![]() Other watches that Kelly has been seen wearing, either on earth or in space, include two different Breitling watches. To read more about Omega, see our brand overview here. Two of those watches were- surprise surprise, Speedmasters: the classic Professionaland the Skywalker X-33.īoth mechanical watches are extremely durable and include scratch-resistant sapphire crystal faces. Like any true wristwatch lover, Kelly likes to change up the watches he wears from day to day, and so, for his nearly year-long trip to space, he packed at least four different watches. He’s done a number of interviews from space, as well. Kelly has set the American record for the longest unbroken period spent in space – 342 days – a feat that has landed him on talk shows and other media appearances. Today’s astronauts are rarely household names the way Armstrong and Aldrin were, but if there was one who could be considered a celebrity, it’s probably Scott Kelly. Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 (Image: Amazon) Of course, it probably helps that wearing the watch is a pretty cool reminder of the legacy they are a part of furthering.Īs suggested above, while the Speedmaster is NASA’s go-to watch, astronauts are just like everyone else: sometimes they have other personal preferences. This is, at least in part, because it remains the only watch officially certified by NASA to be able to handle spacewalks. To this day, most American astronauts still rely on the Omega Speedmaster (like, for instance, Chris Hadfield, the Major Tom guy in the video below ). The Omega Speedmaster came out on top.īefore Aldrin wore his Omega on the moon, fellow American astronaut, Ed White, wore a Speedmaster on the first American spacewalk.Īll NASA astronauts in the 1960s were issued Speedmaster watches, so one way or the other, it seems like Omega was destined to be the first watch on the moon. They purchased a number of different brands to test how they handled zero gravity and pressurized rooms. In 1962, NASA was looking for watches strong enough to travel with their astronauts into space. It wasn’t mere chance that put Omega on the moon. Why did Buzz Aldrin wear an Omega Speedmaster? The watch, including the lunar dust that was still on it, sold for $1.6 million at auction in 2015.īulova has since re-released the Lunar Pilot Chronograph Watch which made our list of Best Chronograph Watches Under $500. Certainly, that “small step” was momentous for all kinds of history-making reasons, but it also cemented Omega as one of the most significant watch brands in the world.ĭuring the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, when Colonel Dave Scott’s Nasa-issued Omega watch stopped working he strapped his own Bulova Lunar EVA (Wrist) Chronograph. He was wearing another Soviet brand, Strela, which makes them officially the first watchmaker to explore open space.įour years later, on one of the most important dates in human history – J– Buzz Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong out of the Apollo 11 and onto the surface of the moon. In 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first person to wear a watch on a spacewalk (or EVA – Extravehicular activity – as it’s officially known). However, Glenn’s timepiece was technically a stopwatch, not a wristwatch.Īnother Swiss brand, Breitling, would be the first to send a wristwatch into orbit a few months later. When an accomplished astronaut, John Glenn, became the first American to orbit the planet, he was wearing a timepiece made by the renowned Swiss watchmaker, TAG Heuer. The Soviet and American space programs were famously in competition with each other. On that day, Gagarin made history for humans and wristwatches, alike.Ĭlick here to read more about Russian watch Brands. What is known is that the first man to wear a watch in space was a Soviet pilot, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. As maybe should be expected, the history from the Soviet Union is a little uncertain. That honor goes to a Russian (Soviet at the time) brand, Sturmanskie. The Omega Speedmaster is the timepiece most commonly associated with space travel, but while it was the first watch on the moon, it was not the first in space. Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch (click to see on Amazon) Why did Buzz Aldrin wear an Omega Speedmaster?.
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