The 6139 was in space for 84 days!

If you’re not aware of how the Seiko 6139 Pogue obtained its nickname, it’s a great story. NASA selected USAF pilot Colonel William Pogue in 1966 as one of the original astronauts for the Apollo Program. He was actually chosen for the aborted Apollo 19 mission, but was then transferred to the Skylab program. And so it was in late 1973 into 1974 (the mission lasted over 84 days), that Colonel Pogue went into space as a part of Skylab 4.

Instead of Speedmasters

Interestingly, while Pogue was testing prior to the launch, he needed a chronograph due to the fact that Speedmasters were not issued until very close to the mission launches. Pogue ended up buying; you guessed it, a Seiko 6139 with a yellow dial and, thus, the nickname for this historic chronograph. Significantly, this was the first automatic chronograph in space and in case you were wondering, it performed flawlessly.