The Breitling Cosmonaute holds an indelible place in horological history as the first Swiss wristwatch in space. Originally a heavily modified variant of the iconic Breitling Navitimer aviation watch, it was customized at the direct request of NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter for the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission in 1962.
Over the decades, the Cosmonaute transitioned from a highly specialized, utilitarian flight computer into a sought-after piece of modern luxury. 🚀 The Space Race & Mercury 7 Origins (1962)
In the early 1960s, NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter was preparing to pilot the Aurora 7 capsule. As a former U.S. Navy test pilot, Carpenter was already a fan of the Breitling Navitimer and its computational slide rule. However, space travel presented unique challenges that a standard watch could not handle.
Carpenter cold-called Willy Breitling with three critical modifications to engineer a watch suitable for orbit: The New Navitimer Cosmonaute – Westime
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