4 replies to this topic

[Larryf]

This article was originally published in the July 2019 SkyWAAtch, the newsletter of Westchester Amateur Astronomers. The issue was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. It included several members’ reminiscences and the complete text of President Kennedy’s address at Rice University in 1963, best known for the lines “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.” Recently, I was reading about the slow pace of progress NASA’s Artemis program and the difficulties with Boeing’s Starliner at the ISS. I thought about the rapid progress of the manned space program leading up to Apollo 11, in comparison with what has happened in the 5-year interval between 2019 and 2024.When I re-read my essay, I thought the personal perspective might be of interest to CloudyNights members, especially those who were born after the Apollo program and didn’t experience the early days of the space race. I just retitled it so as not to confuse potential readers.

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[deSitter]

This article was originally published in the July 2019 SkyWAAtch, the newsletter of Westchester Amateur Astronomers. The issue was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing. It included several members’ reminiscences and the complete text of President Kennedy’s address at Rice University in 1963, best known for the lines “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.” Recently, I was reading about the slow pace of progress NASA’s Artemis program and the difficulties with Boeing’s Starliner at the ISS. I thought about the rapid progress of the manned space program leading up to Apollo 11, in comparison with what has happened in the 5-year interval between 2019 and 2024.When I re-read my essay, I thought the personal perspective might be of interest to CloudyNights members, especially those who were born after the Apollo program and didn’t experience the early days of the space race. I just retitled it so as not to confuse potential readers.

Click here to view the article

My favorite lines of Kennedy's speech - "And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?" - the speech was of course given in Rice Stadium. Rice was a "brainy" school as opposed to UT - a fine school but better adapted as it were to acquiring football talent. His sparkling humor was on fine display - later he was riffing on the technology required - "But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun — almost as hot as it is here today — and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out — then we must be bold. I’m the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute. [laughter]"

 

Remember when the Boss had a sense of humor? Sigh.

 

-drl

Edited by deSitter, 01 November 2024 - 05:48 AM.

[highfnum]

so who knew?

you got to meet Buzz Aldrin

[Aryianna]

I had the privilege of meeting Buzz Aldrin at JPL/NASA when I used to work there in the 90's. He had given a talk on his experience with the Apollo 11 mission.

 

The Apollo 11 mission, like for so many of us, was deeply inspiring and influential in my decision to pursue physics and astrophysics in college and in my ending up working at JPL/NASA.

[Oldfracguy]

I think it really hit me, and it still does, when Michael Collins (I think it was him) in the Houston control room uttered these words, "Apollo 8, you are go for TLI".  It was at that moment when we were on our way.