Watches, Stylos and Cameras Used by the Apollo Missions

The space environment and its constraints led to the design or choice of specific equipment

The OMEGA Speedmaster Watch

The OMEGA Speedmaster watch has accompanied NASA and other national space agencies since 1965. Now a member of the Swatch Group, OMEGA has been in existence since 1848; it took its name from one of its sets of technical features, the 'OMEGA 19-line caliber,' in 1894. Since 1909, the firm became known in sports timing, processing and display of data. It was to participate in many editions of the Olympic Games. Merged with Tissot in 1930, OMEGA, during World War II, became the largest supplier of watches for the Royal Air Force. In 1945, OMEGA watches were the official watch of the Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, U.S. Army, Air France, Sabena, etc. Informally, more than two and a half years before the Speedmaster OMEGA was officially selected by NASA for all its manned missions, Walter Schira, on October 3, 1962, wore his personal watch during the Mercury Sigma 7 orbital mission. Schirra was also to wear his personal Speedmaster during his Gemini and Apollo flights. In March 1965, NASA tested four watch brands and only the OMEGA Speedmaster survived and obtained certification for all manned missions and spacewalks. Each Apollo 11 astronaut was equipped with an OMEGA Speedmaster Professional. To avoid any risk of breaking glass, it was replaced by plexiglass glazing. Neil Armstrong also did not wear his OMEGA on the lunar surface because, due to a failure of the flight stopwatch, he had left it on board the LEM. After the Apollo 11 mission it was renamed 'Moonwatch.' The 10 astronautes who were to walk on the Moon after Apollo 11 were all to wear the OMEGA Speedmaster on the wrist, tied over the suit by a Velcro bracelet. The OMEGA Speedmaster, in the Apollo 13 accident, was to be used to accurately measure the time the LEM engine was fired to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. To thank OMEGA for its role in the success of manned space missions and the rescue of the Apollo 13 mission, NASA awarded it a 'Silver Snoopy Award' in 1970, the highest honor bestowed by American astronauts. Dog Snoopy, from the famous comic strip 'Snoopy', had been chosen as the mascot of the prize because he always maintains his good mood even in the most dramatic situations. The latest Apollo mission, the Apollo 17 mission, saw the Speedmaster being used for lunar orbit experiments about thermal flux convection experiments. The OMEGA speedmaster was found back at the historic Apollo-Soyuz meeting of July 1975: both American and Russian astronauts wore it. Shortly after the mission, the Russian space agency officially adopted the Speedmaster. In 1993, an OMEGA Speedmaster spent a year aboard the Mir station to test the effects of prolonged zero-gravity exposure. At the end of the experiment, the watch still worked perfectly. Today, the Speedmaster is still frequently worn by astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS. The Speedmaster Professional remains, today, the only watch certified by NASA and other international space agencies for their spacewalks. Finally, one has to know that OMEGA watches started to be worn by the hero of the James Bond films since 1995 until present, or that U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy or Communist China's leader Mao-Zedong were customers to the firm OMEGA

The Fisher Space Pen AG7 Pen

The Apollo 11 astronauts were equipped with the AG-7 model of the Fisher Space Pen. Paper pencils first used by astronauts could be dangerous: broken spikes and graphite dust could create short circuits, or that the pencil wood was flammable. First mechanical pencils were bought in 1965 from Tycam Engineering Manufacturing, Inc., in Houston at a price of $128.89 per unit, which created something of a controversy as considered a frivolous expense. NASA backtracked immediately and equipped the astronauts with less costly items. Paul C. Fisher of the Fisher Pen Co. meanwhile, on its own initiative designed a ballpoint pen that would operate better in the unique environment of space. His new pen, with a pressurized ink cartridge, functioned in a weightless environment, underwater, in other liquids, and in temperature extremes ranging from -50 F to +400 F. Fisher offered the pens to NASA in 1965, but, because of the earlier controversy and the fact Fisher had advertised a use of that 'Space Pen' in NASA space missions, the agency was hesitant in its approach. The agency however at the same time, considered to acquire the Fisher's AG-7 pen instead. After two years of testing NASA agreed to equip the Apollo astronauts with these pens at a cost of $6 per unit. The Soviet Union also purchased 100 of the Fisher pens, and 1,000 ink cartridges, in February 1969, for use on its Soyuz space flights. Russians, at the time, were sticking to paper pencils and soft pencils on plastic; Paul Fisher had also proposed the Space Pen to them in 1965. NASA, by 1973, named the AG-7 'Data Recording Pen (SEB12100051)' and then appeared the model with a side button retractor version. It's that model which since is used by astronauts and cosmonauts

