Seiko "Spring Drive Spacewalk"
Revision
why Seiko was providing three watches to Richard Garriott for the flight. I
suppose he at least has the option of sharing one with each of his crew
mates. Looks like Seiko employed some new technology and design features,
with the milled titanium, top pushers, gold tint, dial larger than the case,
and so on.
---
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=msg&goto=3627087&rid=4760#msg_3627087
SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk:
The Quiet Revolution goes into space
In October 2008, Richard Garriott, the renowned video game designer and
adventurer, will become the sixth private space explorer. Richard will
conduct his space mission aboard the International Space Station, and during
his flight, he intends to conduct a spacewalk, which would make him the
first private individual to do so. As steps out into free space, he will be
wearing a SEIKO Spring Drive watch, specially designed and built for this
purpose.
The SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk
The Spring Drive Spacewalk as Richard Garriott plans to wear it when he goes
into free space .
Three years ago, the "Quiet Revolution" of Spring Drive started, and all
over the surface of the earth, Spring Drive is increasingly accepted as one
of the most important new developments in luxury watch-making. In 2008, the
revolution goes into space.
This unique watch, the Spring Drive Spacewalk, is presented for the first
time at Baselworld 2008 and takes pride of place in the new SEIKO Stand.
The second generation in space
Richard Garriott is not only a remarkable entrepreneur and adventurer (see
biography below) but he is also the son of a NASA astronaut. Richard's
father, Dr. Owen Garriott, made two space flights, aboard Skylab in 1973 and
aboard STS-9/Spacelab-1 in 1983. In total, Owen spent 70 days in space and
he carried SEIKO watches on both of these flights and wore one continuously
during his Spacelab mission. His trust in SEIKO was inherited by his son,
and so it was natural that Richard should contact SEIKO as soon as his
mission was arranged. Richard and SEIKO will be the first
"second-generation" space partnership.
Why SEIKO Spring Drive?
The challenge of making a watch that could operate not only during a space
flight but also outside on a spacewalk is a daunting one, and is precisely
the kind of challenge that brings out the best in SEIKO's engineers. The
first decision to be made was on the type of movement to be used. Without
special treatment, battery-operated instruments are not appropriate for a
spacewalk for safety reasons. Thus, quartz movements were not considered.
The choice was therefore between mechanical and Spring Drive. The choice was
decided by the need for safety and accuracy. As the watch will be exposed to
a range of temperature from minus 20 degrees Celsius to plus 70, accuracy at
extreme temperatures was the critical factor, and no mechanical watch can
retain its accuracy in these conditions, because of the inherent instability
in these conditions of the traditional escapement which regulates the time
in all mechanical watches. Instead of a traditional regulator, Spring Drive
has a Tri-synchro Regulator, an entirely new regulator that uses and
generates mechanical, electrical and electromagnetic power, and is less
affected by temperature variations. Thus, Spring Drive was selected as the
perfect mechanism for the task.
The Spring Drive Spacewalk
The SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk has been custom designed and built with
Richard's mission in mind. The mission of SEIKO's engineers was to build a
watch that was light, air-tight, strong, easy to read and easy to use, as
well as safe and accurate.
Lightness: The recesses on the sides of the case save weight
Readability: The unique dial and special Lumibrite treatment ensure maximum
legibility in bright or dark conditions
Maximum ease of use:
Uniquely shaped crown and buttons at 12 o'clock position.
(i) The air-tight case
Because of the vacuum of free space, the watch case needs to be completely
air-tight. Based on SEIKO's long experience with Divers watches that can
withstand pressures up to 1,000 meters, Spacewalk was designed with special
features that will guarantee air-tightness. In addition, to maintain the
air-tightness in the huge temperature changes that occur in the vacuum of
free space, and especially in cold temperatures, it was necessary to develop
a new type of gasket using a rubberized material.
(ii) The lightness of High-intensity titanium
Everything to be taken into space needs to be as light and as strong as
possible. High -intensity titanium was chosen as the case material because
it is 40% lighter than stainless steel.
(iii) The optimum balance of lightness and wide dial-opening
The next challenge was to make the watch both as light and as large as
possible. The case was designed for minimum volume but maximum dial opening
size, to ensure quick readability. The solution was to build a case with
recessed sides, but this required a new engineering solution, using a CNC
machine that SEIKO developed in-house. This process reduced the volume of
the case material by 30 %. With this process, a case was created that has
the optimum balance of strength, lightness and wide dial opening.
(iv) The most readable dial.
Richard needs to be able to see time and elapsed time at a glance. After
many dial designs were tested, a new layout, with the chronograph dials at
the top, was selected. The hands and hour markers were designed expressly
for this watch, and additional layers of SEIKO's Lumibrite material were
used. The dial is now at least three times brighter than a normal luminous
watch.
