page_title: Omega Speedmaster
section_title: Pilots
hierarchical_section_title: Omega Speedmaster / Pilots
caption_attribution_description: English: The Omega Speedmaster watches worn by Walter Schirra (Mercury Sigma 7 mission, 1962), Richard R. Gordon (Apollo 12, 1969) and Thomas P. Stafford (Gemini 6, 1965). Schirra's watch is a replica; the other two are the originals worn in space. Omega Uhrenmuseum Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
context_page_description: Omega Speedmaster is a line of chronograph wristwatches produced by Omega SA. While chronographs have been around since the late 1800s, Omega first introduced this line of chronographs in 1957. Since then, many different chronograph movements have been marketed under the Speedmaster name. The manual winding Speedmaster Professional or "Moonwatch" is the best-known and longest-produced; it was worn during the first American spacewalk as part of NASA's Gemini 4 mission and was the first watch worn by an astronaut walking on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The Speedmaster Professional remains one of several watches qualified by NASA for spaceflight and is still the only one so qualified for EVA. The Speedmaster line also includes other models, including analog-digital and automatic mechanical watches.
context_section_description: Chronographs were first developed for use in artillery for battle, but soon came to be indispensable for use in high performance machinery, specifically by pilots, but later also by race car drivers.  Submariners, who also relied heavily on split second timing for what was essentially blind travel, were known for the use of chronographs.  The ability to time, and therefore calibrate, fuel consumption, trajectory and other variables allowed for both more efficient travel as well as better pilots and race car drivers.  When President Eisenhower decreed that test pilots would be the only permissible option for Project Mercury, the inclusion of a chronograph of some sort was virtually assured.
caption: The Speedmaster watches worn by astronauts Walter Schirra (Mercury Sigma 7 mission, 1962), Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (Apollo 12, 1969) and Thomas P. Stafford (Gemini 6, 1965).
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