The two pieces were shaved at their ends and the looped piece in its middle to permit joining them reversed to produced the needed length, and the clearance needed for the lug bars.Ĭompared to the NATA strap, it ditched the sub-strap, the buckle, the holes and two keeper rings,turning the remaining ring into the adjuster. It was made from just a half length velcro mating set and a retaining loop. It was fabricated that night on a home sewing machine. The actual original NASA prototype strap was designed in under an hour by one engineer who never got credited. The “NATO” strap has a two-piece buckle with holes a sub-strap whose utility is dubious and 3 keeper rings. Once established it had an advertising and use agreement with NASA – NASA gets “free” watches and accessories forever. Omega wasn’t chosen just for its accuracy, but the integrity of its cases. In any case the sub strap is redundant and the cases of NASA instruments worn by astronauts don’t fail like those of consumer watches. If torsion pin bars or screw pins were used with through-hole lugs, the failure points would be the watch strap or the case material. Spring bars and random design watch lugs are accepted by ignorant consumers across the world. The wrap around is needed because of watches with poor quality mechanical engineering. Its sub-strap design is redundant what matters is the wrap around design. The astronaut’s watch straps are NASA’S $10,000 toilet seat lids – but with advertising.įor comparison to the NATO strap. This strap should be the example used to show why NASA, not the contractors that it employs, should be blamed for cost overruns and delays that have little if any value. In 2022 the world is supposed to watch with ?admiration?disgust? as NASA launches a luge 1970’s technology disposable rocket years and billions of dollars behind schedule. No its not a fake NATO It’s the result of NASA being unable to effectively manage space development technology without unlimited funds and very specific goals, not means, from a Congress that doesn’t change its mind. The OMEGA Velcro straps are priced at CHF 190 each and will be available later this year. More information on. The flexibility and durability of these straps make them perfect for sports, or perhaps the summer holidays, whenever that’s possible again. The straps have the “Speedmaster Moonwatch” logo printed in either white or blue. The long part of the strap is attached to the other end and passed through the metal loop to fix the strap in place with a Velcro lining. On one end you attach the short bit of the strap, adorned with the NASA “meatball” logo and a metal loop. The white Velcro strap honours that very programme.Īll straps are sold separately and are 20mm wide from end to end (no taper). The Alaska Project was a secret programme between Omega and NASA to create a perfect space watch ( more on the Alaska Project here). Finally, the white strap is a nod to another important chapter in the Moonwatch saga: the Alaska Project. With a bit of imagination, its metallic shine resembles a metal bracelet. The silver is taken from the silver space suits worn by astronauts in the pre-Apollo Gemini and Mercury missions. Next up is the silver one, perhaps the boldest choice of the three. It is also a close match to the black dial of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. The black strap represents the darkness of space and is closest to the actual strap worn by the astronauts who set foot on the Moon. Each colour takes inspiration from elements of the NASA space programmes. The three versions Omega introduces this year are made from durable polyester and come in black, silver or white. The Velcro strap proved a suitable alternative and is versatile enough to be worn on the wrist or over the bulky sleeve of a spacesuit without too much hassle. Although the Omega Speedmaster original came on a metal band, such a bracelet wasn’t suited for a space exploration mission.
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