Infinity & beyond: space watches!

[OhDark30]

Post pictures, info and links about space watches here :-)
Reading the recent Sapphire Sandwich post, I discovered that there is a Chinese space watch (thanks meijlinder!)
Let's have an overview of watches across the globe that have been designed for, worn in and celebrate space
(Omegas welcome)

[OhDark30]

An overview of Russian space watches
http://www.netgrafik.ch/russian_space_watches.htm

The capitalist and communist approaches to space watches contrasted:
http://www.wristwatchreview.com/2011...-moon-watches/

[meijlinder]

Fiyta on arms of astronauts of “Shenzhou VII” that completed china's first space walk 2008


Original was 54mm, this is the 45mm limited edition made to commemorate the occasion. Also an original size replica was made.


Fiyta has supplied watches to China National Space Administration (CNSA) since 2003.

http://www.fiyta.com.cn/flytaworld/space/ (with Google translate)

Some more on the features:

8 hour rotating bezel since the survival period inside the Chinese Feitian EVA spacesuit is 8 hours.

The blue and green 30 and 40 minute indicators corresponds to the time lengths of tasks carried out on the missions. And a morning/afternoon indicator at 4.

[OhDark30]

Thanks, m - and particularly for explaining the dial & bezel markings

I see that China is planning missions to the moon and Mars - I wonder if/what watches have been developed for interplanetary flight?

[I-B]

http://www.fortis-watches.com/front_content.php

[OhDark30]

I see that Fiyta have made 3 watches for the Chinese space programme
Here's a review of their 2003 first space chronograph


pics & review here
http://www.pilotswatch.nl/Pages/Watches/fiyta.htm

and a review (with pics & EVA video) of the Spacemaster. Movement is 7750 based manual wind, and thanks to specially developed lubricants it can survive -80 to +80 Celsius!


http://forums.watchuseek.com/f80/new.../topics/221594
I think the size and chunkiness of this, even in the 'smaller' public version would challenge my wrist :-(

[OhDark30]

Thanks, I-B!
The Fortises (?Fortii) were the first space watches I came across in my pre-WIS days, I particularly like the Spacematic
Thanks to them, I discovered the Poljot Aviator, and began my love affair with Soviet watches :-)
Such a shame that the Russian space programme itself moved in the opposite direction
(wry smile)

[OhDark30]

Talking of space watches with interesting dials, I'm fascinated by the story of the Cosmonavigator - marked so that in orbit you can tell which landmass you're looking down on



Cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov, its creator, aboard Salyut 7 in September 1985:

'Falling asleep I idly thinking that it would be great to have a watch with globe like the one at on the central stand. Or, with a map on the dial. But to have it on my hand... and without need to leave the warm sleeping bag to check... and soon getting back in again thinking that I was right and we were actually over clouds and under clouds were waters of the Atlantic ocean... all right,.. water is there where clouds are. Why our planet called the Earth and not the Water?.. This was the way the idea of "COSMONAVIGATOR" was born'


quote and picture from http://www.netgrafik.ch/russian_space_watches.htm

[Jazzmaster]

The Right Stuff...

[OhDark30]

Thanks, Jazzmaster!
Yes, Scott Carpenter's 24hr Breitling Cosmonaute, which has since gone awol
He picked it for his orbital flight in the Mercury program Aurora capsule, because it made sense to him to read time direct from the dial, rather than a 12hr presentation


Carpenter suits up
More here
http://m.space.com/15904-breitling-w...niversary.html