Stralla's website has a really awesome one showing this mission.
00:11:53.089 --> 00:11:55.169
It's the first thing that comes up on their page.
00:11:56.557 --> 00:12:00.375
I navigated the website and found more Soviet space mission videos there.
00:12:00.986 --> 00:12:09.839
They also have some text with some historical facts about these space missions alongside them, And of course, I mentioned that a Strela was on the wrist of these cosmonauts.
00:12:10.946 --> 00:12:17.320
Now, I believe the one that most matches the one that Leonov wore on the website is the one called the Silver Star Line.
00:12:18.205 --> 00:12:20.028
It's a good-looking chronograph watch.
00:12:20.856 --> 00:12:24.289
It's been many years since I first looked up these Cosmonaut watches.
00:12:25.461 --> 00:12:28.203
This was fun to check them out again for this episode.
00:12:29.328 --> 00:12:40.196
But as I have said before, I've never come across a Sturmanskie or a Strela watch in person I would definitely like to try both on and see how they would look on my wrist one day.
00:12:41.552 --> 00:12:45.383
Has anyone listening ever came across either one of these Cosmonaut watches before?
00:12:46.937 --> 00:12:49.769
Now let's get to what was on the wrist of our astronauts.
00:13:19.332 --> 00:13:20.749
All right, it's time.
00:13:21.113 --> 00:13:22.953
Let's talk about the Omega Speedmaster.
00:13:35.636 --> 00:13:41.606
Yes, the Omega Speedmaster Professional, A favorite among most watch enthusiasts.
00:13:42.508 --> 00:13:50.227
The Omega Watch Company was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in eight- in 1848.
00:13:51.195 --> 00:13:53.625
Today, they are a brand under Swatch.
00:13:54.884 --> 00:13:58.154
Omega is a very significant and popular watch company.
00:13:59.304 --> 00:14:06.664
Most probably know Omega because of their Speedmaster 300 dive watch that James Bond has worn ever since the 1990s.
00:14:07.595 --> 00:14:17.692
But for me, Omegas are just cool Now, a reliable timekeeping tool was needed at the dawn of the space age, and that will always be the case.
00:14:19.373 --> 00:14:29.082
In the 1960s, NASA tested a select few watches to determine which one would be most capable and reliable for our astronauts to use during space flight.
00:14:30.033 --> 00:14:33.692
After the test, the Omega Speedmaster Professional was selected.
00:14:35.312 --> 00:14:37.383
Now, what were the other watches tested?
00:14:38.493 --> 00:14:43.783
Well, apparently Longines-Wittnauer, Hamilton, and Rolex were the other submissions.
00:14:45.003 --> 00:14:51.143
But a racing chronograph that debuted in 1957 from Omega won out on these tests.
00:14:52.865 --> 00:14:58.315
The Omega Speedmaster Professional was officially selected by NASA in 1965.
00:14:59.743 --> 00:15:03.413
Now this watch in question is a favorite among most watch enthusiasts.
00:15:04.857 --> 00:15:09.587
I believe there are some out there that have collections of just this watch from different versions.
00:15:10.947 --> 00:15:14.756
There are many, many different versions of this watch to choose from today.
00:15:15.557 --> 00:15:18.517
Even a solid gold version if you wanna be that guy.
00:15:19.657 --> 00:15:32.287
But the Omega Speedmaster Professional with a stainless steel 42 millimeter case, a black dial, and a Hesalite crystal with a mechanical movement is the one to get as far as aerospace is concerned.
00:15:33.541 --> 00:15:38.610
I recently saw Neil Armstrong's at the National Air and Space Museum in DC.
00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:43.000
When I took a picture of this, a kid asked me about this watch.
00:15:44.423 --> 00:15:47.423
He was really interested, and I wanted to tell him more about it.
00:15:48.416 --> 00:16:00.015
Like why the Omega Speedmaster Professional has a Hesalite crystal, and why a mechanical wind movement made sense in weightlessness, And why an automatic with this rotor would be useless in zero gravity.
00:16:01.335 --> 00:16:08.099
I could have talked to that kid for a while, but it got crowded and we needed to move on There is a lot to see there.
00:16:09.548 --> 00:16:13.969
For more on that, check out the episode National Air and Space Museum at 50.
00:16:15.589 --> 00:16:20.298
I hope one day that kid gets a Speedmaster himself and shares stories about Neil Armstrong.
00:16:21.658 --> 00:16:23.448
That's what makes watches awesome.
00:16:24.318 --> 00:16:30.469
It's not about the size, the specs, the movement, or the dial, it's the stories behind them.
00:16:32.143 --> 00:16:41.139
There are a number of online articles, YouTube videos, and books that cover the Omega Speedmaster, So there's not much more I could add to them here.
00:16:42.109 --> 00:16:47.198
I can say it is a watch that looks awesome both in pictures and on your wrist.
00:16:48.339 --> 00:16:51.139
I can say I've tried on two versions of the Speedmaster.
00:16:52.582 --> 00:17:10.843
One was an all-black version, and I think it was called the Dark Side of the Moon, and the other was the Omega Speedmaster Professional The one with a stainless steel case and bracelet that's forty-two millimeters, has a black dial, a Hesalite crystal, and a mechanical hand-wound movement.
