#AFAFTC

[moonwatchuniverse]

June 6, 2020, Congratz 88th birthday to astronaut David R. Scott! David Scott, a West Point graduate who joined the Air Force in 1954, served as a fighter pilot at Soesterberg - the Netherlands during the height of the Cold War before graduating as Test pilot of class 62-C at the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force base. The photo shows Scott in the cockpit of a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Scott was selected in NASA astronaut group 3 and went on to fly on Gemini VIII, Apollo 9 and the 7th person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 15. In 1993, David Scott was inducted in the US Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy space center - Florida. (Photo: USAF)

[moonwatchuniverse]

May 1963, Astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper is seen during pre-flight checks in the NASA capsule simulator at Cape Canaveral. Leroy Cooper wore his modified full-body Mercury pressure suit and both his personal wrist watches strapped over the suit on steel mesh bracelets; an Accutron Astronaut tuning fork GMT pilotwatch at his right wrist and an Omega Speedmaster CK2998-4 manual winding chronograph at his left wrist. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

April 16, 1972 Launchday for Apollo 16 and a time check for Command Module Pilot Thomas Ken Mattingly, who was scrapped from Apollo 13 in April 1970. During Apollo 16, Mattingly broke the record for a solo spaceflight as he stayed solo in lunar orbit for 81 hours 40 minutes. The astronauts wore NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster chronographs. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

1969 onwards, Apollo astronauts returning from a lunar mission made a post-mission World Goodwill Tour to meet foreign cultures and people. By 1971, the Apollo 15 Goodwill tour brought the crewmembers to several European countries, among which Germany, where the astronauts were invited skiing on the slopes of the 2962 meter high ZugSpitze, the highest mountain in the Wetterstein gebirge & Germany. Note David Scott wore an Omega Speedmaster chronograph, with running chrono hand, during skiing activities with fellow Apollo 15 crewmembers James Irwin and Alfred Worden. (Photo: NASA/ZüdDeutsche)

[moonwatchuniverse]

August 7, 1971 Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot (CMP) Alfred Worden is seen exciting the “Endeavour” Command module capsule after splash down in the North Pacific Ocean, after which the crew was recovered on board Navy carrier USS Okinawa. The book pictured is the official US Navy cruise book as USS Okinawa was the primary recovery ship. The Apollo 15 were the first to use a battery-powered Lunar Rover and the first to leave an artwork on the lunar surface, an Aluminium “Fallen Astronaut” figurine desinged by Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck and commemorated all astronauts & cosmonauts who died on a spaceflight mission up to 1971… (Photo: MoonWatchUniverse)

[moonwatchuniverse]

May 7, 1965 the Gemini IV astronauts were photographed at Cape Canaveral going through training activities listings. It was the first good photograph showing astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White wearing a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.003-63 chronograph on a steel mesh JB Champion bracelet. Originally the Extra Vehicular Activity was only planned as a standup-EVA and the complete schedule for a full exit EVA-spacewalk was kept secret. Next opportunity to clearly spot the Omega Speedmaster chronographs occurred on June 1, 1965 during the medical examination... (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

Happy 92th Birthday astronaut Frank Borman ! Borman was selected in NASA group 2 in 1962 and flew on Gemini VII (December 1965) and Apollo 8 (December 1968). This 1970 official portrait shows him wearing a Rolex DateJust on Jubilee bracelet. Official NASA individual portraits and crewphotos are a great source to look for watches. In fact each official portrait or crew photograph was taken in two ways; smiling and non-smiling. The latter would be used in case of a mishap, accident or disaster. Borman left NASA in June 1970.

[moonwatchuniverse]

June 22, 1967 testpilot William Knight checked out X-15 A2 USAF testpilot William “Pete” Knight made 16 research flights with the North American X-15 hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. Although all X-15 pilots received an Accutron Astronaut GMT pilot watch, Knight wore his personal Rolex GMT-master Pepsi on at least two flights. October 3, 1967, Flight 188 was flown with the modified crash-damaged aircraft, which got a longer body and 2 drop tanks. Covered in a white ablative heatshield, Knight flew the craft to Mach 6.7 speed record of the program. October 17, 1967, Flight 190 was flown with aircraft 66672 and Knight reached an altitude of 85 kilometers, reaching over 50 miles qualified him as an astronaut according USAF’s definition of the space boundary... in this way Pete Knight wore the first Rolex GMT-master pilot watch in “space”. (Photo: USAF/NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

