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Pete-

For the record, as most probably already know, the complete JFK quote that launched what would eventually become the Apollo program (and spoken just three weeks after the first US manned sub-orbital flight) reads:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

I don't know who wrote that; but I think you might find it a bit more elegant (and inspirational) than the paraphrase.

-- Jim

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Personally, I like the JFK quotation from his speech at Rice University in 1962 which was used in the opening sequence of the TV series FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..."

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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info

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That was a very special time . I still count myself exceptionally lucky to have had my aunt and uncle wake me out of bed in the middle of the night to see these black and white fuzzy pics of the landing and finally the suited Armstrong bouncing and bobbing around like a doll of sorts.
I kid you not, my neighbor who lived next door to me in queens, not a terribly bright fellow, believed it was all a hoax. A total put on production in a studio and America plus the Russians were duped.


Those were such special times in spacelight back then - good heavens i recall my mom seating me down in kitchen to watch a redstone take off - probably carrying Glenn. It is a sobering thought however that our telescopic views of the moon show it with realtime clarity presence and brilliance second only to the Apollo astronauts. On those special still nights at 400x just letting the moon drift by... wow - its one of those moments when you realize just how good you've ot it.

My apologies for quoting an inaccurate paraphrase. They meant well though!

Pete
Giving the wink to Jack.

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Brings me back too, we are from the same generation.
I kept wanting to grow up because if we could land on the moon when I was 8, WOW!! where would we be when I'm 48!?
NO WHERE
Just spending time trying to convince the morons that it really did happen

Those were the days

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Jeff

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I hope you brought your credit card with you, and I hope you know how to
Drive on these long, lonely freeways and intersections we've got up
Here. We've got two cars in the garage, and
Drum-majorettes in white ankle socks and baton twirling on Sundays.
We've got stripes and the stars and Uncle Sam's on Mars....

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Those were such special times in spacelight back then - good heavens i recall my mom seating me down in kitchen to watch a redstone take off - probably carrying Glenn. It is a sobering thought however that our telescopic views of the moon show it with realtime clarity presence and brilliance second only to the Apollo astronauts. On those special still nights at 400x just letting the moon drift by... wow - its one of those moments when you realize just how good you've ot it.

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Well, if it was a Mercury-Redstone, it probably wasn't John Glenn, as the two launch vehicles he rode on were the Atlas-D and the Space Shuttle. The Redstones were only used during test flights and on the first two manned suborbital Mercury flights of Alan Shephard and Guss Grissom. I just barely remember watching Alan Shepard's launch in front of a black and white TV at the YWCA where my mother was doing something and had me in-tow. After that, I insisted on being in front of a TV during every single launch that was covered (including a few unmanned ones). Clear skies to you.

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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info

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