OMEGA and the 35th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Mission>>>>>>

[JBHII]

PRESS INFORMATION for immediate release

OMEGA and the 35th Anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Mission

Legendary U.S. astronauts Lt. General Thomas Stafford and Vance Brand, and Russian cosmonauts General Alexsei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, traveled to New York City to join OMEGA in a special two-day celebration of the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, during which the astronauts and cosmonauts wore the OMEGA Speedmaster Professional.

Lt. General Stafford, Mr. Brand and Mr. Kubasov made a special appearance at the OMEGA Flagship Boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City on Thursday, July 15th where they signed and donated 10 limited edition OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz “35th Anniversary” chronograph boxes to commemorate the mission’s historic anniversary and participated in a special forum discussion, moderated by space expert Miles O’Brien, sharing their memories of their famous mission and landmark “handshake in space.”

Later that evening, Lt. General Stafford, Mr. Brand and Mr. Kubsaov joined OMEGA for a festive VIP dinner at the famed Russian restaurant, Firebird, on 46th St.

On Friday, July 16th, the astronauts and cosmonauts visited the OMEGA Tourbillon Boutique on Wall St. for a celebratory luncheon with Russian dignitaries and special guests, including Hon. Andrey K. Yushmanov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in NYC, Vladimir Kikilo, U.N. Bureau Chief, ITAR-TASS, and Metropolitan Opera singer Monica Yunus.

Lt. General Stafford, Mr. Brand and Mr. Kubasov then made a special appearance at the New York Stock Exchange, where they rang the day's Closing Bell to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

The OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz “35th Anniversary” chronograph is released in a limited edition of 1,975 watches, featuring a meteorite dial and engraved case back.

[sgrenald]

I was just reading the press release on this watch:

OMEGA Watches: Press Kit Text

And, I have to say, that their description of the meteorite structure is completely wrong. The truth is, IMHO, much more interesting. The meteorite started out as a blob of molten metal 4.5 billion years ago. Since the vacuum of space doesn't conduct heat, it took literally hundreds of millions of years for the metal to solidify. Because it took so long, the iron (90%) and nickel (8%) separated out into two different alloys that crystallized differently.

In point of fact, while the surface of the meteorite was several thousands of degrees as it was burning through the atmosphere, most of the "hot" part melted off during the several minutes of entry, while the core remained close to Absolute Zero. If you'd come to the impact site (in the desert of SW Africa) a few minutes after impact, most of the fragments would have frost on them.

/analsciencegeeklecture