(v) Maximum ease of use
Richard's hands will be protected, of course, by thick gloves. He therefore
needed the buttons to be over-sized so that they can easily be used and they
are placed at the top of the case to be more readily accessible.
The harmony of space travel and Spring Drive
In addition to all the technical attributes which make the Spring Drive
Spacewalk the prefect watch for the mission, there is a profound harmony
between the essence of Spring Drive and the whole arena of space and space
exploration. With its glide motion hands, SEIKO Spring Drive is the only
watch to reflect the true, continuous nature of time. It measures time
without 'ticks', and the perfect, uninterrupted motion of every part of the
movement is in perfect harmony with the eternal, continual and precise
motion of the planets. There can be nothing more appropriate than the
arrival of the "quiet revolution" of Spring Drive into space. SEIKO is
deeply grateful to Richard Garriott and to the Space Adventures Company for
the opportunity to contribute to this thrilling mission by bringing the
beauty of glide motion closer to the stars.
Meeting the challenge and the future
The task of creating this remarkable watch was difficult, and it has
involved new developments in every aspect of SEIKO's watchmaking skills. It
has taken a dedicated team over three years to create and to test the Spring
Drive Spacewalk and new skills, materials and ideas have been generated as a
result. SEIKO's history is replete with examples of how watches like
Spacewalk later inspire future generations of SEIKO watches. That is the
spirit that inspires SEIKO. Perhaps, the SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk will
be another example. We are going to create just 100 watches. Among them,
three pieces will go with Richard on his mission and the remaining watches
will be marketed worldwide in December this year.
The Mission - October 12 to 19, 2008
Richard will spend approximately a week in space, blasting off from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the SOYUZ TMA-13 spacecraft. The
launch is scheduled for October 12, 2008.
Richard's mission is more than a joy ride! He will be conducting a series of
scientific experiments and his father, who is his mission scientist, is now
developing the program. One experiment already in place concerns the growth
of protein crystals in space, which may be used in researching cures for
diseases on Earth. In addition, Richard will seek to use his mission to
highlight the future commercial possibilities of manned space flight.
We wish Richard the very best of luck with his mission.
Richard Garriott Biography
Born in 1961, in Cambridge, England, Richard is one of the leading designers
of video and on-line games. He created his first game, Akalabeth in 1980 but
his major success was the Ultima series, which is still popular today in its
MMOG form. His latest game, Tabula Rosa, has just been released.
SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk
Specifications:
Caliber: Spring Drive Chronograph 5R86
Case: High-intensity Titanium
Diameter 53.0 mm (12-6h) , 48.7 mm (3-9h)
Thickness 15.2 mm
Weight 92.5 g
Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: 10 Bar
Bracelet: The final specification is yet to be decided. SEIKO is now working
with the Russian Federal Space Agency on the optimum design.
Spring Drive Chronograph Caliber 5R86:
Hour, minute and second hands with calendar
GMT hand
Power reserve indicator
50 jewels
Movement Diameter : 30.0mm, Thickness: 7.6 mm
416 parts
Power reserve : 72 hours with/without chronograph function in use
Chronograph to 12 hours
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
SWG
> Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk ... at the Basel watch fair ... I was wondering
> why Seiko was providing three watches to Richard Garriott for the flight. I
> suppose he at least has the option of sharing one with each of his crew
> mates. Looks like Seiko employed some new technology and design features,
> with the milled titanium, top pushers, gold tint, dial larger than the case,
> and so on.
>
> ---
>
I love my Japanese friends!
They did not indicate the retail price of this wonderful piece of
useless technology (springdrive). Would the argumentation possibly
make you dream enough to fend off with the money? ;-)
Fortitudo Dei
> The SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk has been custom designed and built with
> Richard's mission in mind. The mission of SEIKO's engineers was to build a
> watch that was light, air-tight, strong, easy to read and easy to use, as
> well as safe and accurate.
>
> Lightness: The recesses on the sides of the case save weight
>
Amusing that "lightness" should be listed as a positive attribute for
a watch which has been designed to travel into space!
huh?
watch strapped on each arm. Seiko is probably doing the same for this guy
but including a third watch "just in case."
I'm sure he could just ask ground control what time it was.
"Revision" <ttsR...@NOJUNKcharter.net> wrote in message
news:47f6cdb8$0$14848$8826...@free.teranews.com...
Dieter Michel
>> The mission of SEIKO's engineers was to build a watch that was light,
>> air-tight, strong, easy to read and easy to use, as well as safe
>> and accurate.
>>Lightness: The recesses on the sides of the case save weight
> Amusing that "lightness" should be listed as a positive attribute for
> a watch which has been designed to travel into space!
Assuming that many people - me among them - will consider
this space watch project being marketing driven, nevertheless
in general, each gram of payload that is to be brought
into the earth orbit is expensive, because it consumes a
multitude of its weight in fuel and transporter structure.
From what I could roughly figure out from data I found on the
space shuttle, the payload/total weight ratio is about 1:125.
