Dr. Joe MacInnis just got back from a trip to visit The Crown in Geneva, Switzerland and he sent in this REALLY AMAZING new high-resolution color photo of his Ultra-Rare Single Red SEALAB SEA-DWELLER floating in zero gravity aboard the Space Shuttle which was taken by Canadian Astronaut Dr. Dave Williams.
Man, is this shot just out of this world or what!?!! It's hard to put into words just how crazy-profound this image is!!! This is arguably the single greatest Rolex tool watch in history based upon where it has been and what it has witnessed.
Below we see a photo of Dr. Joe MacInnis while he was training to be a SEALAB Aquanaut with the U.S. Navy SEALAB III program in San Francisco, California at Hunters Point Shipyard.
Below we see a photo of Dr. Joe MacInnis when he was featured in a Really cool Rolex ad from 1974.
...Rolex NASA Coolness... THE REAL TOP GUN Scott "Scooter" Altman U.S. Navy Test Pilot & NASA Astronaut
What is more exciting that discovering another NASA Astronaut who wore his Rolex in Space? Scott "Scooter" Altman is one of the most experienced U.S. Navy Test Pilots and NASA Astronauts in history as he flew on four Space Shuttle Missions.
Top Gun
Scott Altman was enrolled at the U.S. Navy's Topgun School located at Air Station Marimar. Scott worked as one of the lead stunt pilots in the movie 1986 movie Top Gun, which starred Tom Cruise. Scott stunt-doubled Tom Cruise's character 'Maverick' as he flew an F-14 fighter jet during the aerobatic flight sequences. We see Scott 'flipping the bird' in the video excerpt below from Top Gun, which makes Scott one of the most famous middle finger flippers in history.
In a 2000 NASA interview just before his spaceflight aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-106 Scott Altman said:
"Well, Top Gun was a real thrill. I still remember that so vividly. The word was going around town that Hollywood was coming to Miramar, where I was stationed, and they were going to do a movie, and we were all kind of excited. My squadron had just gotten back from a seven-and-a-half-month cruise about a week and a half before, so our airplanes were at home, we were available, we weren't too highly tasked. And it turned out they picked my squadron to supply the F-14s.
Then the skipper got together and tried to pick four guys that he thought, were mature enough, I guess, to handle, you know, the capability that they were being given in working with the movie, and all the things that were required. And the director wanted to have a small cadre of people that he could work with so you develop an understanding of what the movie folks want versus what we can do and how to try and balance those two requirements.
The flying was incredible. You know, most Navy pilots don't get to buzz the tower like in the movie – if you did you could just peel your wings off and, throw 'em at the door because you probably wouldn't be flying anymore – but, since it was Hollywood, you know, they wanted the scene. I had to buzz the tower. And, of course, they wanted nine different takes – so we did it nine times!"
I Feel The Need...
...The Need For Speed!
Val Kilmer is pictured below in the original Top Gun movie and we see him rocking his GMT-Master.
Tom Cruise recently reprized his role as Maverick in the Top Gun Maverick which is scheduled to be released in June 2020.
Scott Altman was a Top Gun in the U.S. Navy where he flew fighters off the deck of aircraft carriers. He went on to become a NASA Astronaut and flew on four different Space Shuttle Missions.
Scott was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2018. In 1998 he flew as a pilot on Space Shuttle Atlantis aboard STS-90, which was a 16-day mission for the European Space Agency's Spacelab Laboratory. In the photo below taken aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia we see Scott Altman orbiting earth as seen out the Space Shuttle cockpit window, and notice he is playing with his Rolex Submariner.
In 2000 Scott served as a Pilot aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-106, which was an 11-day mission that flew to the International Space Station, which prepared for the arrival of the first Expedition. This mission successfully delivered close to three tons of payload cargo from the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station and it the photo below we see Scott Altman rocking his Root Beer GMT-Master. Nick Gould discovered this image and sent it to me after I published this story. The caption reads:
STS106-388-025 (8-20 September 2000) — Astronaut Scott D. Altman, STS-106 pilot, works on a laptop computer in the SPACEHAB Logistics Double Module onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
In 2002 Scott served at the Commander of Space Shuttle STS-109 which serviced the Hubble Space Telescope, and completed a series of spacewalks while setting a new record at 35 hours and 55 minutes.
In 2009 Scott was again the Commander of Space Shuttle Atlantis for the STS-125 (pictured below) which was the final Hubble Space Telescope service mission.
The 2009 photo below shows Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-125 taking off as she heads for the heavens.
In the photo below we see the Hubble Space Telescope docked inside the cargo bay of the Space Station Atlantis after it was captured and locked-down in the bay as it spins above earth which we see in the background.
In the photo below we see NASA Astronauts at they prepare to elevate the Remote Manipulator Arm (RMS) to the top fo the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in order to install protective covers on the magnetometers.
In the photo below we see Space Shuttle Atlantis crew members working on the Hubble Space Telescope with earth in the background.
