Fortis Stratoliner

The Stratoliner series is the first "bearer" of the Werk 17 movement, which is the first movement directly designed and intended for use in space. The movement was tested in the stratosphere in collaboration with the Swedish Space Corporation, where thirteen bare, unprotected watches were attached to the nacelle holder. A balloon powered by helium gas carried it into the stratosphere. In collaboration with the Swedish Space Corporation, this movement was also sent 30km into space, where it was verified to withstand harsh conditions such as microgravity, extreme temperatures and radiation.

The foundations of Fortis' journey into space were laid already in 1961, when the founder's son Rolf Vogt showed the Fortis Spacematic AR (All Risks) watch to NASA astronauts. It wasn't until 1994 that the Official Cosmonauts Chronograph model looked into open space in preparation for the historic connection of the American space shuttle Atlantis with the Russian MIR station, which started a 25-year collaboration with the space agency Roskosmos. Fortis is currently working with the Austrian Space Forum as the official timekeeper for the AMADEE Mars Mission simulation. Since 2021, the Swedish Space Corporation has become an official partner of Fortis in the testing and development of pure Fortis space watches, where the stratospheric and space tests of the Werk 17 movement will be of particular interest.

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