00:17:12.583 --> 00:17:15.583
That's as close as you're gonna get to the ones the astronauts wore.
00:17:16.452 --> 00:17:21.823
Like the one on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin in the iconic picture of him inside the LEM on the Moon.
00:17:23.125 --> 00:17:25.135
That's one of the most iconic pictures ever.
00:17:26.635 --> 00:17:41.948
I generally say the Professional is the one to go for, but Omega came out with a new edition this year in twenty twenty-six Before being selected as NASA's official space watch for the astronauts, there was another Speedmaster that went into space.
00:17:43.147 --> 00:18:01.258
According to Omega's website, on October 3rd, 1962, the Speedmaster CK 2998 became the first Omega worn in space when astronaut Wally Schirra wore his personal Speedmaster on the Sigma 7 mission of the Mercury program.
00:18:02.683 --> 00:18:11.114
By the way, about Wally Schirra, I believe he's the only astronaut that flew in space flights from all Mercury, Gemini, and the Apollo missions.
00:18:12.044 --> 00:18:18.337
I don't know if that'll come up at the trivia at your local bar, but there you have it But let's get back to the watch.
00:18:19.641 --> 00:18:22.461
it's called the Speedmaster First Omega in Space.
00:18:24.063 --> 00:18:31.055
In the book, A Man and His Watch by Matt Hranek, there is a picture of this very watch on page 105.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.500
I do recommend this book for any watch enthusiasts or aerospace enthusiasts.
00:18:37.826 --> 00:18:42.644
There are also some large and detailed pictures of these awesome historical timepieces.
00:18:43.874 --> 00:18:49.094
Now, I have not seen this new one in person yet, but this one looks awesome in pictures.
00:18:49.773 --> 00:18:55.824
I don't own a Speedmaster myself, because if you go on Omega's website, you will see they are not cheap.
00:18:56.574 --> 00:19:01.967
But maybe one day For me, it will be a tough call between this one and The Professional.
00:19:32.784 --> 00:19:39.280
Now, most keen watch guys know there is another Moonwatch, A Bulova Lunar Pilot.
00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.344
I have mentioned Bulova before.
00:19:43.134 --> 00:19:45.659
They keep coming up on my watch episodes, don't they?
00:19:47.121 --> 00:19:52.486
Bulova was founded by Joseph Bulova in 1875 in New York City.
00:19:53.530 --> 00:19:56.740
Today they are owned by the Japanese watch company Citizen.
00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:05.821
This is kind of ironic because Bulova made watches for our military in World War II, like the A11 for our Army Air Force pilots.
00:20:07.270 --> 00:20:09.630
But this is an iconic American watch brand.
00:20:10.463 --> 00:20:18.859
Bulova pioneered advertising watches by placing ads on radio and TV long before other companies advertised over the airwaves.
00:20:20.320 --> 00:20:27.998
The company has a fascinating history, but let's get to 1971 with astronaut Dave Scott on Apollo 15.
00:20:29.126 --> 00:20:31.653
How many times have I mentioned his name this year?
00:20:33.203 --> 00:20:41.318
Now during this mission, after a moonwalk, the Hesalite crystal on Scott's NASA supplied Omega Speedmaster somehow popped off.
00:20:42.253 --> 00:20:46.180
Scott wore his personal Bulova instead on the next excursion.
00:20:47.272 --> 00:20:50.859
He even wore it as he drove the lunar rover around on the lunar surface.
00:20:52.387 --> 00:20:55.045
The Apollo 15 mission was the first one to do this.
00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:57.238
How cool was that?
00:20:58.342 --> 00:21:10.494
Now, unlike NASA's issued Omega Speedmasters, which were government property, Scott's lunar pilot was his personal watch, and he later put it up for auction in 2015.
00:21:12.060 --> 00:21:13.534
Can you guess what it sold for?
00:21:15.692 --> 00:21:16.173
No.
00:21:17.102 --> 00:21:27.211
It sold for$1.625 million in cash to a private collector That's$2.3 million in today's money.
00:21:27.928 --> 00:21:28.953
Inflation, man.
00:21:30.316 --> 00:21:32.964
But if you can't afford that one, and who could?
00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:38.271
There are a few versions of the Lunar Pilot on Bulova's website that you can afford.
00:21:39.275 --> 00:21:45.930
There is one with a black dial, a blue and white dial, even a red dial, which I believe they call the Blood Moon.
00:21:47.323 --> 00:21:58.498
I wonder if Bulova will ever come out with an edition called the Bulova Lunar Driver, because it was the first watch to be worn by an astronaut as he drove the Lunar Rover around on the moon.
00:21:59.932 --> 00:22:05.048
If they do that, I said it here first, and I will be expecting a check from Bulova in the mail.
00:22:06.461 --> 00:22:09.227
By the way, these examples all have quartz movements.
00:22:10.913 --> 00:22:16.075
Now the one most like Scott's would be the one with the stainless steel case and a black dial.