Of course, this is not a linear relationship, but it says that
for each gram saved I can save 125g of total weight. In practice
this will of course be less because nobody will change the
structure for that but just use less fuel.
A watch will probably be part of the personal belongings of the
astronaut and be counted among the free allowances for astronaut
baggage - so some extra or less grams will probably not make
a big difference then.
However, i find it funnier that a watch with an "automatic
recharging system" working with an oscillating wietht / rotor
is used in a microgravity environment. Of course, it might work
based on mass inertia alone, but I presume that a hand wind
movement (like in the Omega Speedmaster Professional, as we
are talking about space watches) would be more reliable.
(And, as we know from Apollo 13, may well be very useful in
certain cases).
Best regards,
Dieter Michel
Jack Denver
"SWG" <swissw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4084ccf7-1bef-4ae8...@z38g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>
> I love my Japanese friends!
>
> They did not indicate the retail price of this wonderful piece of
> useless technology (springdrive). Would the argumentation possibly
> make you dream enough to fend off with the money? ;-)
Methinks I detect a note of envy -in the past pulling off these kind of
publicity stunts was the excluisive domain of the Swiss - Omega is still
making $ off the moon watch almost 40 years later (my goodness - is it
really almost 40 years since the moon landing?).
As you have told us many times, it's all about the "emotion", so the
technological merit (or lack thereof) of the Springdrive and the retail
price of this watch (assuming it goes into production) matters little. If
watches had anything to do with technical merit or price, then we'd all be
wearing $10 quartz watches, but we don't, so it doesn't. By wearing this
watch, you will be able to connect yourself to the spacewalk that costs
millions of $, so a few measly thousands is a small price to pay for a
soaring flight of the imagination. It's "earthbound" thinking to put a
price tag on something like this and sour grapes to point out that a Casio
from the drugstore would have done the job and that the mission controllers
will be keeping track of the time so that the man doesn't really need a
watch at all.
Moka Java
He's bringing several of them along with him so nobody gives 2 spits
about the weight. A plastic G-shock would be better suited for the
task. It's all for the $.
Revision
>technology (springdrive). Would the argumentation possibly make you dream
>enough to fend off with the money? ;-)
One number that was mentioned, perhaps a rumor, put the price at 20,000 CHF,
which happens to be $20,000. Or a total of $2 million for the entire
production run of 100.
It is good timing on Seiko's part as Japan is now a paid-in member of the
space station project.
The watch is good enough to dream, but not to buy one. The bargain is the
flight itself, as $20 million charged is a fraction of the Soyuz/ISS costs.
A somewhat good deal for the Russian, as $20 million probably covers most of
the direct costs of a Soyuz launch.
John S.
and adventurer, will become the sixth private space explorer. Richard
will conduct his space mission aboard the International Space Station,
and during his flight, he intends to conduct a spacewalk, which would
make him the first private individual to do so. As steps out into free
space, he will be wearing a SEIKO Spring Drive watch, specially
designed and built for this purpose."
Lets see. We have an video game designer and adventurer pretending to
be an astronaut on a space mission where he will enhance man's
knowlege about space by taking a hike in space. He will be well
outfitted for the task with an expensive quartz timed wristwatch that
relies on a spring for power. Will the spacesuit be haute couteur?
Alex W.
"John S." <hjs...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:28d06c90-07bd-4559...@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
Don't knock it. This way the Russians get to keep their
space programme alive and their scientists gainfully
employed in Russia rather than taking work in rocket
research in Iran or North Korea.
Personally, I'd LOVE to be able to take that trip -- and I'm
sure I am not alone. This guy proves that anyone can do it,
that you don't need to be a paid-up specimen of physical
perfection employed by a government. With any luck, this
precedent will encourage the emergence of private space
travel ....
Purely speculative, of course, but how much would a company
be prepared to pay to be the first watch on Mars? $100
million?
John S.
The guy isn't "doing" anything other than handing over an emormous
amount of money for the adult equivalent of an extended rocket ride at
the carnival.
> With any luck, this
> precedent will encourage the emergence of private space
> travel ....
>
> Purely speculative, of course, but how much would a company
> be prepared to pay to be the first watch on Mars? $100
> million
Have no idea, but yes there are no free rides for watches or lunches
for amateur space cadets.
Moka Java
Personally I have no desire to travel in space or take a space walk.
I'm mildly claustrophobic and acrophobic. I don't think I'd panic but
puking in the space helmet is not a pleasant prospect.
>
> Purely speculative, of course, but how much would a company
> be prepared to pay to be the first watch on Mars? $100
> million?
>
>
Omega gave NASA all the Speedmaster Pros they wanted.
Revision
> a watch strapped on each arm. Seiko is probably doing the same for this
> guy but including a third watch "just in case."
>
> I'm sure he could just ask ground control what time it was.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **