IWC Schaffhausen has been announced as the “Official Timekeeper” of Vast. The engineering collaboration aims to enhance the durability and performance of mechanical watches on Earth and push the boundaries of watchmaking to the harsh environment of space.
Vast is engineering and building the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1. To prepare for it, Vast is soon launching Haven Demo, an in-orbit test bed for critical space station technologies. Haven-1 is a state-of-the-art, human-centric space station, home to an innovation lab for both private astronauts and government missions. During Haven-1 missions, the crew can utilize the Haven-1 Lab to conduct scientific research, technology development, and in-space manufacturing that will benefit life on Earth and support long-term exploration of space.
“Vast and IWC Schaffhausen both share a passion for innovation driven by scientific progress,” says Max Haot, CEO of Vast. “With our mutual passion for bold invention in our respective industries, this collaboration will be a historic milestone in the evolution of spaceflight- ready timepieces. As Vast advances humanity’s presence in low-Earth orbit and unlocks a new era of scientific progress in space, we’re excited to collaborate with IWC on timepieces that capture this ethos of exploration and discovery.”
“Our collaboration with Vast is a natural evolution of our heritage in aviation, which began almost a century ago. We are excited to continue this journey as Vast’s Official Timekeeper and look forward to exploring new frontiers together. This collaboration will enable IWC Schaffhausen to intensify its research and development efforts for watches that are tested for spaceflight. During future, long-duration space missions, a mechanical watch showing Earth time can also be the object that emotionally connects the astronauts to their home,” explains Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
Through its presence onboard the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn commercial human spaceflight missions, IWC has gained invaluable initial experience in the field of space
exploration. This strategic engineering collaboration will enable IWC to continue to advance its innovations and develop spaceflight ready watches. At Vast headquarters, Vast engineers will test prototypes and put its hardware through simulated launch vibration conditions and evaluate material compatibility with Haven-1. The prototypes will be evaluated and appropriately tested similarly to some of the hardware that will fly on Haven Demo and Haven-1–a testament to the authenticity of IWC’s aerospace lineage.
This engineering collaboration marks Vast’s inaugural brand partnership and reflects the commercialization opportunity for low-Earth orbit.
Image: Max Haot (VAST) & Chris Grainger-Herr (IWC)