00:22:16.711 --> 00:22:21.962
But the one I would personally go for is the Bulova Lunar Pilot Black Hole Edition.
00:22:22.875 --> 00:22:29.527
This one is limited to 6,000 units The dial, case, and bracelet are all black.
00:22:30.412 --> 00:22:34.827
It also has a 41-millimeter case size, which is smaller than the other versions.
00:22:36.327 --> 00:22:37.871
I have tried on one of these.
00:22:38.590 --> 00:22:41.233
The coating on the case and bracelet feel interesting.
00:22:41.986 --> 00:22:44.255
I like it, and it's on my list.
00:22:45.267 --> 00:22:53.511
Check one of these out if you can Speaking of Bulova, let's get back to May 16th, 1963.
00:23:21.583 --> 00:23:29.307
Astronaut Gordon Cooper is aboard Faith 7 in orbit when his computer system and navigation system indeed malfunctioned.
00:23:30.990 --> 00:23:40.424
Cooper did not have a smartphone or AI to figure out when and where to manually fire his retrorockets and bring his Mercury spacecraft home safely in the ocean.
00:23:42.017 --> 00:23:48.589
He used his brain and a Bulova Accutron Astronaut watch to help make those crucial calculations.
00:23:49.904 --> 00:23:58.336
If Cooper's math was off just slightly, he could have come down over land Or far off in the ocean away from the US Navy recovery units.
00:24:00.146 --> 00:24:06.023
Cooper's personal calculations had to be precise, and he relied on his watch to make this happen.
00:24:07.193 --> 00:24:13.825
Now this incredible story is one I want to research more and make a standalone episode about, so stand by for that.
00:24:44.490 --> 00:24:47.233
Now just a few final thoughts here on space watches.
00:24:48.368 --> 00:24:57.410
I mentioned earlier that Dave Scott's Lunar Pilot is the only privately owned Moonwatch because the NASA supplied Omega Speedmasters were government property.
00:24:58.768 --> 00:25:08.373
I have a theory though that some high-ranking NASA officials or even politicians got their hands on some of those Omegas and they are hidden away in their collections.
00:25:10.026 --> 00:25:16.730
Also, there is one watch I'm surprised did not get tested or considered by NASA, the Breitling Navitimer.
00:25:17.904 --> 00:25:19.729
I'm not a Breitling guy or anything.
00:25:20.618 --> 00:25:23.396
I just thought that this one would have been considered at the time.
00:25:24.755 --> 00:25:35.710
Also, Omega did make a more advanced edition of the Speedmaster around 1970, I believe, that was based less on its racing chronograph and more adapted for the need of an astronaut.
00:25:36.334 --> 00:25:39.773
But NASA did not test this one because of government budget cuts.
00:25:40.699 --> 00:25:46.241
It is called the Omega Speedmaster Mark II, And it looks very retro futuristic.
00:25:47.287 --> 00:25:52.051
After this episode, go check that one out, along with the other space watches we talked about here.
00:25:53.355 --> 00:25:55.978
There have been other watches that have been in space though.
00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:02.731
There has been a Seiko, a personal Breitling Navitimer, and I'm sure there have been many G-SHOCKs up there.
00:26:03.935 --> 00:26:10.452
Also, I should mention I am not sponsored by or was I contacted by any of these watch companies for this episode.
00:26:11.921 --> 00:26:23.606
By the way, men, you may think you are a man of culture wearing one of these watches, But if you are on a date, don't try and impress her and talk about how your watch is the same kind of watch the astronauts wore.
00:26:24.727 --> 00:26:26.186
She won't be impressed, right?
00:26:26.946 --> 00:26:28.287
No we really don't care.
00:26:29.166 --> 00:26:46.326
But for us aerospace enthusiasts, don't you find it fascinating that at the dawn of the Space Age, mankind relied on small timepieces with mechanical movements that were based on the same type of mechanical movements that have been used in pocket watches since the 1800s?
00:26:47.384 --> 00:26:49.402
This is an awesome piece of history here.
00:26:51.061 --> 00:26:52.568
Thank you so much for listening.
00:26:52.861 --> 00:26:54.961
There's always a light at the end of the runway.
00:26:56.654 --> 00:27:00.795
Follow the mansplaining podcast for more stories from the Best Aerospace Era.
00:27:01.414 --> 00:27:05.045
Or go to Best Aerospace Era.com or find us on social media.
00:00:00.526 --> 00:00:03.855
For the Best Aerospace Era this is the mansplaining podcast.
00:00:03.926 --> 00:00:05.905
Here is your host Anthony L.
00:00:05.905 --> 00:00:06.376
Sealey
00:00:11.224 --> 00:00:12.913
Welcome aerospace enthusiasts.
00:00:13.784 --> 00:00:17.085
Imagine it's May 16th, 1963.
00:00:17.876 --> 00:00:27.719
You are astronaut Gordon Cooper aboard Faith 7 in orbit when suddenly your Mercury spacecraft's electrical system and navigation system malfunction.
00:00:35.406 --> 00:00:36.167
What now?
00:00:37.662 --> 00:00:42.872
Cooper had to perform reentry maneuvers manually with the computer and navigation down.
