Charles Sauter – a watchmaker born in New Cumberland, Pa., in 1922 – was instrumental in ensuring the safety of the final Apollo mission, writes Nicholas Manousos for Bloomberg.
NASA’s Apollo 17 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 7, 1972. The astronauts were tasked with performing a number of scientific experiments while on the moon, including a Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment. The goal was to examine the moon’s crust by detonating a series of explosives after the Lunar Module had safely taken back off.
To ensure the explosives did not detonate while the astronauts were still on the lunar surface, NASA hired Bulova Watches to develop mechanical watch movements to time the detonations on the moon. Sauter, then a watchmaker in New York, was put in charge.
Sauter studied mechanical engineering at Penn State and watchmaking at the Hamilton Watchmaking School. After his time in the U.S. Army, which included a stint on the Manhattan Project, he joined Bulova Watches as an instructor. He held a number of positions during his time there, including being the Principal Engineer for the Apollo 17 Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment.
Read more about Charles Sauter from Bloomberg by clicking here.
