Ball Watch Company Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster Captain Poindexter Watch Review
Friday - 04 October 2013
Ball Watch Company has created a limited edition watch in tribute to Captain Poindexter, the first man to wear and test a Ball watch in space.
Captain Alan Goodwin 'Dex' Poindexter was an American naval officer, NASA astronaut and Commander of the United States Space Shuttle. In April 2010, Captain Poindexter wore a Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster aboard the United States Space Shuttle Discovery. He had contacted the brand directly to request the watch for his mission.
"Having a man of this calibre requesting a Ball timepiece aboard the Space Shuttle made Ball Watch Company truly honoured and humbled," the brand says.
Poindexter wore the watch during the STS-131 mission, of which he was Commander. The crew performed three spacewalks to replace external station equipment, and transferred more than 13,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and material. The mission lasted 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds, and they traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.
After the mission, Captain Poindexter reported that the watch "performed admirably, fulfilled all his expectations, kept time well and was easily readable, often in complete darkness". Ball received an official NASA certificate to attest the presence of the watch during the mission.
Ball Watch Company now pays tribute to Captain Poindexter, who sadly passed away in 2012, with a new commemorative watch.
Captain Alan Goodwin 'Dex' Poindexter was an American naval officer, NASA astronaut and Commander of the United States Space Shuttle. In April 2010, Captain Poindexter wore a Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster aboard the United States Space Shuttle Discovery. He had contacted the brand directly to request the watch for his mission.
"Having a man of this calibre requesting a Ball timepiece aboard the Space Shuttle made Ball Watch Company truly honoured and humbled," the brand says.
Poindexter wore the watch during the STS-131 mission, of which he was Commander. The crew performed three spacewalks to replace external station equipment, and transferred more than 13,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and material. The mission lasted 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds, and they traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.
After the mission, Captain Poindexter reported that the watch "performed admirably, fulfilled all his expectations, kept time well and was easily readable, often in complete darkness". Ball received an official NASA certificate to attest the presence of the watch during the mission.
Ball Watch Company now pays tribute to Captain Poindexter, who sadly passed away in 2012, with a new commemorative watch.
The Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster Captain Poindexter is limited to 1,000 pieces, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Samuel Pfeiffer Poindexter Special Needs Trust, to assist in the care of Poindexter's autistic son.
The watch is powered by the automatic calibre ETA 2836-2, and is chronometer certified by COSC. It has a stainless steel case with a 41.5 mm diameter, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, and an illuminated unidirectional rotating bezel. It is shock resistant to 7,500Gs, anti-magnetic to 12,000A/m, and water resistant to 333m. The dial is available in black or blue, and has self-powered micro gas lights on the hands and numerals for visibility in darkness. The timepiece includes a patented crown protection system, and comes with both a stainless steel bracelet and a rubber strap.
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