Cameras: Hasselblad and Nikon

Photography from space soon developed with the Space age both for space exploration, or Earth weather observation and spying. Major John Glenn had been provided a off the shelf Minolta Ansco Autoset 35mm camera, and modified for use with the astronaut's pressure suit. Glenn took the first pictures ever from a manned U.S. spacecraft. Mercury Astronaut Walter Schirra brought the first Hasselblad camera (a Hasselblad 500C) into space on his Mercury Atlas-8 mission in October, 1962. Schirra had purchased the camera from a local camera shop and modified it himself. Following that mission, the Hasselblad became the primary camera for all future missions as that camera turned standard equipment in a spacecraft as soon as by the end of the Mercury program. Gordon Cooper aboard his Faith 7 used a modified 550C, with weight-saving measures and a new film magazine of 70 exposures instead of 12. The Hasselblads then proved the mainstay of the early space program and were used throughout the Gemini two-man spaceflights in 1965 and 1966. In addition to the excellent mechanical and optical properties of the cameras and their Zeiss lenses, the cameras were relatively simple to use, and film was pre-loaded into magazines that could easily be interchanged in mid-roll when lighting situations changed. In addition to the Hasselblads, on the second Gemini mission, history was made when the first picture of a spacecraft in orbit was taken by astronaut Ed White as he floated outside his spacecraft. He used a Zeiss Contax 35mm camera mounted atop his gas-powered maneuvering gun. NASA, aware that the Apollo 8 and 11 missions would provide iconic, historic photographs kept choosing Hasselblad, added with Kodak, another giant of photography. On Apollo 8, Hasselblad EL electric cameras were used for the first time. The electric motor in these Hasselblads largely automated the picture taking process. The astronauts needed only to set the distance, lens aperture, and shutter speed, but once the release button was pressed, the camera exposed and wound the film and tensioned the shutter back. Two Hasselblad EL cameras, each with a Planar, normal, f 2.8/80mm plus a single Sonnar telephoto f5.6/250mm lens and seven magazines of 70mm film, were carried. The cameras, film magazines, and lenses used on Apollo 8 had black anodized surfaces to eliminate reflections. Some mods had been also brought to facilitate the camera' use by the crew operating with pressurized suits and gloves or the reflex mirror viewfinder had been removed and replaced by a simple sighting ring. Kodak was the film provided as it was asked by NASA to develop special, thin new films with special emulsions: Panatomic-X fine-grained, 80 ASA, b/w film, Kodak Ektachrome SO-168, Kodak Ektachrome SO-121, super light-sensitive Kodak 2485, 16,000 ASA film. Apollo 8 crew also carried a black and white television camera, a 16mm motion picture camera, exposure meters, several types of filters, and other camera accessories. The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission carried three Hasselblad 500EL cameras known as the 'Hasselblad Data Camera' or 'HDC,' two identical to those of Apollo 8 and 10 lunar orbit missions. During the Moon landing one Hasselblad was left aboard the Command Module Columbia, which remained in lunar orbit. Two were taken on the Lunar Module Eagle to the Moon's surface. The Hasselblad used on the lunar surface was strapped to Neil Armstrong's chest, explaining why no picture of him was made, aside his reflection in Aldrin's visor. That was a Hasselblad 500EL with additional modifications. A Réseau plate with grid markings was placed between the film magazine and the camera body, immediately in front of the film plane, engraved with crosses to form a grid and the intersections accurately calibrated to a tolerance of 0.002 mm. The crosses were recorded on every exposed film frame. From the markings, it was possible to calibrate distance and heights in photos taken either on the lunar surface or from space. Such markings were not new or unique to the space program. They were commonly used for large format scientific and aerial photography prior to the Moon landings, when the large size of the photographic negative could be distorted either during exposure or the printing process. To eliminate static electricity usually easily dispersed in Earth's conditions, and prevent sparking the side of the plate facing the film was coated with a thin transparent conductive layer and silver deposited on the edges of the conductive layer. The electrical charge was then led to the metallic parts of the camera body by contact springs. The outer surface of the 500EL data camera was colored silver to help maintain more uniform internal temperatures in the violent extremes of heat and cold encountered on the lunar surface as lubricants were deviced to stand the vacuum of space. The film used for Apollo 11 was loaded and several test shots exposed prior to flight. When the film magazines were returned for processing after the mission, the test shots were cut off and processed first. These were compared against accurate color charts to ensure that there would be no defects in processing the remainder of the film and that the colors would be most accurate. A cord was attached to a tether ring permitted the entire camera to be lowered from the lunar module cabin to Neil Armstrong on the surface using a clothesline-like arrangement, and the exposed film magazines were lifted from the surface in the same manner. Camera and lens were left behind to save weight during the LEM ascent, and still rest on the Moon's surface at Tranquility Base. A comprehensive set of camera equipment was carried on board Apollo 11. This included two 16mm Maurer motion picture film cameras, a color television camera in the orbiting Columbia, and a black and white TV camera outside of the lunar module to transmit to Earth Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon's surface. A Kodak stereo close-up camera was used to film the lunar soil from only inches away. The Apollo Lunar Surface Closeup Cameras (ALSCC), was commissioned by NASA 7 months prior to the Apollo 11 mission as lighting was provided by an integral electronic flash. Apollo astronauts generally, got used with their cameras during their training sessions. After Apollo 11, all missions were provided the same photographic equipment and films than on Apollo 11. On Apollo 15, the 250mm telescopic lens was added to the Hasselblad lunar surface complement. for more details about the Hasselblads, check at NASA's Astronaut Still Photography During Apollo