June 8, 1966 NASA testpilot Joseph Walker died in a mid-air collision... During a 5 jet aircraft close formation photoshoot, Walker’s Lockheed F-104 Starfighter collided with the North American XB-70 Valkyrie n° 2 due to the wake vortex from the XB-70's right wingtip. The XB-70 co-pilot Carl Cross also died in the accident... In January 1963 and on July 9 & August 22 of that year Joe Walker made three X-15 flights above 50 miles, with the first qualifying him as an astronaut according to USAF rules and the latter two above 100 kilometers, qualifying him as an astronaut according to FAI rules! This 1963 photo shows Joseph “Joe” Walker donning “ejection seat spurs” before a flight in an USAF Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Joe Walker became the first person to fly to space twice. (Photo: NASA/USAF)

[moonwatchuniverse]

Celebrating 75 years United States Air Force Test Pilot School. Just 60 years ago TPS class 59-C officers pose near a North American F-86 Sabre jet. Note future NASA astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White, backrow 3rd & 4th from left, who would both fly on Gemini IV in 1965. From 1961 onwards the school added the Aerospace Research Pilot Course, whin spun off at least 25 future astronauts. 40 years ago, Tom wolfe wrote “The Right Stuff” about test pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experimental high-speed rocket-powered aircraft testing, pushing the envelope...  (Photo: USAF Academy/NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

April 11, 1970 Apollo 13 Command Module Pilot John “Jack” Swigert during the pre-launch breakfast. Note he wore an alligator logo Lacoste polo shirt, as the Apollo astronauts were initiated in golf by former golf-pro & Lacoste PR-person Danny Lawler. Jack Swigert wore his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi bezel pilot wristwatch on an Oyster bracelet, as he was the first to fly a Rolex to the Moon & back. Post-mission Swigert gifted the spaceflown Rolex to Rolex CEO René Jeanneret, who gave Swigert a Gold GMT-master in return. A Gold Rolex GMT-master with which Swigert was later pictured in his official NASA White Space Suit portrait - photo S7152266. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

An alternate to the official NASA crewphoto of the original Apollo 13 crew, Commander James Lovell (Navy),  Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly (Navy) and  Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise (USMC). Thomas Ken Mattingly, not immune to a Rubella exposure, would be replaced by John “Jack” Swigert (USAF) on April 9, 1970 a mere 48 hours before launch! (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

November 1966, USAF testpilot & astronaut group 3 member Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin made his first spaceflight aboard the Gemini XII mission. Aldrin, a USMA West Point graduate and MIT PhD specialized in spacewalk techniques, earned him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts, is pictured here during the November 13, 1966 spacewalk as the capsule was docked to the Atlas/Agena Target Vehicle. Aldrin performed two standup EVAs, lasting 3.5 hours and one full EVA lasting 2 hours 6 minutes. On November 15, 1966 after 3 days 22 hours, the Gemini 12 crew (James Lovell & Edwin Aldrin) was recovered by USS Wasp off the East coast of the USA. Note the NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster on long black velcro at his right forearm. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

50 years ago, NASA astronaut Frank Borman posed for an official NASA portrait, Between December 21 & 27, 1968, as Commander of the Apollo 8 crew, he was the first of 24 astronauts to fly to the Moon. In July 1969, Borman was the first US astronaut to visit the Soviet Union, acting as a mediator on the issue of Apollo 11 and the unmanned Luna 15 being at the same time in lunar orbit. In 1970, Frank Borman retired from NASA and the USAF but he remains the oldest living NASA astronaut. Note Borman wore a Rolex Date-Just wristwatch on Jubilee bracelet. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

Due to the late replacement of Mattingly by Jack Swigert as the prime Apollo 13 CMP, there was no time for an official white space suit crew photo. From left to right; LMP Fred Haise, CMP John “Jack” Swigert and Commander James Lovell. Note that Swigert wore his personal Rolex GMT-master 1675 Pepsi pilot wrist watch. (Photo: NASA)

[moonwatchuniverse]

1944-2019 celebrating 75 years United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. In 1949 Muroc Army Airfield was renamed after Captain Glen Edwards as the Army Air Corps became the Air Force. From 1961 onwards the school added the Aerospace Research Pilot Course, whin spun off at least 25 future astronauts. 40 years ago, Tom wolfe wrote “The Right Stuff” about test pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experimental high-speed rocket-powered aircraft testing, pushing the envelope…   (Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)