One often-overlooked but critical component of an astronaut's toolkit is the watch strap, which must remain secure in the harshest conditions and adapt to both extravehicular (EVA) and intravehicular (IVA) activities on the ISS, Moon, and beyond.
Origins of the moon watch strap
During the development of the Apollo program Deke Slayton (Mercury astronaut and director of flight crew operations for NASA) drafted a memorandum to the Procurement and Contracts Division of NASA, stating the need for a standard flight crew wrist chronograph for all NASA astronauts. Shortly after this, NASA solicited wrist watch chronographs from various manufacturers including Rolex, Bulova and Omega. After rigorous testing of specifications as outlined by Donald Slayton, NASA officially certified the Omega Speedmaster as flight qualified for all manned space missions and supplied it to all Apollo astronauts as standard issue.
The procurement request to Omega specified however that bands not be supplied, as a mounting solution had yet to be determined. Standard watch straps like leather or metal bracelets were not suitable because they couldn't fit over the large, pressurized sleeves of spacesuits, and were suboptimal for the harsh conditions of the moon (temperatures, abrasive regolith, etc).
The next stage was finding a way to secure these tools to the astronauts. This task was handed off to NASA's Flight Crew Integration Division (FCID) which had developed a simple Velcro strap system. These straps were not exclusive to Omega and became standardized for other externally mounted hardware such as wrist mirrors, Skylab dosimeters and lunar EVA cuff checklists.
Learnings from the lunar surface
While the Velcro strap solved many problems, it wasn’t without flaws. Lunar regolith, a fine and abrasive dust, would embed itself into the Velcro material, reducing its effectiveness and durability over time. NASA’s whitepapers from the Apollo missions documented this as a recurring problem, leading to concerns about long-term reliability. The Velcro would cake up quickly leading to equipment detaching unintentionally and being impossible to clean out or repair afterwards.
There were reports of equipment being clogged and mechanisms jammed in every Apollo mission. The dust made Velcro® fasteners inoperable, as best described by Pete Conrad during EVA-2 Egress of Apollo 12: "doesn't hold worth a hoot"
The rigid velcro straps also posed compression challenges on the EVA suits. Compressing the suit too much could restrict fluid flow of the thermal control system. Not enough compression could cause the strap to slide off the large cuff wrists.
NASA’s experience with the Velcro in space reinforced the importance of designing tools and accessories that are functional, reliable, and adaptable—especially when operating in harsh, unpredictable conditions.
Monolith + Chrono-Grip
While there are a wide variety of strap solutions for different applications, there are very few that are designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space. After nearly a year of developing our own systems and testing innovative OEM solutions we were led to a partner that had dedicated their efforts for years to develop straps specifically for this mission. Nick Mankey Designs is at the forefront of tool watch strap innovation and their latest Chrono-Grip is the state of the art in EVA strap systems.
The Chrono-Grip uses their new “PRO series” 1.8mm Polyester Elastic Webbing providing an even compression around an EVA suit or wrist.The fabric is UV resistant, water proof, freeze proof, overstretch resistant, extremely lightweight and machine washable.
Equally innovative is the simplicity of the Chrono-Grip design. The strap system consists of only 2 Grade 5 Titanium hardware components and an adjustable length webbing, resulting in fewer modes of failure and extremely modular for different set ups during EVA and IVA.
The patent pending titanium G hook has gone through over 90 design iterations to improve hook geometry, allow for easier adjustability, and ensure a secure lock. The grip lock slots allow for infinite microadjustability and a universal strap system which can fit the smallest wrists as well as over a large EVA suit.
EVA Mode: Without removing the strap from the watch, the Chrono-Grip can be pulled through into a long compression NATO strap using the same G hook and allowing for the same microadjustability.
IVA Mode: A simple G hook strap that can be adjusted to length, offering a comfortable, minimal and breathable 20mm strap that can fit on any watch whether they have fixed, screw, or standard springbars.
This setup also creates a redundancy if 1 springbar fails and nearly doubles the usable length to fit over large EVA suit cuffs. The strap is made in the USA right here in California and will be offered in 3 different colors for Monolith: International Orange, Black, and Graphite+Orange.
"If there was ever an ultimate proving ground for a physical product to either make history or become history, open space would be the place. So, when given an opportunity to hitch a ride through the cosmic gauntlet with Project Monolith, I couldn't have said "yes" any faster.
As the age-old expression goes, "No plan survives first contact." A given design is only as good as its ability to adapt once introduced to its new reality. With space, that reality is nothing short of plan-piercing extremes.
So, if there were just two main attributes I was looking to achieve in developing the Chrono-Grip, they would be flexibility and durability; A duality that synthesized my most capable creation yet, whether you're beneath the atmosphere or above it."
- Nick Mankey, NMD Founder/Maker
The Chrono-Grip strap addresses the shortcomings of earlier designs while meeting the demands of modern space exploration. We've been personally field testing these for over a year with Monolith prototypes and it has consistently been our go to strap. Nick Mankey Designs’ straps have also already made an appearance on the wrist of Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman.
As we near the final stages of the Monolith launch sequence we are going through all the original EVA tests outlined by NASA during the Apollo missions. So far the performance has been fantastic and we will be publishing all the data/results in our next article, T-01.
