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.
