When you think of space exploration and watches, one name immediately comes to mind: Omega. Since its Speedmaster chronograph was selected by NASA half a century ago it has become synonymous with space travel. The timing of a 13-second engine burn to save Apollo 13 cemented its role in space history, and Omega has not missed a single opportunity to deepen the partnership, from officially naming it the Moonwatch to creating endless commemorative limited editions (even if it is by no means the only watch that’s left our planet.)
Now, with private spaceflight proliferating and manned missions to the Moon back on NASA’s agenda, a Californian start-up wants to establish a new standard for space watches. Barrelhand, whose watches draw on expertise in 3D printing and materials science, says that its Monolith will be the only watch purpose-built for space exploration.
“Space is the harshest environment we’ve ever gone to,” says founder Karel Bachand. “When we first did it 50 years ago, there were no tools for it. NASA just tried to find off-the-shelf watches that were the best available. When the Speedmaster was selected it was never designed with space in mind, it just happened to pass the tests better than others. There was still plenty of room for improvement.”
Bachand says that even during testing, NASA’s engineers flagged that the Speedmaster’s accuracy suffered under extreme temperatures or acceleration, and there were other known issues, too. “Lume was flaking off,” says Bachand, “or the strap was getting caked up with moon dust, because it’s Velcro. There are tons of opportunities for improvements, but in the last 50 years, there’s been no innovation, especially for such a key tool that’s life or death in space exploration.”
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 answer to the Speedmaster. But it has some shortcomings—for instance, it is not certified for EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity).
“The X-33 was a great step forward”, says Bachand, “But is only rated for Intra-Vehicular Activity use due to the electronics on board. The liquid crystal display would essentially freeze up on a spacewalk. You need mechanical performance; something that can keep track of time when all other systems fail.”
Quartz watches such as the X-33 would also be vulnerable to the higher levels of radiation in outer space, which can damage various electronic components. A mechanical watch has no such trouble, but needs to be able to function in a more extreme range of temperatures than it would ever face on earth.