The Hours That Defined Apollo 11
In those few historic hours, mankind stepped emphatically onto the moon and the world stood united together.
OMEGA WAS THERE. THE SPEEDMASTER BECAME A PART OF THE LEGENDARY STORY.
On this golden anniversary of Apollo 11, we are proud to relive our very first journey to the lunar surface and celebrate the moments, the people and the watches that will never be forgotten.
13:32:00 UTC THE LAUNCH
Televised live in 33 countries around the world, and watched by one million spectators from the nearby beaches and highways, the Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle was launched into space on the 16th of July, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The three astronauts were each officially equipped with an OMEGA Speedmaster, including Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.
Five years earlier, in 1964, NASA’s program office had gone in search of one watch that it could rely on for all manned-missions. Flight Crew Operations Director, Deke Slayton, issued a request for wrist-worn chronographs from different watch manufacturers around the world. Several brands, including OMEGA, submitted their timepieces for the punishing tests – but only the OMEGA Speedmaster survived. As a result, it was declared “Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions” on the 1st of March 1965.
20:17:40 UTC “THE EAGLE HAS LANDED”
With less than a minute of fuel remaining, Armstrong and Aldrin landed at “Tranquillity Base” on the lunar surface on the 20th of July. Every piece of equipment had performed beautifully during the descent, including the trusted OMEGA Speedmaster.
Of course, this was no surprise. The NASA tests in 1964 had conclusively demonstrated the Speedmaster’s robustness in all conditions. This included thermal tests (between 93° and -18° centigrade), shock, vibration and vacuum tests amongst others. There were 10 different environments that were tested individually for the Speedmaster – and it passed every single one.
02:56:15 UTC FIRST STEPS
We all know the famous words spoken by Neil Armstrong when he took mankind’s first footsteps onto the moon on the 21st of July 1969. In fact, 600 million people were watching the broadcast live on Earth. Before stepping off the ladder, he described the lunar surface as “very finegrained” and “almost like a powder.” Of course, it was the following “giant leap” quote that is remembered most.
Even before Apollo 11, the OMEGA Speedmaster had been a vital tool aboard each of NASA’s manned missions, including those in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
03:15:16 UTC BUZZ TOUCHES DOWN
Not long after Neil Armstrong, it was Buzz Aldrin who next stepped onto the moon. He described the view as “magnificent desolation” and even enjoyed some two-footed kangaroo hops in the low-gravity environment. In total, the first moonwalk lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes.
It was during this historic time that Earth’s most famous chronograph - the OMEGA Speedmaster - became the first watch worn on the moon. By 1969, NASA had adopted the most recent versions of the Speedmaster, including the ST 105.012 and ST 145.012. It was these two models that were worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts during the mission.
17:54:00 UTC GOODBYE MOON
On the 22nd of July, after more than 21.5 hours on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage carrying 21.55 kilograms of moon samples. They eventually reached Columbia in lunar orbit, along with Michael Collins, who had been waiting for them while flying solo around the moon. Collins later said, “Not since Adam has any human known such solitude.”
The journey home, however, was not a farewell for the Speedmaster! The watch returned to the moon for all of the future lunar landings. This included Apollo 12, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. To this very day, only 12 men have walked on the moon, yet the Speedmaster has been there for every step.
16:50:35 UTC SPLASHDOWN
Around seven minutes before hitting the Pacific Ocean on the 24th of July, the Columbia’s drogue parachutes were deployed. When it finally landed, the astronauts were winched aboard recovery helicopters and flown to the USS Hornet where they began 21 days of quarantine isolation.
As part of the Apollo 11 celebrations, OMEGA held a memorable “Astronaut Appreciation Dinner” on the 25th of November that year. Each of NASA’s serving astronauts was presented with a unique numbered edition Speedmaster in 18K yellow gold. As you will see, this model has been specially reborn this year!