Apollo 13: the OMEGA Speedmaster that helped bring the crew home

When the Apollo 13 mission was launched on 11 April 1970, no one on board, nor on the ground, could have anticipated the drama and the disaster that almost took place. The crew, commanded by veteran astronaut James Lovell, was bound for the Moon. This was to be the third human Moon landing in history, and the next successful chapter of the Apollo programme. Together with command module pilot Jack Swigert and lunar module pilot Fred Haise, each of the three astronauts was equipped with OMEGA Speedmaster Professional chronographs - part of NASA's official equipment for all crewed missions since 1965.

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James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise

The watches were supplied as essential equipment for the mission. As described by James Ragan, the NASA engineer who first tested and qualified the OMEGA Speedmaster in 1964, "The watch was a critical back-up instrument. If the astronauts ever lost the ability to communicate with the ground, or the functionality of their digital timers, the only thing they could rely on would be the watches they always wore on their wrists. It was essential that the watches were always available to help the astronauts if any problem arose."

Indeed, a serious problem occurred on Apollo 13 just two days after launch. When an oxygen tank exploded on board, the Service Module was damaged and the astronauts were faced with a situation of extreme danger. The mission to the Moon was abandoned.

From that moment on, the main objective became bringing the crew back to Earth safely.

Part of the innovative rescue strategy, directed from Houston, consisted of transferring the astronauts to the Lunar Module. However, this spacecraft had not been built to support so many people for an extended period of time. So, to conserve power, the crew switched off almost all the power – rendering their digital timers useless and leaving the astronauts at the mercy of dark, freezing conditions.

Apollo 13 faced numerous serious challenges over the following days, as NASA worked tirelessly to overcome an increasingly unstable situation. However, it was at the final hurdle that OMEGA's precision proved crucial.

As the mission had drifted off course by around 60 to 80 nautical miles, the module would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at the wrong angle and be bounced back into space, with no possibility of recovery.

So, to correct the spacecraft's course manually, a precise 14-second burn of fuel was required. There was no margin for error whatsoever. Without their digital timers, Swigert used his OMEGA Speedmaster chronograph to time the burn, while Lovell steered the spacecraft using the Earth's horizon as a reference. As James Lovell, the Mission Commander, would later say,

"We used the OMEGA watch that Jack had on his wrist and I had to control the spacecraft. Jack timed the engine burn to make the necessary correction and bring us back home safely."

To everyone's great relief, this unique manoeuvre worked perfectly and, finally, on 17 April, 142 hours and 54 minutes after launch, Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean. The OMEGA watch had played its part to perfection.

Later that same year, on 5 October 1970, OMEGA received NASA's "Silver Snoopy Award" – as a gesture of gratitude for its contributions to the success of crewed space missions. When this prestigious award was created, Snoopy was chosen as NASA's unofficial mascot because of his ability to keep a certain lightness in serious situations. The award also emphasised the success of the missions and acted as a "watchful and vigilant guard dog".

Even today, the silver lapel pin is a treasured reminder of OMEGA's history in space exploration and, in particular, of the crucial role it played in the “successful failure” of Apollo 13.