00:00:44.304 --> 00:00:48.990
For this, he needed to make some accurate calculations, and time was of the essence.
00:00:50.307 --> 00:00:54.158
He fumbled around inside his spacesuit's pockets to pull out his pocket watch.
00:00:55.959 --> 00:00:57.851
No, that's not how it happened.
00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:32.789
We will talk about Gordon Cooper and the Mercury Atlas 9 mission later on.
00:01:34.227 --> 00:01:38.368
Now in addition to being an aerospace enthusiast, I am also a watch enthusiast.
00:01:39.894 --> 00:01:47.621
There's just something about looking down at a small device on your wrist that displays the time ran by a mechanical or quartz movement.
00:01:49.028 --> 00:01:55.734
I often stay up late at night looking at pictures and watch YouTube review videos of different watch brands and watches.
00:01:56.813 --> 00:01:58.784
Tell me I'm not the only one that does this.
00:01:59.751 --> 00:02:07.694
I love the history, and particularly the aerospace history, of these timepieces, and that's what I want to talk about here on this episode of Mansplaneing.
00:02:08.776 --> 00:02:12.658
It's time to talk about space watches, just as I have promised before.
00:02:14.093 --> 00:02:19.536
I mention this for those that remember the Mansplaneing podcast episode on time from Series 2.
00:02:20.903 --> 00:02:28.673
It is one of our early Mansplaneing podcast episodes, But if you are a watch enthusiast like myself, then you should check that episode out as well.
00:02:30.361 --> 00:02:43.568
In that episode, I covered why time is so important to aviation, in particularly for the airlines and military operations, and why wristwatches made sense for aviators in the first few years of the best aerospace era.
00:02:44.525 --> 00:02:55.448
Aviators of the earliest flying contraptions like the Wright Model A Flyer, the Blériot, or the 14 Bis needed to keep their hands on the controls of their aircraft at all times.
00:02:56.674 --> 00:03:11.057
Reaching into one's pocket and then opening up the case to tell the time in the same way a train conductor or a businessman would have was impractical and dangerous Like those idiots on the road that are looking at their phone as they drive.
00:03:11.843 --> 00:03:12.901
Don't be that person.
00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:21.617
Just taking off and landing was dangerous enough in those wood, wire, and fabric flying machines in the first decades of the best aerospace era.
00:03:23.122 --> 00:03:33.469
We profiled some of the first pilot watches from Zenith, Cartier, Oris, among other brands, And modern day recreations that pay homage to those timepieces.
00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:38.286
At the end of the episode, I did promise to cover space watches one day.
00:03:39.537 --> 00:03:44.389
Well, that's what we're gonna do here on this episode with watches that were used in space.
00:03:45.866 --> 00:03:53.573
Just as having a timepiece on your wrist was the logical way to go for pilots, the same goes for astronauts and cosmonauts in orbit above the Earth.
00:03:54.652 --> 00:03:58.860
Imagine you're in a cramped Mercury or Vostok spacecraft by yourself.
00:03:59.972 --> 00:04:06.711
Suddenly your computer system goes down and you need to know what time it is to make calculations to perform a safe reentry maneuver.
00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:21.668
If not done at the correct time in orbit, your spacecraft could come down in the wrong area, Like in the mountains or a swamp, or you could land in a hostile nation or territory, or you could come down on someone's house.
00:04:22.892 --> 00:04:25.555
Imagine calling your homeowner insurance for that claim.
00:04:26.937 --> 00:04:30.567
Now visualize you're in a bulky, uncomfortable spacesuit fumbling around.
00:04:31.341 --> 00:04:36.639
You finally retrieve your pocket watch, but it slips out of your hand and it floats away from you.
00:04:37.733 --> 00:04:38.930
That's not going to work, is it?
00:04:40.685 --> 00:04:52.153
This is why astronauts and cosmonauts wore wristwatches to tell the time in space They were a vital tool to have in the event of a mechanical or electrical failure on your spacecraft.
00:04:53.271 --> 00:05:01.555
By the way, before we go any further, we are not gonna talk about the space-time continuum, the speed of light, or the theory of relativity in this episode here.
00:05:02.372 --> 00:05:03.937
I'm not the best person for that.
00:05:04.704 --> 00:05:08.463
I studied history at Reinhardt University, not astrophysics.
00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:14.016
You would be better off watching Back to the Future, Interstellar, or Frequency for that.
00:05:15.317 --> 00:05:16.906
Those are some awesome movies, by the way.
00:05:18.182 --> 00:05:27.663
I can say that during the Apollo program, the missions needed to be launched from Cape Canaveral at the right time in order to catch the moon as it swung by on its orbit.
00:05:29.096 --> 00:05:36.519
If the launch and the trans-lunar injection burns were not performed at the right time, they would miss the moon entirely and fall behind.
00:05:37.665 --> 00:05:44.697
The same goes for space launches in low Earth orbit intended for ISS or the Chinese Tiangong space stations.
00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:53.654
Timing the launches so that your spacecraft meets or rendezvous with the space station as it swings by on its orbit is paramount.
