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How Astronauts Can Use the Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 in Space

The Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 combines analog timekeeping with digital mission functions, including MET, PET, timers and alarms.
Estimate3–4 min Catalogued SpecialistWatchRanker Team
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The Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 is designed to help astronauts track mission events using mission elapsed time, phase elapsed time, timers and alarms. Its hybrid analog-digital display combines conventional timekeeping with dedicated mission functions. The European Space Agency (ESA) says the model was developed with input from ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy and was tested and qualified for piloted missions; its public descriptions explain what the watch can do, but do not document one astronaut’s personal routine on a particular flight.

What the X-33 helps an astronaut keep track of

Mission work is organized around scheduled events as well as clock time. The X-33’s mission functions let the wearer set a date in the past or future, down to the second, and see how much time has elapsed or remains. ESA describes this as a way to track mission events; the same capability can support keeping an event’s timing in view without treating the watch as a substitute for mission control or a spacecraft’s systems.

OMEGA lists the 45 mm titanium Skywalker X-33, reference 318.90.45.79.01.001, with Calibre 5619 and a hybrid analog/LCD display. The analog hands show conventional time, while the LCD presents information and functions such as mission timing, alarms and additional time zones. OMEGA lists a thermocompensated multifunction quartz movement and a 24-month battery life for this reference.

Mission elapsed time and phase elapsed time

Mission elapsed time (MET)

Mission elapsed time measures time from the start of a mission. It gives an astronaut a running reference for when events occur relative to mission start, rather than only by the time shown on a local clock.

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Phase elapsed time (PET)

Phase elapsed time measures time from a selected mission phase or step. It can help track the duration of a particular activity independently of the mission’s overall elapsed clock. MET and PET therefore answer different questions: how long the mission has been underway, and how long a particular phase has been underway.

How the display and other timing functions fit together

The analog hands retain a familiar view of conventional time. The digital display provides access to mission functions and multiple time references. OMEGA lists three time zones, a chronograph, a timer, MET, PET, three alarms and a perpetual calendar among the functions of reference 318.90.45.79.01.001. Together, these features allow the wearer to check ordinary time, measure an interval, or set reminders around scheduled events without relying on a single time display.

ESA describes flexible alarms with different tones. A wearer can use alarms as reminders for important timings, while the chronograph and timer address interval measurement and countdown needs. The exact way an astronaut configures or uses these functions on a flight is not specified in the official descriptions.

Developed with astronaut input and tested for piloted missions

ESA says a patent used in the Skywalker X-33 is based on ideas from ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy. In its announcement dated 12 December 2014, ESA reported that the watch was tested at its ESTEC facility in Noordwijk. ESA described shaker tests simulating launch vibration, centrifuge exposure of up to seven times Earth gravity, vacuum-chamber testing across −45°C to +75°C, and radiation testing in Sweden under the supervision of France’s ONERA/DESP aerospace centre. ESA said functions were checked before and after each test.

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ESA’s 2014 announcement characterized the watch as tested and qualified for piloted missions. That is ESA’s description of the testing and qualification reported at the time, not evidence of approval by every space agency or proof of suitability for every possible spaceflight environment. The announcement also reproduced a statement from OMEGA president Stephen Urquhart, who said: “We are delighted that our friends at the European Space Agency have tested and qualified the Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 for all its piloted missions, which is a natural extension of our long relationship with NASA and its space programme.” This was Urquhart’s statement as reported by ESA, not a separate ESA quotation endorsing the watch.

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What is—and is not—documented about astronaut use

The official ESA and OMEGA material explains the watch’s intended mission-timing functions and the tests ESA reported. It does not identify a named astronaut’s personal in-flight routine or establish how often astronauts use this model. It is therefore accurate to describe how the X-33 can help track mission events, but not to present a particular configuration or routine as an astronaut’s firsthand account.

OMEGA identifies the Skywalker X-33 as a 2014 model. For reference 318.90.45.79.01.001, its product specifications list a CR2320 3 V battery; battery replacement and servicing should follow appropriate watch-service guidance rather than being inferred from the specification alone.

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