#gmt-master

June 1967... After the tragic loss of the Apollo 1 crew,  astronauts Slayton, Shepard and Schirra testified before the House Committee on Science & Aeronautics that the Apollo 1 was the only fatal mission accident with 16 successful manned spaceflight missions under the same NASA management. Realigning the contract with North American Aviation, NASA believed a lunar landing before 1970 was still possible after Command Module spacecraft redesign and testing. The most crucial improvement was the installation of a single quick-operating outward opening aluminium/fiberglass crew hatch, that could be opened in a matter of seconds by both the astronauts and the pad safety crew. In addition, the launch pad spacecraft cabin atmosphere for pre-launch testing was changed from 100% oxygen to a mixture of 60% oxygen and 40% nitrogen, a mixture that was selected after extensive flammability testing. These June 1967 photos show astronaut Walter Schirra checking out a concept of the modified hatch on the North American Aviation built Apollo Command Module. Note Walter Schirra wore his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi pilot watch. Schirra together with fellow NASA astronauts Thomas Stafford and James Lovell was awarded the Rolex pilot watch during the 1966 Annapolis Naval Academy ceremony. By that time 20 NASA astronauts had a Rolex GMT-master. The story is described in Walter Schirra's 1988 book "Schirra's Space" on page 164! (Photo: NASA)

Full-set Rolex GMT-Master 1675

2025, December 9, Touch-down after 245 days… ISS Expedition 72/73 astronaut, US Navy flight surgeon Jonathan "Jonny" Kim back on Earth, note the 3 wrist watches. US Navy officer flight surgeon NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim took at least seven different watches, among which a Seiko Prospex, 3 Omega (X-33, Semaster and Speedmaster Flight Qualified Mil pilot version) and 3 Rolex, Daytona, GMT-master and Submariner. (Photo: NASA/Roscosmos/JonathanKim)

Rolex … Walter “Wally” Schirra After the combined Gemini VIa & VII spaceflight mission, the 4 astronauts were awarded a Rolex GMT-master 1675 “pepsi” bezel pilot watch during a ceremony at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis – Maryland. While Walter Schirra, James Lovell and Thomas Stafford were Naval Academy graduates, US Air Force Major Frank Borman also got a Rolex GMT-master around that time via the US Military Academy West Point. During 1967, Schirra, Lovell and Borman often wore their GMT-master pilot watch during NASA training. Late 1966 onwards, we see Schirra developed a keen interest in Rolex watches, as besides NASA spacesuit training, he was always wearing his GMT-master or even a Rolex Daytona 6240 chronograph. He has always been a wrist watch aficionado as we know he at least wore a dozen different watches between April 9, 1959 and November 25, 1969. Photo shows Wally Marty Schirra signing a plaque at the North American Rockwell Space Division plant in Downey California. (Photo: NAR/NASA)

March 8, 1966 last time we clearly saw the "Sigma 7" FOIS ? Mercury 7 astronaut US Navy aviator Walter "Wally" Schirra and his personal 1961 Omega Speedmaster CK2998-4, 17.650.054, worn during Sigma 7, used for SCUBA diving, bezelless since 1965, last seen on his wrist in 1966. Collage of a bespoke artwork for MoonwatchUniverse, LIFE photos of Schirra diving in his pool and Schirra at a handprint ceremony during the 1966 Gemini World Tour at the NASA Carnarvon tracking station near Perth - Australia. Between 22 February and March 1966, Walter Schirra and Frank Borman visited 8 countries during their 24 days long Far East Gemini Goodwill tour, visiting Australia between March 7 - 12. The Australians had rolled out two plum-colored Rolls-Royce convertibles procured for an earlier visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963. At Carnarvon, Schirra rolling up his sleeves clearly showed the bezelless Speedmaster CK2998-4. October 1966 onwards, as Schirra, Stafford and Lovell were awarded a US Navy logo dial Rolex GMT-master 1675 pilot watch, Schirra preferred to wear the Rolex GMT-master, also his Rolex Daytona 6240 and occasionally his Gold Apollo 11 tribute Speedmaster n° 8. Since 1994, MoonwatchUniverse has been working on a dozen "astronaut case studies" using official press & NASA photographs in order to find out when well-known NASA astronauts (Aldrin, Armstrong, Borman, Carpenter, Cernan, Collins, Lovell, Mitchell, Shepard, Schirra, Swigert, White) were introduced to the Omega Speedmaster and perhaps more interesting what they wore before those days during NASA training… (Photos: NASA/LIFE)

55 years ago... first Rolex in lunar orbit 1970, April 11 Apollo 13 launchday...  CMP - Command Module Pilot John “Jack” Swigert dons his A7L pressure suit on launchday of the historic mission. Swigert was a last minute replacement CMP Command Module Pilot for Thomas Mattingly. Note the Apollo 13 "Ex Luna Scientia" mission logo on the A7L Apollo spacesuit.  Apollo 13 marks the first time a Rolex wristwatch was flown to the Moon as Swigert had chosen to wear his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi pilot wrist watch underneath the white space suit. Only X-15 test pilot William Pete Knight ever had worn a Rolex pilot watch before during X-15 flights 188 & 190 of which the latter was considered a spaceflight reaching 85 kilometers. USAF pilots were awarded their astronaut wings to fly above 50 miles. Post-Apollo 13, in October 1970, Swigert visited Rolex and swapped the Apollo 13 Rolex GMT-master for a Gold version, which he wore in his official NASA portrait (S71-52266) (Photo: NASA)

April 2025... another Rolex GMT-master in space? NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim posing in Sokol KV02 spacesuit for his official portrait. Together with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky, NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim will launch aboard Soyuz MS-27 from Baikonur Cosmodrome - Kazachstan, to join fellow ISS-Expedition 73 crew members aboard the International Space Station. During astronaut training US Navy aviator/flight surgeon Jonny Kim was spotted wearing an Omega Seamaster and more recently a Rolex GMT-master Pepsi pilot watch. (Photo: NASA/Roscosmos).