00:05:54.810 --> 00:06:00.997
Now, before we get into any specific examples of the watches themselves, does anyone know what Time Zone Space is?
00:06:02.677 --> 00:06:05.293
What time zone should you set your watch before launch?
00:06:06.427 --> 00:06:11.346
Now it makes sense to have your watch set to the same time zone as Mission Control in Houston, Texas, right?
00:06:13.014 --> 00:06:18.228
That is also where your wife and kids are, so it might be nice to mentally keep tabs on what was going on back home.
00:06:19.497 --> 00:06:21.391
But will that work for space missions?
00:06:22.535 --> 00:06:33.173
For the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, ground elapsed time, or GET, is what they went by to make sure our astronauts and mission control were on the same page.
00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:51.990
Like for example, on an Apollo mission, a burn would be scheduled for let's say 23 hours into the mission rather than saying 2:00 AM This clock starts just as a rocket leaves the launchpad, and that works for each individual space mission and operation.
00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:58.536
What gets complicated is when dealing with multiple space agencies and operations in orbit.
00:07:00.112 --> 00:07:04.348
Today, space agencies use coordinated universal time or UTC.
00:07:05.841 --> 00:07:10.088
This is based on the atomic timekeeping that takes place in Greenwich, England.
00:07:11.771 --> 00:07:14.379
This is why you may have heard the term Greenwich Mean Time.
00:07:15.745 --> 00:07:20.826
You may have also heard the term Zulu time, which is kind of the same thing said a different way.
00:07:22.398 --> 00:07:27.576
This helps solve some confusion between various space agencies that work together on ISS.
00:07:28.778 --> 00:07:37.396
Like for example, when you have a space agency in Japan working with a space agency in Canada But the question is, will this work in the future?
00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.473
What happens in, let's say, 200 years from now?
00:07:41.802 --> 00:07:46.134
We have more space stations, a moon base, and possibly a base on Mars.
00:07:48.146 --> 00:07:49.666
Sci-fi author Arthur C.
00:07:49.668 --> 00:07:54.632
Clarke wrote about the need for a universal time zone in the future for all humanity.
00:07:55.853 --> 00:08:04.776
I've read a few of his books, and I really like that author Do you think mankind will need to implement a universal time zone to conduct business in the future?
00:08:05.834 --> 00:08:07.173
We are getting off track here.
00:08:07.689 --> 00:08:10.398
Let's get back to the topic at hand for this episode.
00:08:11.557 --> 00:08:13.363
Let's get to the watches themselves.
00:08:14.406 --> 00:08:19.826
And when you think about watches in space, you first think of this brand, of course, Sturmanskie.
00:08:50.815 --> 00:08:52.755
Yes, you heard that right.
00:08:53.227 --> 00:08:54.187
Sturmanskie.
00:08:55.128 --> 00:08:56.600
Expecting something else here?
00:08:57.777 --> 00:09:00.062
Let's talk about some watches the cosmonauts wore.
00:09:01.774 --> 00:09:07.089
Sturmanskie first began making watches in Moscow, Russia in 1949.
00:09:07.852 --> 00:09:10.674
Before making watches, they made parts for rockets.
00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:19.296
Sturmanskie watches were intended for use only for the military, and they were not sold to the public until the 1980s.
00:09:20.736 --> 00:09:32.216
This watch brand is of note because a Sturmanskie watch was on the wrist of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on April 12th, 1961, making it the first watch in space.
00:09:34.071 --> 00:09:38.099
This brand seems to be all about space just from looking at their website.
00:09:39.091 --> 00:09:44.461
Their watch collection includes names like Sputnik, Open Space, And the First in Space.
00:09:46.153 --> 00:09:53.203
The First in Space collection are the ones dedicated to the watch Gagarin and other cosmonauts wore, and they look interesting.
00:09:54.653 --> 00:10:00.254
The dials are simple and legible with bold numerals, which is exactly what you would need.
00:10:01.715 --> 00:10:13.149
According to the website, there is only one authorized dealer in the US, so unfortunately, I have never seen a Stromanski watch, nor have I seen one of these, a Strela watch.
00:10:14.409 --> 00:10:17.413
Strela in Russian means arrow, which is cool.
00:10:18.927 --> 00:10:25.451
They began manufacturing watches in 1959, incorporating a Swiss-based chronograph movement.
00:10:26.355 --> 00:10:34.196
Strelas were only produced and issued to pilots in the Soviet Air Force, high-ranking party officials, and of course, cosmonauts.
00:10:35.784 --> 00:10:37.293
Now, why is this one significant?
00:10:39.265 --> 00:10:42.394
Here are three letters for you, EVA.
00:10:43.288 --> 00:10:45.625
That stands for extravehicular activity.
00:10:46.427 --> 00:10:48.315
This is also called a spacewalk.
00:10:50.119 --> 00:11:04.072
If being launched into orbit isn't daring enough, how about climbing out of your spacecraft wearing a spacesuit made of multiple layers of synthetic fibers and looking down at the Earth as it spins below you as you float freely in the void of space.
00:11:05.392 --> 00:11:07.346
It's almost impossible to imagine this.
