Omega Speedmaster CK 2998

About This Project

This timepiece was the first Omega worn into space. On October 3, 1962, Astronaut Walter “Wally” Schirra Jr. orbited the Earth six times in a nine-hour flight wearing his personal CK 2998. The Mercury-Atlas 8 mission was the longest US manned orbital flight up to that point in the Space Race. The Speedmaster was introduced as a racing chronograph but star status was achieved in space; worn on the first American spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission and the first watch worn by an astronaut on the Moon (Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11). NASA flight-qualified it for all manned space missions and it took on the name Moon watch.

Time set at 7 for Mercury Seven, the seven original American astronauts (including Wally) chosen for Project Mercury, the first human US spaceflight program (1958-1963). Chronograph set at 9:13:15, time of the Mercury-Atlas 8 Mission.

Omega may not have been aiming for the moon originally but they definitely hit upon a star!