Trip Report: Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of The Moon Landing With Omega

On July 21, 1969, an estimated 500 million people tuned their televisions in to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon. Apollo 11 was the mission, and the entire world watched in awe as man stood on the moon for the first time. As Armstrong said on that fateful day, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." As it turns out, Armstrong was wearing a NASA issued Omega Speedmaster ST 145.022. when he stepped onto the moon. Watchonista was honored to recently be invited by Omega to Cape Canaveral, Florida to celebrate 50 years of the Speedmaster.
 

Omega and NASA have enjoyed a long working relationship dating back to 1965 when NASA Program Manager and Aerospace Engineer James Ragan began his testing of the watches that would eventually go to the moon.  Of the five watches selected, Omega's Speedmaster ultimately prevailed. At Omega's 50th Anniversary event, Ragan was asked "Why the Speedmaster?" to which he replied, "Longines and Rolex failed in the first test – and they were out – so all I had was Omega and I was saying please I gotta have one!" Since then, the Omega Speedmaster and now Speedmaster X-33 'Skywalker' has been “Flight Qualified By NASA For All Manned Space Missions.”
 

Nestled deep within a restricted area of the Kennedy Space Center sits the Saturn V center. The expansive 100,000 sq foot facility houses an actual Saturn V rocket, which is the same rocket that took the Apollo 11 crew to space. For Omega's Golden Moments Gala, guests were treated to performance art, a beautiful dinner underneath the Saturn V, and the unique opportunity to mingle with space and Hollywood royalty.
 

At most parties, George Clooney would be crowned the man of the hour. The two-time Oscar-winning Omega ambassador really needs no introduction and during the Gala, he shied away from the spotlight and instead kept the focus on the legendary astronauts in attendance. Joining us that evening were Space Shuttle and ISS (International Space Station) astronauts and two legends of the Apollo program, Thomas Stafford (Commander of Apollo 10) and Charlie Duke (Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 16). 
 

As a child, I was one of the many millions of kids who dreamed of becoming an astronaut. To this day, only 536 people have flown in space (most of them wearing Omega watches). So it's always a special opportunity when you get to meet an astronaut. However, the crew which Omega and NASA assembled for this 50th Anniversary was something extra special.
 

We wouldn't be experiencing this special moment without Omega, and Omega has James Ragan to thank for the priceless privilege of being the only NASA space-qualified watch. The ever-humble Ragan gave a bit of back story on how this came to be, "I graduated from college with a degree in physics, Deke Slayton hired me to do flight crew equipment. The first job he gave me was to go get some watches because the astronauts were not provided any watches in the Mercury days. There were at least two (astronauts) that I know of, maybe a third, who went to buy watches because they didn't like the digital timer they had up there. Wally Schirra was one of them, Deke Slayton was one of them, and I'm not divulging the third. They bought them (the watches) themselves, flew them themselves, and they were private property and did not belong to the government at that time."
 

Ragan was personally responsible for testing and acquiring the watches that would be worn by Apollo astronauts. While there are many legends of how the Speedmaster ended up on the wrists of Apollo astronauts, Ragan's no-nonsense approach to testing under harsh conditions is what solidified Omega's place in space lore, "(Testing was) plus or minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit. That's tough on a watch! The thermal vacuum was tough on a watch. Omega made it through all the testing and when that happened, before I announced who made it, I went back to the astronauts and said, which one of these (Rolex, Longines, and Omega) do you like and thank goodness, they all liked the Omegas the best as well, so that made it real easy for me to go out and buy the watches." Ragan eventually purchased that first batch of Omega Speedmasters from a local retailer. 
 

The fact that the Omega Speedmaster "Moon Watch" hasn't changed much since 1969 is remarkable. Purists will point out that the days of the Speedmasters with the 321 and 861 movements are gone, but it's incredible to think that to this day, astronauts aboard the ISS are still issued two Omega timepieces: The mechanical "Moon Watch" (reference 311.30.42.30.01.005.3573.50.00) and the digital/analog X-33 "Skywalker."