00:11:08.645 --> 00:11:09.889
What would you be thinking here?
00:11:11.207 --> 00:11:20.552
Now, on March 18th, 1965, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov did this for the first time, and a Strela was on his wrist.
00:11:21.552 --> 00:11:26.631
This was the first EVA or spacewalk ever on the second Voskhod mission.
00:11:27.921 --> 00:11:34.403
You can actually find videos of this on the internet of Leonov letting go of the Voskhod, and floating freely in Earth's orbit.
00:11:35.368 --> 00:11:41.136
This mission did not go as planned, though, and Leonov almost did not make it back inside of the Voskhod spacecraft.
00:11:42.274 --> 00:11:45.682
We will talk about Alexei Leonov in the future and this mission.
00:11:47.004 --> 00:11:52.102
But speaking of videos, Stralla's website has a really awesome one showing this mission.
00:11:53.089 --> 00:11:55.169
It's the first thing that comes up on their page.
00:11:56.557 --> 00:12:00.375
I navigated the website and found more Soviet space mission videos there.
00:12:00.986 --> 00:12:09.839
They also have some text with some historical facts about these space missions alongside them, And of course, I mentioned that a Strela was on the wrist of these cosmonauts.
00:12:10.946 --> 00:12:17.320
Now, I believe the one that most matches the one that Leonov wore on the website is the one called the Silver Star Line.
00:12:18.205 --> 00:12:20.028
It's a good-looking chronograph watch.
00:12:20.856 --> 00:12:24.289
It's been many years since I first looked up these Cosmonaut watches.
00:12:25.461 --> 00:12:28.203
This was fun to check them out again for this episode.
00:12:29.328 --> 00:12:40.196
But as I have said before, I've never come across a Sturmanskie or a Strela watch in person I would definitely like to try both on and see how they would look on my wrist one day.
00:12:41.552 --> 00:12:45.383
Has anyone listening ever came across either one of these Cosmonaut watches before?
00:12:46.937 --> 00:12:49.769
Now let's get to what was on the wrist of our astronauts.
00:13:19.332 --> 00:13:20.749
All right, it's time.
00:13:21.113 --> 00:13:22.953
Let's talk about the Omega Speedmaster.
00:13:35.636 --> 00:13:41.606
Yes, the Omega Speedmaster Professional, A favorite among most watch enthusiasts.
00:13:42.508 --> 00:13:50.227
The Omega Watch Company was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in eight- in 1848.
00:13:51.195 --> 00:13:53.625
Today, they are a brand under Swatch.
00:13:54.884 --> 00:13:58.154
Omega is a very significant and popular watch company.
00:13:59.304 --> 00:14:06.664
Most probably know Omega because of their Speedmaster 300 dive watch that James Bond has worn ever since the 1990s.
00:14:07.595 --> 00:14:17.692
But for me, Omegas are just cool Now, a reliable timekeeping tool was needed at the dawn of the space age, and that will always be the case.
00:14:19.373 --> 00:14:29.082
In the 1960s, NASA tested a select few watches to determine which one would be most capable and reliable for our astronauts to use during space flight.
00:14:30.033 --> 00:14:33.692
After the test, the Omega Speedmaster Professional was selected.
00:14:35.312 --> 00:14:37.383
Now, what were the other watches tested?
00:14:38.493 --> 00:14:43.783
Well, apparently Longines-Wittnauer, Hamilton, and Rolex were the other submissions.
00:14:45.003 --> 00:14:51.143
But a racing chronograph that debuted in 1957 from Omega won out on these tests.
00:14:52.865 --> 00:14:58.315
The Omega Speedmaster Professional was officially selected by NASA in 1965.
00:14:59.743 --> 00:15:03.413
Now this watch in question is a favorite among most watch enthusiasts.
00:15:04.857 --> 00:15:09.587
I believe there are some out there that have collections of just this watch from different versions.
00:15:10.947 --> 00:15:14.756
There are many, many different versions of this watch to choose from today.
00:15:15.557 --> 00:15:18.517
Even a solid gold version if you wanna be that guy.
00:15:19.657 --> 00:15:32.287
But the Omega Speedmaster Professional with a stainless steel 42 millimeter case, a black dial, and a Hesalite crystal with a mechanical movement is the one to get as far as aerospace is concerned.
00:15:33.541 --> 00:15:38.610
I recently saw Neil Armstrong's at the National Air and Space Museum in DC.
00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:43.000
When I took a picture of this, a kid asked me about this watch.
00:15:44.423 --> 00:15:47.423
He was really interested, and I wanted to tell him more about it.
00:15:48.416 --> 00:16:00.015
Like why the Omega Speedmaster Professional has a Hesalite crystal, and why a mechanical wind movement made sense in weightlessness, And why an automatic with this rotor would be useless in zero gravity.
00:16:01.335 --> 00:16:08.099
I could have talked to that kid for a while, but it got crowded and we needed to move on There is a lot to see there.
00:16:09.548 --> 00:16:13.969
For more on that, check out the episode National Air and Space Museum at 50.
00:16:15.589 --> 00:16:20.298
I hope one day that kid gets a Speedmaster himself and shares stories about Neil Armstrong.
