This new watch is specially built for the exploration of the space and is not an omega

When you think Of exploration of space and watches, a name immediately comes to mind: Omega. Since its Speedmaster chronograph was selected from NASA half a century ago, it has become synonymous with space travel. The timing of a 13 -second engine burn to save Apollo 13 has cemented its role in the history of space, and Omega has not lost only one opportunity to deepen the partnership, from officially appointing it the Moonwatch to the creation of infinite commemorative limited editions (even if it is not the only watch that is the only watch. He left our planet.

Now, with the private spatial flight that proliferate and missions with a crew on the Moon at the NASA Agenda, a Californian start-up wants to establish a new standard for space watches. Barrelhand, whose watches draw on the experience in 3D printing and in the science of materials, says it is Monolith It will be the only watch specifically built for exploration of space.

“Space is the hardest environment that we have ever gone,” says the founder Karel Bachand. “When we did it for the first time 50 years ago, there were no tools for this. NASA has just tried to find watches outside the shelf that were the best available. When the Speedmaster was selected, it was never designed thinking about the space, it just passed the tests better than others. There was still a lot of space to improve.”

Bachand says that even during the tests, NASA engineers reported that the accuracy of the Speedmaster suffered at extreme temperatures or acceleration, and there were also other known problems. “Lume was flanked,” says Bachand, “or the strap was stuck with moon powder, because it is Velcro. There are tons of opportunities for improvements, but in the last 50 years there has not been innovation, especially for a key tool that is life or death in the exploration of space.”

Omega would say that its Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 model, which has been tested and qualified for use in space by the European Space Agency, is the modern response to Speedmaster. But it has some deficiencies, for example, is not certified for Eva (extra vehicular activities).

“The X-33 was a big step forward,” says Bachand, “but is evaluated only for the use of intra-trial activities due to electronics on board. The display of liquid crystals would essentially freeze on a spacewalk. You need mechanical performance; something that can be traced to keep time when all the other systems fail.”

Quartz watches such as the X-33 would also be vulnerable to the highest levels of radiation in the outdoor space, which can damage various electronic components. A mechanical watch does not have such problems, but must be able to work in a more extreme range of temperatures than it would never face on earth.