zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: You're seemed to be confused here buddy, that
: helium release valve only concerns deep sea
: diving expedions--NOT SPACE environment.
: That is why Seamasters have the helium
: valve. Speedy Pro had been chosen exactly
: due its ability to handle such harsh
: environments you can find while in orbit. It
: must have been some production defect that
: have caused that crystal to pop.

What I meant was that a helium release valve couldn've been issued on the Speedmaster. The one on the Omega SMP actually does the EXACT same thing I described earlier. When you're in a deep sea submersible, the enviorment must be pressurized so the ship doesn't implode in on itself. That's common sense.

But this means that the watch is also highly pressurized. When you resurface, the OUTSIDE pressure decreases (just like in space, but not as drastic) while the inside pressure on the watch remains relatively high. Without a "helium" release valve, the crystal could potentially pop out. This is what probably happened on the Moon mission.

I personally think there should be a relief valve on the Speedmaster due to this threat.

By the ways, do you think NASA would issue a defective watch to an astronaut? And can an imperfect crystal survive all of the g's during take-off?