00:16:21.658 --> 00:16:23.448
That's what makes watches awesome.
00:16:24.318 --> 00:16:30.469
It's not about the size, the specs, the movement, or the dial, it's the stories behind them.
00:16:32.143 --> 00:16:41.139
There are a number of online articles, YouTube videos, and books that cover the Omega Speedmaster, So there's not much more I could add to them here.
00:16:42.109 --> 00:16:47.198
I can say it is a watch that looks awesome both in pictures and on your wrist.
00:16:48.339 --> 00:16:51.139
I can say I've tried on two versions of the Speedmaster.
00:16:52.582 --> 00:17:10.843
One was an all-black version, and I think it was called the Dark Side of the Moon, and the other was the Omega Speedmaster Professional The one with a stainless steel case and bracelet that's forty-two millimeters, has a black dial, a Hesalite crystal, and a mechanical hand-wound movement.
00:17:12.583 --> 00:17:15.583
That's as close as you're gonna get to the ones the astronauts wore.
00:17:16.452 --> 00:17:21.823
Like the one on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin in the iconic picture of him inside the LEM on the Moon.
00:17:23.125 --> 00:17:25.135
That's one of the most iconic pictures ever.
00:17:26.635 --> 00:17:41.948
I generally say the Professional is the one to go for, but Omega came out with a new edition this year in twenty twenty-six Before being selected as NASA's official space watch for the astronauts, there was another Speedmaster that went into space.
00:17:43.147 --> 00:18:01.258
According to Omega's website, on October 3rd, 1962, the Speedmaster CK 2998 became the first Omega worn in space when astronaut Wally Schirra wore his personal Speedmaster on the Sigma 7 mission of the Mercury program.
00:18:02.683 --> 00:18:11.114
By the way, about Wally Schirra, I believe he's the only astronaut that flew in space flights from all Mercury, Gemini, and the Apollo missions.
00:18:12.044 --> 00:18:18.337
I don't know if that'll come up at the trivia at your local bar, but there you have it But let's get back to the watch.
00:18:19.641 --> 00:18:22.461
it's called the Speedmaster First Omega in Space.
00:18:24.063 --> 00:18:31.055
In the book, A Man and His Watch by Matt Hranek, there is a picture of this very watch on page 105.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.500
I do recommend this book for any watch enthusiasts or aerospace enthusiasts.
00:18:37.826 --> 00:18:42.644
There are also some large and detailed pictures of these awesome historical timepieces.
00:18:43.874 --> 00:18:49.094
Now, I have not seen this new one in person yet, but this one looks awesome in pictures.
00:18:49.773 --> 00:18:55.824
I don't own a Speedmaster myself, because if you go on Omega's website, you will see they are not cheap.
00:18:56.574 --> 00:19:01.967
But maybe one day For me, it will be a tough call between this one and The Professional.
00:19:32.784 --> 00:19:39.280
Now, most keen watch guys know there is another Moonwatch, A Bulova Lunar Pilot.
00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.344
I have mentioned Bulova before.
00:19:43.134 --> 00:19:45.659
They keep coming up on my watch episodes, don't they?
00:19:47.121 --> 00:19:52.486
Bulova was founded by Joseph Bulova in 1875 in New York City.
00:19:53.530 --> 00:19:56.740
Today they are owned by the Japanese watch company Citizen.
00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:05.821
This is kind of ironic because Bulova made watches for our military in World War II, like the A11 for our Army Air Force pilots.
00:20:07.270 --> 00:20:09.630
But this is an iconic American watch brand.
00:20:10.463 --> 00:20:18.859
Bulova pioneered advertising watches by placing ads on radio and TV long before other companies advertised over the airwaves.
00:20:20.320 --> 00:20:27.998
The company has a fascinating history, but let's get to 1971 with astronaut Dave Scott on Apollo 15.
00:20:29.126 --> 00:20:31.653
How many times have I mentioned his name this year?
00:20:33.203 --> 00:20:41.318
Now during this mission, after a moonwalk, the Hesalite crystal on Scott's NASA supplied Omega Speedmaster somehow popped off.
00:20:42.253 --> 00:20:46.180
Scott wore his personal Bulova instead on the next excursion.
00:20:47.272 --> 00:20:50.859
He even wore it as he drove the lunar rover around on the lunar surface.
00:20:52.387 --> 00:20:55.045
The Apollo 15 mission was the first one to do this.
00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:57.238
How cool was that?
00:20:58.342 --> 00:21:10.494
Now, unlike NASA's issued Omega Speedmasters, which were government property, Scott's lunar pilot was his personal watch, and he later put it up for auction in 2015.
00:21:12.060 --> 00:21:13.534
Can you guess what it sold for?
00:21:15.692 --> 00:21:16.173
No.
00:21:17.102 --> 00:21:27.211
It sold for$1.625 million in cash to a private collector That's$2.3 million in today's money.
00:21:27.928 --> 00:21:28.953
Inflation, man.
00:21:30.316 --> 00:21:32.964
But if you can't afford that one, and who could?
00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:38.271
There are a few versions of the Lunar Pilot on Bulova's website that you can afford.
