Astronauts wore Rolex GMT's and not just Speedmasters. Say it isn't so...

SpeedyPhill
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Checked some NASA photos... the pre-launch Jonathan "Jonny" Kim with his personal Rolex Daytona on his lefthand wrist tucked underneath the Sokol KV02 space suit was spotted by SWFG member " Niccoloy " who also has an instagram account...
(Photos: NASA)
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72_RolexDaytona.webp 2025_ROLEX_Daytona.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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It looks like Jonathan "Jonny" Kim also took his Rolex Submariner onboard the ISS... so a Rolex Daytona, Rolex Submariner... next his GMT-master?
(Photo: NASA)
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2025_JonnyKim_Submariner-.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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Might ISS Expedition 72/73 crew member Jonathan Jonny Kim become the first astronaut to bring & wear 3 different Rolex watches in space?
(Photo: NASA)
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2025_JonnyKim_Daytona-.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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May 2025... meanwhile onboard the ISS...
Still closely following up if NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim, launched last April on Soyuz MS-27, took 3 Rolex watches onboard the ISS. Thus far we have spotted his Rolex Daytona and Rolex Submariner on his wrist while conducting science in near zero gravity but we know he also has a Rolex GMT-master Pepsi (and an Omega Seamaster).
Is he the first spacefarer to carry 3 Rolex watches in space?
(Photos: NASA)
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2025-ROLEX-Sub.webp 2025-ROLEX.webp
 
pdxleaf
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
May 2025... meanwhile onboard the ISS...
Still closely following up if NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim, launched last April on Soyuz MS-27, took 3 Rolex watches onboard the ISS. Thus far we have spotted his Rolex Daytona and Rolex Submariner on his wrist while conducting science in near zero gravity but we know he also has a Rolex GMT-master Pepsi (and an Omega Seamaster).
Is he the first spacefarer to carry 3 Rolex watches in space?
(Photos: NASA)
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2025-ROLEX-Sub.webp 2025-ROLEX.webp
Guessing that as a doctor he wears the Daytona. As a Navy Seal, he wears the submariner. As a Naval Aviator, he wears the GMT. And as an astronaut, he wears the Speedmaster.
 
DoctorEvil
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
May 2025... meanwhile onboard the ISS...
Still closely following up if NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim, launched last April on Soyuz MS-27, took 3 Rolex watches onboard the ISS. Thus far we have spotted his Rolex Daytona and Rolex Submariner on his wrist while conducting science in near zero gravity but we know he also has a Rolex GMT-master Pepsi (and an Omega Seamaster).
Is he the first spacefarer to carry 3 Rolex watches in space?
(Photos: NASA)
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2025-ROLEX-Sub.webp 2025-ROLEX.webp
Guess this also settles the perennial Hesalite vs Sapphire arguments Speedmaster enthusiasts always have. Some proponents of Hesalite claim that the Sapphire Speedy can't be "Flight Qualified" because it is prone to shatter if struck by something hard, leaving lots of tiny glass shards floating around the cabin, whereas Hesalite would just crack. These pics prove once and for all that a watch with a sapphire crystal is not regarded as an in-flight hazard.
 
SpeedyPhill
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Norwegian crew member Jannicke Jane Mikkelsen wore her personal Rolex SeaDweller during the Crew Dragon Fram2 mission in April 2025 !
Fram2 was a fully private spaceflight mission funded by Chinese-born Maltese businessman Chun Wang and lasted 3 days 14 hours...
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2025_CrewDragonFram2-ROLEX.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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A bit more on my post here above, as Jannicke Jane Mikkelsen is only the second Norwegian to fly in space !
SpaceX Crew Dragon Fram2 was a fully private spaceflight mission funded by Chinese-born Maltese businessman Chun Wang and was the very first manned spaceflight mission to be launched into a Polar orbit ( normally an orbit used by spy satellites, because of the shadow-advantages in such a helio-synchronous or Sunsynchronous orbit).
Interestingly, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, was again equipped with the panoramic cupola attachment which also flew in September 2021.
Thus far with entrepreneurs taking up the role of spaceflight participant, the official term for "space tourist", we have seen some amazing watches being flown-in-space (Audemars Piguet in 2009 and Richard Mille in 2021 to name a few), so checking out Fram2 footage might reveal some other wrist watches worn by the 4 spacefarers !
 
Archer
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RIP…first astronaut from Canada.

IMG_1861.webp
 
SpeedyPhill
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Moonwatchuniverse has been working on a dozen "astronaut case studies" using official press & NASA photographs in order to find out when well-known NASA astronauts (Aldrin, Armstrong, Borman, Carpenter, Cernan, Collins, Lovell, Mitchell, Shepard, Schirra, Swigert, White) were introduced to the Omega Speedmaster and perhaps more interesting what they wore before those days during NASA training....
Here's a tiny preview:
60 years ago… Gemini VII announced
1965, July 1 NASA announced the Gemini VII crew USAF Maj Frank Borman and US Navy LtCdr James Lovell. Backup crew were USAF LtCol Edward White and USAF Maj Michael Collins. Gemini VII was planned as a long duration mission lasting up to 14 days.
Wrist-watch-wise interesting as NASA didn’t have enough Omega Speedmaster chronographs to distribute to each astronaut on active flight status. Since NASA selection in Group 3, Collins had to wait 28 months (in fact 1 year after 1st batch Omega delivery) before using a NASA-issued Speedmaster during Gemini spaceflight training.
Note Michael Collins wore his personal Rolex Turn O’Graph 6202 wrist watch, a pilot watch which had also been used by the USAF Thunderbirds pilots between 1955 and 1960. Both Borman and Collins were test pilot students of USAF ARPS class 60C at Edwards AFB, already wearing Rolex in those days. Michael Collins often wore the Turn O'Graph during Apollo 11 training...
(Photo: NASA S65-28331)
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Don't know if there's enough interest in this esoteric research to start a separate topic 🧐
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SpeedyPhill
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Record-setting Rolex-in-space mission
NASA astronaut Jonathan "Jonny" Kim, ISS Expedition 73 crew member, took 3 Rolex wrist watches with him onboard the Int. Space Station:
Rolex Daytona, Rolex Submariner and a Rolex GMT-master. Currently 93 days in space, Kim also took an Omega Seamaster with him.
(Photo: NASA)
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NASA-KIM.webp
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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Dr Jonathan "Jonny" Kim 's love for "" what once were toolwatches "" deserves an overview photo:
(Photos: NASA)
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2025_ISSexp73_ROLEX.webp
 
