OMEGA Watches Partners with San Diego Air & Space Museum to bring famed astronauts to San Diego

- "Meet the Real Space Cowboys", astronauts Scott Carpenter, Eugene Cernan and Thomas Stafford, on Saturday, July 21st, 2007, at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. Carpenter, Cernan and Stafford are teaming together to offer a unique perspective on space exploration, yesterday, today and tomorrow - and the event is free to the public. There is renewed public interest in the manned space program since NASA announced its goal to build a new outpost on the Moon. Returning to the moon is a critical first step in preparation for trips to Mars and beyond.

Schedule of Events

Entry to the Astronaut/Space Forum is free to all.

• 10:30 - 11:30 - Kids only opportunity to meet the Astronauts
• 2pm - Moderated Astronaut Space Forum
• Immediately Following - Museum Purchased Book Signing

"We've been working on our sponsorship partnership with Omega Watches to produce this event for several months. Now, with Omega's help, we're bringing this cutting edge program to the people of San Diego," said Jim Kidrick, San Diego Air & Space Museum President. "Omega is exactly the type of partner we look for to join us in future programs. It's a world-class company, with a decades-long track record of sending our Astronauts into space wearing Omega's rugged, precision chronometer time pieces."

"Omega is excited about coming to the San Diego Air & Space Museum," said Gregory Swift, Omega US brand president. "We were looking at organizations in Los Angeles and San Diego for just the right partner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum team was head and shoulders above competitive organizations. We're privileged to sponsor this celebration and further acknowledge the accomplishments of all astronauts, especially San Diego's late Wally Schirra, through our participation."

The three astronauts, Scott Carpenter, Eugene Cernan and Tom Stafford represent NASA's three premier manned space flight programs of the 20th century, the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Carpenter is one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, flying the United States' 2nd manned orbital mission. Cernan, one of only 12 men to have walked on the moon, was the last man to walk on the moon in December, 1972. Stafford flew in space four times on Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, including being Apollo mission commander on the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first meeting of American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts in space.

Ed Buckbee, director emeritus of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and founder of U.S. Space Camp, will moderate "Meet the Real Space Cowboys". Buckbee served as a NASA public affairs officer during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. He also co-authored The Real Space Cowboys with Wally Schirra.

San Diego Air & Space Museum's partnership with Omega also includes a new traveling exhibit featuring an authentic NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle [LRV] and an Apollo 10 space suit that will be display in the Museum's Walter M. "Wally" Schirra Space Flight Gallery. LRVs were used by astronauts on the last three Apollo missions to the moon to increase their range of exploration on its surface.

"Seeing an actual LRV up close is a very special opportunity and it alone is worth a visit to the Museum," said Kidrick.

The "Meet the Real Space Cowboys" event begins at 10:30 a.m. with a Youth Opportunity to meet the astronauts aimed at inspiring San Diego's next greatest generations to pursue the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) academic disciplines----and to venture into the unknown of future space exploration. Buckbee's Moderated Forum is the headline event for the day, with the three astronauts and begins at 2:00 p.m. Following the program, the speakers will sign the following books only which must be purchased at the Museum Forum during the signing.

The Last Man on the Moon by Gene Cernan
The REAL Space Cowboys by Ed Buckbee with Wally Schirra
We Have Capture by Tom Stafford
For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut by Scott Carpenter