00:21:39.275 --> 00:21:45.930
There is one with a black dial, a blue and white dial, even a red dial, which I believe they call the Blood Moon.
00:21:47.323 --> 00:21:58.498
I wonder if Bulova will ever come out with an edition called the Bulova Lunar Driver, because it was the first watch to be worn by an astronaut as he drove the Lunar Rover around on the moon.
00:21:59.932 --> 00:22:05.048
If they do that, I said it here first, and I will be expecting a check from Bulova in the mail.
00:22:06.461 --> 00:22:09.227
By the way, these examples all have quartz movements.
00:22:10.913 --> 00:22:16.075
Now the one most like Scott's would be the one with the stainless steel case and a black dial.
00:22:16.711 --> 00:22:21.962
But the one I would personally go for is the Bulova Lunar Pilot Black Hole Edition.
00:22:22.875 --> 00:22:29.527
This one is limited to 6,000 units The dial, case, and bracelet are all black.
00:22:30.412 --> 00:22:34.827
It also has a 41-millimeter case size, which is smaller than the other versions.
00:22:36.327 --> 00:22:37.871
I have tried on one of these.
00:22:38.590 --> 00:22:41.233
The coating on the case and bracelet feel interesting.
00:22:41.986 --> 00:22:44.255
I like it, and it's on my list.
00:22:45.267 --> 00:22:53.511
Check one of these out if you can Speaking of Bulova, let's get back to May 16th, 1963.
00:23:21.583 --> 00:23:29.307
Astronaut Gordon Cooper is aboard Faith 7 in orbit when his computer system and navigation system indeed malfunctioned.
00:23:30.990 --> 00:23:40.424
Cooper did not have a smartphone or AI to figure out when and where to manually fire his retrorockets and bring his Mercury spacecraft home safely in the ocean.
00:23:42.017 --> 00:23:48.589
He used his brain and a Bulova Accutron Astronaut watch to help make those crucial calculations.
00:23:49.904 --> 00:23:58.336
If Cooper's math was off just slightly, he could have come down over land Or far off in the ocean away from the US Navy recovery units.
00:24:00.146 --> 00:24:06.023
Cooper's personal calculations had to be precise, and he relied on his watch to make this happen.
00:24:07.193 --> 00:24:13.825
Now this incredible story is one I want to research more and make a standalone episode about, so stand by for that.
00:24:44.490 --> 00:24:47.233
Now just a few final thoughts here on space watches.
00:24:48.368 --> 00:24:57.410
I mentioned earlier that Dave Scott's Lunar Pilot is the only privately owned Moonwatch because the NASA supplied Omega Speedmasters were government property.
00:24:58.768 --> 00:25:08.373
I have a theory though that some high-ranking NASA officials or even politicians got their hands on some of those Omegas and they are hidden away in their collections.
00:25:10.026 --> 00:25:16.730
Also, there is one watch I'm surprised did not get tested or considered by NASA, the Breitling Navitimer.
00:25:17.904 --> 00:25:19.729
I'm not a Breitling guy or anything.
00:25:20.618 --> 00:25:23.396
I just thought that this one would have been considered at the time.
00:25:24.755 --> 00:25:35.710
Also, Omega did make a more advanced edition of the Speedmaster around 1970, I believe, that was based less on its racing chronograph and more adapted for the need of an astronaut.
00:25:36.334 --> 00:25:39.773
But NASA did not test this one because of government budget cuts.
00:25:40.699 --> 00:25:46.241
It is called the Omega Speedmaster Mark II, And it looks very retro futuristic.
00:25:47.287 --> 00:25:52.051
After this episode, go check that one out, along with the other space watches we talked about here.
00:25:53.355 --> 00:25:55.978
There have been other watches that have been in space though.
00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:02.731
There has been a Seiko, a personal Breitling Navitimer, and I'm sure there have been many G-SHOCKs up there.
00:26:03.935 --> 00:26:10.452
Also, I should mention I am not sponsored by or was I contacted by any of these watch companies for this episode.
00:26:11.921 --> 00:26:23.606
By the way, men, you may think you are a man of culture wearing one of these watches, But if you are on a date, don't try and impress her and talk about how your watch is the same kind of watch the astronauts wore.
00:26:24.727 --> 00:26:26.186
She won't be impressed, right?
00:26:26.946 --> 00:26:28.287
No we really don't care.
00:26:29.166 --> 00:26:46.326
But for us aerospace enthusiasts, don't you find it fascinating that at the dawn of the Space Age, mankind relied on small timepieces with mechanical movements that were based on the same type of mechanical movements that have been used in pocket watches since the 1800s?
00:26:47.384 --> 00:26:49.402
This is an awesome piece of history here.
00:26:51.061 --> 00:26:52.568
Thank you so much for listening.
00:26:52.861 --> 00:26:54.961
There's always a light at the end of the runway.
00:26:56.654 --> 00:27:00.795
Follow the mansplaining podcast for more stories from the Best Aerospace Era.
00:27:01.414 --> 00:27:05.045
Or go to Best Aerospace Era.com or find us on social media.
