What watches do astronauts wear?

Didn't you know that astronauts have their own hours? And this is so - special watches by Omega are made for space explorers. Omega Speedmaster mechanical watches are the first NASA-certified watches for working in space. In July 1969, the Omega Speedmaster watches visited the Moon (and this was the first watch in history that went there).

After that, the watches of this manufacturer have been used by astronauts for more than half a century, and they are used now. Only now the Spacemaster Skywalker X-33 is already working in space.
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Omega developers actively worked with astronauts, trying to get feedback on their watches, to create a new, even more efficient model. One of the volunteers who agreed to test Omega watches was the ESA cosmonaut Jean-François Clervoy , who spent 675 hours in space.



It was from his submission in the clock for astronauts that two new functions appeared: MET (mission elapsed time, mission elapsed time), and PET (elapsed time of a separate phase, phase elapsed time). For various tasks, the astronaut can set an alarm (event sound) with an individual tone of sound. After a small workout, it helps to understand which mission is completed, and which is yet to be.

In the new watch model, the Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 has 12 functions: hours, minutes, seconds for three time zones, chronograph, perpetual calendar. There is also a digital LCD display, as well as an analog dial with illuminated numbers, which makes it easy to see information in complete darkness. The watch case is titanium with an Omega caliber 5619 quartz movement.

Each new watch model for astronauts is tested at its own test site in the Netherlands. In addition, the clock is tested in a centrifuge, where the mechanism is exposed to overloads, 7 times the earth load. Used and simulator shaking, vibration, which emulates the vibration of a spacecraft at launch.



Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 can operate at temperatures ranging from -45 to +75 degrees Clecia.

By the way, you can evaluate the functionality of the clock thanks to a free application for iOS .