Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project: The "Outer Space Extreme Temperature Instrument"

The Omega Speedmaster is famous for its connection to NASA’s manned missions to the moon, which went as far as earning it a prestigious Silver Snoopy award for its role in returning the Apollo 13 astronauts safely to Earth. However, the Speedmaster as a watch predates America’s space program, having launched a year prior, in 1957, and the story of how it ended up as NASA’s only flight-qualified watch is one for the ages. The program through which Omega would go one to develop watches to withstand the unknowns of space exploration was called the Alaska Project, and it’s responsible for some of the most fascinating chapters of Omega Speedmaster history. 

[toc-section heading="The Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project Story"]

Today, the Alaska Project Speedmaster is largely associated with a stark white dial, rocket booster (capsule)-shaped totalizer hands, and of course, a large red apparatus affixed to the case. It’s a look that was brought back in 2008 to commemorate the Alaska Project II specifically, but as the name implied, this wasn’t the first stab at a space-ready chronograph from the brand. Omega continued to develop these watches into the late 1970s, with the great irony being that the final manned Apollo mission flown by NASA, Apollo 17, took place in December of 1972, meaning an official Alaska Project watch would never see the surface of the moon. 

That doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t see any time in space, however. Space agencies from the U.S. to the Soviet Union would end up incorporating these watches into their programs in some capacity, but humanity has yet to venture back to the lunar surface. That doesn’t make these watches any less compelling, however, and the work that Omega put into their development yielded some designs and concepts that we revel in to this day, beginning with the very first effort. 

[toc-section heading="The Omega Alaska Prototype"]

The original watch to come out of this program featured an almost unrecognizable case constructed from titanium. It used a variation of the Caliber 861 with a special set of oils that would be better suited to a foreign environment of wildly varying temperatures. The watch itself was to be nestled into an anodized aluminum housing to provide further thermal protection from the elements, with long pushers that allowed the timing complication to be accessed. If you’re at all familiar with the story of the development of the original PloProf dive watch, you’ll know that Omega has a tendency to begin at the extreme end, and scale back as needed, and that’s exactly what happened with the Alaska Project watches. 

Just five prototypes would end up being developed for NASA, and while the watch did end up ticking a lot of the right boxes, high production costs limited further development. Another direction would be needed, and this is when the standard steel Speedmaster case of the era would make its way into the project. By the time the Alaska Project II came in 1972, it was based on the reference ST 145.022, and made use of an altered shroud to offer the same thermal protection. 

[toc-section heading="The Omega Alaska Project II And III"]

For the Alaska Project II, Omega would treat the dial with micro abrasions to create a matte texture that eliminated any glare off the white surface. The black, capsule-shaped totalizer hands remained, the goal of which was to make it easy to get a quick read on their status, even when experiencing turbulence. Also aiding in this were radially printed numerals around the perimeter of each subdial. At the beginning, a familiar black bezel insert containing a tachymeter scale was used, though there are examples with a bezel indexed to the minutes as well, and the movement within was also based on the commercial Caliber 861. 

By the late 1970s, the Alaska Project III had emerged as a continued evolution of the program using a standard commercial steel case and caliber 861. The dial had returned to its standard black, and even the hands within the subdials had returned to their standard shape. Gone was much of the character that made the original example so special, but if you knew where to look, you could spot some differences. The biggest of these were the retention of the full numerals lining the subdials and a fully brushed case texture. This watch would serve as the inspiration for the modern Speedy Tuesday Speedmaster produced by Omega in collaboration with Fratello Watches. Though in the modern example, the dial used contrasting white subdials, a welcome move for the design. 

From the late ‘70s and into the ‘80s, the Alaska Project took on a different tone, and began to incorporate digital modules and displays into the formula, a move that makes a lot of sense, considering the use cases for these things. The learnings here would pave the way for what we now have in the X-33 Speedmaster collection, which do indeed get used in space (then again, so do plenty of other watches). It wouldn’t be until 2008 that we’d see the program explicitly mentioned in a new Speedmaster, and it’s a reference that celebrated the program’s origins. 

The Speedmaster Reference 311.32.42.30.04.001 was released to commemorate the secretive program that originally developed a collection of next-generation watches built for space, and indeed for the moon. The Speedmaster as it was ended up being good enough for the Apollo program, having seen and survived activity on the moon’s surface from Apollo 11 to Apollo 17, with a brief life-saving appearance on the ill-fated Apollo 13. These trips ended up cementing the Speedmaster’s place in history, but the Alaska Project that it spun off deserves its own place in history, and the modern Alaska Project released in 2008 is an attempt at exactly that. 

[toc-section heading="The Modern Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project"]

In 2008, the Speedmaster was in a very different place than it is today. Thankfully, even big changes for the Speedmaster are relatively conservative, all things considered. The basic design codes are as familiar and timeless as ever, and while the bracelet and the movement have come a long way, the shape of the case and the design of the dial itself have been well preserved in almost every measure. The Alaska Project Speedmaster from 2008 thus represents a well preserved idea. 

The twisted lug design of the Speedmaster case stands on its own in the pantheon of all-time great watch cases, and here it welcomes a mix of brushed and polished surfaces to accentuate the ‘twist’. This case famously measures 42mm in diameter, but in practice, it wears a bit smaller than that thanks to the integrated crown guard. It’s a case that has always worked well on wrists of all sizes, and while not small, it’s certainly ergonomic (this is especially the case with the modern generation of the Moonwatch). 

In 2008, the Speedmaster still used the Caliber 1861, and that’s what we find at work here. This movement is a remnant of the 861, and the current 3861 is the next step in its evolution. It is, of course, hand wound, and uses an integrated cam for activating the chronograph. There is a Lemania base at its core, and that remains evident at a glance thanks to the unique bridge structure. Not that you’ll get a view, as it sits behind a closed caseback emblazoned with the watch’s spacefaring bona fides. 

It’s everything else that makes this specific watch special, however. The watch has a matte white dial complete with capsule-shaped hands in the subdials, preserving a look that first appeared in prototype form in the late 1960s. It’s a striking visual, and becomes even more so when cased in the anodized red aluminum housing, which also comes as part of the kit. Unlike the first examples, this one gets a tachymeter scale so it can be used when housed. 

The red housing is a remnant of the era that produced the original, and doesn’t have any terribly practical use case in a modern setting, but it’s a huge part of the appeal of this watch in a modern setting, celebrating the rich (if less understood) components of Speedmaster history. The Alaska Project sheds light not just on the Speedmaster, but on Omega, and the state of the world itself in the 1960s. The spirit of working together toward a remarkable common goal bound us, even if for a brief moment in time, as a single species to achieve one of humanity's great accomplishments. The Alaska Project is a symbol of that ingenuity, and that positivity, and for that, I hope that Omega continues to honor its legacy in the years ahead. You can learn more at omegawatches.com.