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The other watches in NASA’s 1964–1965 chronograph comparison were the Longines-Wittnauer 235T and Rolex reference 6238. The familiar Omega was the Speedmaster ST105.003. NASA tested all three candidates, but the Omega alone received the stated qualification for all manned space missions and extravehicular activity on 1 March 1965.
Which other watches did NASA test?
NASA’s comparison included three chronographs: Omega Speedmaster ST105.003, Longines-Wittnauer 235T, and Rolex 6238. Swatch Group’s 27 February 2025 retrospective names the Omega and Longines-Wittnauer references but masks the maker of reference 6238 as “….X.” Specialist watch-history site Fratello identifies that reference as Rolex 6238. Swatch Group’s account credits Omega archives; Fratello’s report supplies the Rolex attribution.
| Candidate | Reference tested | What the available account says | Qualification outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Omega Speedmaster | ST105.003 | Submitted from 1964; the retrospective says NASA testers preferred and recommended it for precision, reliability, legibility, and ease of use. | Only candidate stated to have received the all-manned-space-missions and EVA qualification on 1 March 1965. |
| Longines-Wittnauer | 235T | Fratello reports its crystal warped and disengaged during high-temperature testing; this is specialist secondary reporting, not a directly inspected NASA report. | No qualification reported. |
| Rolex | 6238 | Fratello reports it failed humidity and high-temperature tests; this is specialist secondary reporting, not a directly inspected NASA report. | No qualification reported. |
Was Rolex tested by NASA?
Yes. The identification rests on two complementary accounts: Swatch Group’s retrospective lists a candidate as reference 6238 while obscuring its maker, and Fratello identifies that reference as Rolex. Fratello also reports that the Rolex 6238 failed humidity and high-temperature tests. Because that failure detail comes from secondary reporting rather than a directly inspected NASA test report, it should be understood with that qualification.
What was the Longines-Wittnauer NASA watch?
It was the Longines-Wittnauer 235T, one of the chronographs in the same 1964–1965 comparison as the Omega and Rolex. According to Fratello, the crystal warped and disengaged during high-temperature testing. The surviving evidence cited here does not establish a NASA flight qualification for the 235T.
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What did NASA’s watch tests involve?
Swatch Group’s 2025 retrospective says NASA ran 11 successive trials and gives the following figures, crediting Omega archives. These are figures from that retrospective, not claims drawn here from an independently inspected NASA test protocol.
- Timekeeping: a stated precision requirement of five seconds per 24 hours, with an ideal of within ±2 seconds per 24 hours.
- Temperature: low-temperature exposure at −18°C for four hours; a high-temperature test of 70°C for 48 hours, followed by 93°C for 30 minutes in partial vacuum.
- Humidity: 10 cycles of 24 hours each at more than 95% humidity, with temperatures ranging from 25°C to 70°C.
- Shock: six 40 G shocks in six directions.
- Acceleration: 7.25 G for about five minutes, then 16 G for 30 seconds in three axes.
- Sound: 130 decibels across 40–10,000 Hz for 30 minutes.
- Other named categories: vacuum cycling, corrosion, low pressure, high pressure, and vibration. The retrospective specifies high pressure at 1.6 atmospheres for 60 minutes and vibration from 5 to 2,000 Hz at 8.8 G in three axes.
Did Bulova pass NASA watch tests?
Bulova belongs to a separate, later episode—not the 1964–1965 comparison. A CRO Trackers newsletter’s 2016 transcription of a 13 November 1972 letter from Dale Myers, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, says special Bulova chronographs purchased for possible Apollo 17 and Skylab use failed qualification testing in humidity and acceleration. The transcription quotes Myers saying, “I consider the Bulova watch issue closed.” It is a secondary-hosted transcription of an official letter, rather than the original letter itself. CRO Trackers’ newsletter archive hosts the transcription.
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A copy of a NASA-related 1978 request for quotation also indicates that Bulova and Omega submitted offers for Shuttle-era chronographs. That procurement episode is separate from the 1965 qualification, and the document copy has not been closely reviewed here; it does not change which watch received the stated 1965 qualification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does the 1965 result apply to today’s Speedmaster?
The tested Omega reference was ST105.003, submitted in 1964. OMEGA’s 2025 press page states that on 1 March 1965 NASA declared the Speedmaster “Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions.” That historical qualification should not be read as evidence that every modern consumer Speedmaster model has repeated the original NASA trials. OMEGA’s account of the 60-year qualification anniversary describes the historic statement.
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