The Omega Watch Takes Flight

The Omega Watch Takes Flight
There are countless achievements Omega watches have
experienced over its existence, but their association with
NASA is perhaps the most significant. To have the honor of
astronauts sporting your watch in space is something that
Omega has taken pride in. This is the kind of exposure
that can and did assist Omega in gaining success.

It all started in 1957 when NASA supplied each of the
Apollo astronauts with a standard Omega Speedmaster
Professional manual-wind wristwatch. Despite having almost
all equipment manufactured for use specifically for NASA or
in space, the Omega watch given to the astronauts was not.
Because of this, NASA had to go through a number of tests
to make sure the watches were sufficient enough.

Beginning in 1962, NASA began purchasing examples of a
number of commercially available watches. In doing so,
they could better test the various watches on the market to
see what watch would have the best results. After testing
a number of different watches, it was decided that Omega
watches had the best success.

The timepieces that were given to the astronauts were
intended on being worn for intra and extra vehicular
activities, including the moonwalks on the various
missions. Inside the pressurized environment the watch was
simply worn conventionally. However, during the extra
vehicular activities the astronauts wore the watches on the
outside of their pressure suits. In order to adjust to the
change, a long Velcro strap was designed to accommodate the
extra width needed.

The first American to walk in space, Edward H. White, wore
his speedmaster during his Gemini 4 spacewalk. Other
astronauts that have sported an Omega watch while in space
include Bill Anders and Jim Lovell from Apollo 8, Neil
Armstrong and Mike Collins from Apollo 11 and Fred Haise
from Apollo 13. There have been many more astronauts to
wear Omega watches, but these are just a few.

A number of the watches worn by NASA astronauts are
displayed in various places around the world. For
instance, the watches worn by Neil Armstrong and Mike
Collins are currently at the National Air and Space Museum
in Washington D.C. Other places that various watches are
located at include the Museum of Science and Industry in
Chicago, The Omega Museum in Switzerland and the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis.

Although the locations of al the Omega watches worn by NASA
astronauts is not exactly clear, the ones that are
displayed play a big part of history for Omega and NASA.
Many present astronauts still wear the Omega speedmaster on
shuttle missions.

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