In this next photo we see the Hubble Space Telescope after it was released back into space after being repaired and updated aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
In the photo below we see Scott Altman successfully landing Space Shuttle Atlantis after the STS-125 mission.
In the next photo below we see the Space Shuttle Atlantis which is perched on top to a modified Boeing 747 which is flying it back to Florida from California after it landed at Edwards Air Force Base.
The NASA photo below of STS-125 Commander, Scott Altman was taken on January 1, 2010 as he spoke at a press conference and notice he is wearing his stainless steel Rolex Submariner.
The photo below of the Orion Nebula was taken in January 2006 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope which was successfully repaired and updated as part of the Scott Altaman's STS-125 Mission.
Special thanks to Philip from MoonWatchUniverse for sending in this photo of Scott rocking his Root beer GMT-Master while piloting the Space Shuttle.
Philip wrote: "Spaceflight & wristwatch fans know that astronaut Scott "Scooter" Altman loved his Rolex watches... wearing several Rolex watches on each of his 4 spaceflight missions!"
"18 years ago... March 2002, Commander Scott Altman gives thumbs up in the cockpit of space shuttle Columbia during mission STS-109, the 4th Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
Note he wore his personal Rolex GMT-master Rootbeer pilotwatch, together with the NASA-issued sleep-wake monitor actiwatch at his left wrist."
As we head into 2019, I am really excited to share this superb story with you of the first Rolex aboard a Space Shuttle Mission which was STS-39 Discovery, and the Pepsi GMT-Master was space worn by Lloyd Blaine Hammond as seen below in his official NASA portrait.
Lloyd Blaine Hammond pictured above in 1984 wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master
The photo above shows Lloyd Blaine Hammond 35 years ago—in 1984—sporting his Pepsi GMT-Master. Hammond is a Gulfstream test pilot and former US Air Force officer and former NASA Astronaut who flew on two Space Shuttle Missions.
The photo above and below show Hammond taking-off aboard Space Shuttle Mission STS-39 on April 28, 1991 from Kennedy Space Center on Launch Complex LC-39A at 11:33:14 UTC.
The photo below shows the prime crew of Space Shuttle STS-39 and we see Hammond pictured third from the right where you see his GMT-Master peaking out of his NASA space-suit.
The photo below shows Hammond aboard Space Shuttle STS-39 in 1991, and he is pictured in the back row in the center wearing his Rolex GMT-Master. STS-39 was the twelfth Space Shuttle Mission of Shuttle Discovery
This story is obviously a very exiting revelation in putting together pieces of the Rolex In Space puzzle and it comes with a superb twist. I have been communicating with Philip who is the administrator of the Moon Watch Universe MWU-blog which focuses on space-flown wrist watches. Philip is working on a new article which will be published in the BIS monthly magazine Spaceflight, and his upcoming article is named "Shake Rattle & Rolex." This exciting new article will add many new puzzle pieces to the space-flown Rolex story and feature many never before published photos that document the history of Rolex in space. The photo above and below of Hammond wearing his Pepsi GMT-Master in this story appear courtesy of Philip. Philip worked for 35 years as an officer in the NATO Integrated Air Defense System. To learn more about Philip you can check out this fascinating interview on MoonwatchOnly.com.
The photo below above and video below show Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-39 successfully landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The photo below shows the crew of STS-39 standing in front of the Space Shuttle after landing. You can learn more about Rolex aboard Space Shuttle in my story on Dr. Leroy Chiao.
Space Shuttle DISCOVERY
1994 STS-64
Lloyd Blaine Hammond was the pilot of the 1994 Space Shuttle Mission and we see him wiping his glasses with his Pepsi GMT-Master front and center. In between STS-39 and STS-64 Hammond's personal Rolex GMT-Master stayed 19 days and 6 hours in space!!!
STS-64 was an unusual mission that tested Lidar-In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE) which studied cloud formations and Earth's atmosphere with laser beams.
STS-64 was also the first untethered space walk in a decade. STS-64 also studied the sun's corona and solar wind with a Spartan satellite that was deployed and later retrieved by the Space Shuttle.
The photo below shows STS-64 touching down at Edwards Air Force Base in Califorina by pilot, Lloyd Blaine Hammond in 1994.
The photo below shows STS-64 Discovery riding piggyback on a 747-SCA as it takes off from Edwards Air-Force Base in California on its ferry flight ride back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The U.S. Air Force f-15 Strike Eagle pictured below was patrolling the area where the Space Shuttle Atlantis took off as it roared into space on its final flight on May 14, 2010. What an amazing photo from the U.S. Air Force!!! Speaking of NASA and the U.S. Air Force, we have some amazing Rolex history coming up that covers both!!!
Historically Rolex has always been extremely secretive and discreet, and no journalists in the past have ever been invited "INSIDE ROLEX" to explore and report on all four Rolex Manufacturing faclities in Switzerland.
In November 2013, this changed when Rolex invited Jake to take an unprecdented journey into the heart of Rolex to learn and report on everything he witnessed and learned.
This Super-Detailed 3 Part Story is a "MUST READ" story for anybody who wants to understand what really makes Rolex tick.
