SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk is the first watch ever designed and built specifically for use in free space. It was created with the active co-operation of Richard Garriott, online game designer and the adventurer who spent 12 days in space on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in October, 2008.

It performed flawlessly throughout Richard's flight in space and required no adjustment or winding in spite of the lack of gravity and substantially reduced body movement in orbit. In fact, Richard took four of these watches on his mission, two of which he brought back to earth, with the other two remaining on board the ISS.


One of the Spacewalk watches used in space and the EVA report made by the RSC Energia

On December 23, 2008 two months after Richard's return, the remaining two watches were tested in free space during a 5-hour 38-minute Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) by the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Lonchakov, who wore one on each wrist during his stay outside the ISS. During the EVA, the watches kept the correct time and the chronographs functioned perfectly. This represents a considerable achievement, given that the watches were worn outside his spacesuit and exposed to violent swings in temperature, zero gravity and strong radiation.

On their return to earth, the watches were subjected to thorough investigation by the engineers at Seiko Epson's facility in Japan. The analysis concluded that the specifications of the original design were more than adequate for the EVA task and that the watch was perfectly suited for future use in space.

Source: Seiko Watch Corporation

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