After the end of the Apollo program, NASA astronauts passed to reflex 35mm Nikon cameras as the 70mm Hasselblads looked too bulky. Those 35mm SLRs were deemed more compact and reliable. Nikon was is full economic development than and benefitted a good picture in the USA. According to a contract passed with NASA in 1971, Nikon delivered modified Nikon Photomic FTNs -- which has been released in 1968 -- for the Apollo 15. All cameras and lenses (f 1.2 55mm) were entirely built in matt black metal alloy. The Nikon Photomic FTN evolved then, in 1973, to accomodate for the Skylab missions and equiped with a motor. By fall 1978, NASA wanted new cameras for the Columbia space shuttle. Nikon swiftly built two models, based upon their F3, which still was a project. For the first launch of Columbia, in 1981, Nikon delivered two models: the F3 'big camera' able to 250 pictures in automatic exposition mode with a interchangeable film; and the F3 'small camera,' for 72 pictures. Nikon also provided for 4 lens: 32mm (wide angle), 135mm (telephoto), 55mm micro and 105mm micro. The main challenge at the time was that the Nikon camera has to be used during spacewalks, or outside the pressurized environment of the spaceship cabin. Special internal parts, adhesives and lubricants had to be deviced, or special sensor glasses which could endure extreme temperatures. A thermal case was harboring the trigger and focus. By 1991, the hybrid digital Nikon F4 was the first digital experience by Nikon, which was replaced by the Nikon/Kodak DSC 460. Some 40 pictures could be mostly automatically taken and stored into external drives, and then transferred by satellite to Earth, where they could be used 1 hour only after shooting. In December 1999, for the Discovery Hubble maintenance mission, the crew used the Nikon F5 AF 35mm, with 3 lenses: f 1.4D 50mm, f 2D 35mm and f 2.8D 28mm. Analogue photography kept used at the time as the digital camera bodies didn't match at first the same airtightness. Le Nikon D2xs came by the end of the 2000's then the D3X, D3S and D4S, currently used aboard the International Space Station. Due to pixel loss for cause of space radiation, digital cameras are rapidly obsolete