IWC Schaffhausen designed the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” for the crew of the Polaris Dawn spaceflight, engraving each of their names on the back.
Editor’s note: Following a series of delays, the Polaris Dawn, which was originally scheduled to launch on Aug. 27, launched on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
New York—Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen is sending four of its watches to space Tuesday morning.
The Richemont-owned company outfitted each of the four crew members aboard commercial spaceflight mission Polaris Dawn with a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn.”
The design features a white ceramic case, a “space-blue” dial printed with stars, and the mission logo.
Engraved on the case back are the names of each of the crew members—U.S. billionaire Jared “Rook” Isaacman, who will serve as commander, retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX Lead Space Operations Engineers Sarah “Cooper” Gillis and Anna “Walker” Menon.
The crew of the Polaris Dawn mission, from left: Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman, and Sarah Gillis
Polaris Dawn is set to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida sometime today.
When the watches return to Earth, they will be auctioned at Christie’s in New York City, with proceeds to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” (Ref. IW389111) timepieces feature a 44.5-millimeter case made of white ceramic and dark blue lacquered dials with stars along with the mission logo.
The Polaris Dawn flight will include up to five days in orbit and an attempt at the first private spacewalk.
The missions will utilize SpaceX technology, with the rockets, crewed spacecraft, and spacesuits all provided by SpaceX, according to Space.com.
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Polaris Dawn is the first of three spaceflights planned as part of the Polaris Program, which aims to advance human spaceflight capabilities by demonstrating new technologies and conducting scientific research to learn more about humans adapting, living and working in space.
A total of 36 experiments have been selected from 31 partner institutions and designed to advance human health on Earth and on future long-duration spaceflights, said the program.
The Polaris Program was organized by Isaacman, Polaris Dawn’s mission commander.
He is the CEO of payment processing solutions provider Shift4, as well as a pilot and astronaut.
He previously served as the commander of Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to space in 2021 that helped raise over $240 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The timepieces from the Polaris Dawn mission will be up for auction in December.