TLIGuy
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Great new image of Jonny Kim and his GMT hard at work photographing the arrival of Space X Crew-11.


Jonny Kim Rolex Pepsi GMT-Master aboard International Space Station.webp

(CREDIT - NASA)
 
SpeedyPhill
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70 years ago… SETP into existence!
1955, September 14 saw the formation of the SETP - Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the first meeting on September 29 brought seventeen test pilots of the "Testy Test Pilots Society" together but the name was soon changed into SETP.
Well-known test pilots like Robert Hoover and Scott Crossfield were instrumental in the SETP creation with Crossfield becoming the driving force in the USAF and NASA’s hypersonic flight research X-15 spaceplane program.
In 1959 Crossfield was the first to fly the North American Aviation X-15, testing the spaceplane 14 times. This 1959 photo shows Scott Crossfield wearing his beloved Rolex GMT-master 6542 Pepsi pilot watch, which he wore between 1958 and at least 1968.
In October 1967, a Rolex GMT-master 1675, worn by test pilot William “Pete” Knight during X-15 flights 188 & 190 became the fastest pilot watch (Mach 6.7 = 7232 Km/Hr) and the first “Rolex-in-space” flying above 85 kilometers as 50 miles was considered “space” for USAF pilots!
Another post pointing out that the Rolex GMT-master was adopted by military pilots and not only the PanAm airline pilots...
(photos: USAF/AP/AFFTC)
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ROLEX6542_MWU-USAF.webp
 
DoctorEvil
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
70 years ago… SETP into existence!
1955, September 14 saw the formation of the SETP - Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the first meetihttps://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rip-chuck-yeager-the-man-who-broke-the-sound-barrierng on September 29 brought seventeen test pilots of the "Testy Test Pilots Society" together but the name was soon changed into SETP.
Well-known test pilots like Robert Hoover and Scott Crossfield were instrumental in the SETP creation with Crossfield becoming the driving force in the USAF and NASA’s hypersonic flight research X-15 spaceplane program.
In 1959 Crossfield was the first to fly the North American Aviation X-15, testing the spaceplane 14 times. This 1959 photo shows Scott Crossfield wearing his beloved Rolex GMT-master 6542 Pepsi pilot watch, which he wore between 1958 and at least 1968.
In October 1967, a Rolex GMT-master 1675, worn by test pilot William “Pete” Knight during X-15 flights 188 & 190 became the fastest pilot watch (Mach 6.7 = 7232 Km/Hr) and the first “Rolex-in-space” flying above 85 kilometers as 50 miles was considered “space” for USAF pilots!
Another post pointing out that the Rolex GMT-master was adopted by military pilots and not only the PanAm airline pilots...
(photos: USAF/AP/AFFTC)
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ROLEX6542_MWU-USAF.webp
Another test pilot who was a fan of the GMT Master was Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the "sound barrier" 😃
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rip-chuck-yeager-the-man-who-broke-the-sound-barrier
1997-Rolex-Chuck-Yeager-Ad.webp

Edit: Added link to the correct Hodinkee article about Chuck Yeager and removed incorrect one about King Frederik of Denmark!
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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Test pilot BrigGeneral Charles "Chuck" Yeager (1923-2020) had worn Rolex pilot watches for almost 75 years ! ! !
 
spacemission
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
70 years ago… SETP into existence!
1955, September 14 saw the formation of the SETP - Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the first meeting on September 29 brought seventeen test pilots of the "Testy Test Pilots Society" together but the name was soon changed into SETP.
Well-known test pilots like Robert Hoover and Scott Crossfield were instrumental in the SETP creation with Crossfield becoming the driving force in the USAF and NASA’s hypersonic flight research X-15 spaceplane program.
In 1959 Crossfield was the first to fly the North American Aviation X-15, testing the spaceplane 14 times. This 1959 photo shows Scott Crossfield wearing his beloved Rolex GMT-master 6542 Pepsi pilot watch, which he wore between 1958 and at least 1968.
In October 1967, a Rolex GMT-master 1675, worn by test pilot William “Pete” Knight during X-15 flights 188 & 190 became the fastest pilot watch (Mach 6.7 = 7232 Km/Hr) and the first “Rolex-in-space” flying above 85 kilometers as 50 miles was considered “space” for USAF pilots!
Another post pointing out that the Rolex GMT-master was adopted by military pilots and not only the PanAm airline pilots...
(photos: USAF/AP/AFFTC)
.
ROLEX6542_MWU-USAF.webp
Ejército del aire, España.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/who-what-got-you-into-speedmasters.160898/page-3#post-2203133
 
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