#af aftc

[moonwatchuniverse]

March 22 , remembering Colonel Robert Franklyn Overmyer Already in 1966, testpilot US Marine Corps aviator Robert Overmyer was selected in the MOL - Manned Orbiting Laboratory program but as this got cancelled, he was selected in 1969 NASA astronaut Group 7. Overmyer was CapCom - Capsule Communicator for Apollo 17 and was part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project support team. He was CapCom for ASTP in Moscow - Russia. He worked on Skylab engineering and the orbiter “Enterprise“ Approach & Landing Tests program in 1977. Overmyer flew two spaceflight missions; 1982 STS-5 “Columbia” and STS-51B “Challenger” totalling 12 days 2 hours in space. The photo shows Robert “Bob” Overmyer as support team member during the historic USA-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, wearing his personal Tornek-Rayville diver wristwatch. An appropriate toolwatch which he already wore as a testpilot in 1969. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

MoonwatchUniverse’s list of wristwatches worn on NASA spaceflight missions from Mercury to the Gemini XII flight in 1966. Currently we have a total overview of all Omega Speedmaster chronographs delivered to NASA since 1965. Furthermore we’re completing a listing of every wristwatch worn on all Soviet-Russian spaceflights between 1961 and 2021. (Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)

[moonwatchuniverse]

MoonwatchUniverse’s list of wristwatches worn on the Apollo missions, between 1967 and 1971... Currently we have a total overview of all Omega Speedmaster chronographs delivered to NASA since 1965. Furthermore we’re completing a listing of every wristwatch worn on all Soviet-Russian spaceflights between 1961 and 2021. (Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)

[moonwatchuniverse]

RIP Charles “Chuck” Yeager - 1923-2020… he’ll be missed! October 14, 1947 Charles Yeager broke the Sound Barrier flying the rocket-powered Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” named after his beloved wife... in 1983 Yeager had a cameo role in the movie “ The Right Stuff “ as Fred the bartender in Pacho’s Palace pilot bar ! Although Charles Yeager retired in 1975, he often returned as a consulting testpilot for NASA and the US Air Force. Especially, on the anniversaries of his October 1947 flight past Mach 1.0 Charles Yeager was invited to recreate that historic event in a modern day jet fighter. Charles Yeager, the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound (supersonic), has always been a huge fan of Rolex wristwatches, which he has been wearing during a period of 75 years… the Rolex GMT-master Pepsi pilot watch being his favorite. (Photo: USAF)

[moonwatchuniverse]

50 years ago ... NASA test pilots and M2-F3 lifting body... Between 1966 & 1975, NASA conducted flight research with lifting bodies, craft in which the fuselage itself produces lift. The Northrop M2-F3 was tested during 27 flights between June 1970 and December 1972. The vehicle reached a maximum altitude of 21 kilometers and a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 over Edwards AFB. Note these test pilots wore a personal Rolex GMT-master pilot watch ; USAF pilot Captain Jerauld Gentry, NASA pilots John Manke and William H. Dana. Kneeling is USAF pilot Major Cecil Powell. William Dana was still wearing a Rolex GMT-master pilot watch when in August 2005 NASA retroactively awarded him his civilian “ Astronaut wings “ for X-15 flight 174 above 100 kilometers in 1966! (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

RIP Test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager - 1923-2020… October 14, 1947 Charles Yeager broke the Sound Barrier flying the rocket-powered Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” named after his beloved wife… in 1983 Yeager had a cameo role in the movie “ The Right Stuff “ as Fred the bartender in Pacho’s Palace pilot bar ! This 1985 photo shows Charles Yeager in his casual cowboy outfit wearing his Rolex GMT-master Pepsi pilot watch. Fighter pilot Charles Yeager had been wearing Rolex wristwatches since the 1940s and did so for a period of 75 years. Let’s never forget he was truly the greatest pilot we ever saw… RIP (Photo: AP / MoonwatchUniverse collection)

[moonwatchuniverse]

The 36 mm waterproof stainless steel Glycine Airman automatic was designed in 1953 to be the perfect pilot’s watch. A matte black 24 hours dial contrasts with the prominent arrow shaped hour hand and distinctive pencil minute hand. The Glycine Airman had an adjustable 24 hours bezel with lockdown thumbscrew,  a domed acrylic plexiglass with date magnifier and a precise seconds hacking mechanism, an important feature for time synchronization used by military personnel. It became the first automatic wrist watch to be used & exposed to outer space, by NASA astronaut Charles Pete Conrad respectively on Gemini V (August 1965) and Gemini XI (September 1966) spaceflight missions. A pilot watch favorite with civil airline pilots & military air crew of all forces alike... Army, Coast Guard, Navy, USAF, USMC & US Space Force. (Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)