In Honor of the First Man on the Moon - 50th Anniversary

[A.H.Black]

I know there are many here who remember that day. I was a teenager. I had watched all the space shots from Alan Shepard on. Often I would be up at 3:00 AM to watch the blast off (sort of like getting up at all hours to watch skating). I remember delay after delay - hour after hour - sometimes they delayed for another day. I knew the whole plan and what each mission was supposed to accomplish.

I wanted to be an astronaut until I realized that science was just not my thing. I loved the romance of the whole thing from the thrill to the terrible tragedies. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon it was a thrill for me. He became a hero of mine - even more so because he was a reluctant hero. He never lost the luster for me.

 

[misskarne]

I was not born yet, but half an hour ago I stopped and thought, isn't it amazing, that this time fifty years ago, they walked on the Moon.

And isn't it dreadful that it's been over forty years since we went back.

Of course, most Australians are familiar with a version of the story regarding the television pictures - because they were from us, and there was some tension because we couldn't even see the moon until right before Armstrong stepped out the door. It was very close! But Honeysuckle picked it up, and then Parkes took it, facing into gusting strong winds over 100km/h, well past what it was designed to hold. But it held.

 

[Japanfan]

I know there are many here who remember that day.

I do. It was a huge deal. I was 10 at the time and remember seeing it on TV and the phrase' one step for man, one giant step for mankind' - and I was not a child who sat in front of the TV much.

 

[A.H.Black]

Thanks for sharing. I hope others will too.

 

[skatesindreams]

Some fine articles/features:

Apollo 11 Anniversary: Everything You Need to Read on the Moon Landing (Published 2019)

The New York Times has been covering the anniversary of the moon landing, looking back at the event’s meaning and forward to humankind’s next giant leaps in space.

www.nytimes.com

The Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Augmented Reality (Published 2019)

See Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s historic photographs and words from the moonwalk.

www.nytimes.com

The Story of 8 Unforgettable Words About Apollo 11 (Published 2019)

John Noble Wilford recounts some of what went into writing the story of humanity’s giant leap for the July 21, 1969, edition of The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com

 

[skatesindreams]

I was 15.
I live near Cape Kennedy; and had friends who were "intimately associated" with the space program, since my childhood.

This is what stays with me:

Remembering Walter Cronkite's words on the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing

Saturday is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. This milestone has been on my mind all year because Apollo represents what we were. What we are. Hopefully what we could be again.

www.cnn.com

 

[once_upon]

I was 16 - while I know all the history and now realize what an achievement it was to land on the moon - at the time I don't remember watching it. I'm sure dad had it on.

I have a high school friend who posted that 50 years ago, the moon landing occurred, and that 35 years ago she got married. The comment was I remember one more that the other. (I assume it was the moon landing by the comments).

 

[skatesindreams]

If you missed this; its' worth seeking out:

Apollo 11 (2019 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Much lesser known information/footage has appeared in a multitude of documentaries celebrating the anniversary.

and

Why was the Apollo program cancelled?

The Apollo Moon landing program was prematurely cancelled in the early 1970s. The blame is usually handed to President Nixon and concerns over both safety and budget.

www.spacecentre.nz

Yesterday, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins expressed their disappointment that exploration ended:

Buzz Aldrin speaks at the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Event

Buzz Aldrin discusses the historic Apollo moon landing during a 50th Anniversary Event at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.

www.youtube.com

Trump pits NASA chief against Apollo 11 astronauts

The group debated direct travel to Mars.

www.politico.com

 

[quartz]

I was just about to turn 7 - its the first big cultural event that I remember. We watched the coverage on our 15 inch black and white TV.

 

[Garden Kitty]

We would always go up to the country during the summer and stay at an old house with no tv that was barely able to get radio reception. We'd stay all summer except my Dad picked us up and drove us back to the city to watch the moon landing that year because he didn't want us to "miss history".

 

[Cachoo]

I was just about to turn 7 - its the first big cultural event that I remember. We watched the coverage on our 15 inch black and white TV.

Same with the old black and white tv----of course we didn't miss it. After 1968 we needed some great news. Later when school started our teacher, from Brooklyn, told us if her hapless New York Mets won the World Series we would not have homework for a week. There were some vocal Mets fans in Kansas. She reviewed the moon landing too. 1969 was a good year.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

Where I live, we love our astronauts and produce them like a factory. When I was a kid in the '60s, John Glenn was a space hero who lived walking distance from my house, just over on the other side of downtown. He had a bad fall when he was working on his house and it took him awhile to recover from it. I remember trying to figure out with my (elementary school) friends how someone could orbit the earth and come back safely but then suffer such a serious injury just from doing some home repairs because it didn't seem possible. All's well that ends well since later when I was in college, I has the opportunity to vote for John Glenn for Senator when he ran for his second term.

Needless to say, the John Glenn fan club wasn't going to miss the moonwalk. We also watched the unforgettable adventure unfold in glorious black and white. None of the kids in my neighborhood had a color TV yet, so the only color images we saw were in the magazines. We all promptly added Neil Armstrong to our hero list and it was followed by many visits to the city science center. Back then it was located right next door to the building we called the Jetsons' House (http://oldcosi.com/e69.jpg) and we were space explorers for the rest of the summer.

Last weekend the annual Run to the Moon race (5K/10K) in Wapakoneta (Neil Armstrong's hometown) was held on the 50th anniversary of the moonwalk and they had a Summer Moon Festival along with celebrations at the Neil Armstrong Museum. I didn't have the chance to go, but I watched it on TV. Color TV this time.

 

[skatesindreams]

Christopher Kraft, NASA Mission Control’s Founding Father, Dies at 95 (Published 2019)

He directed the first piloted orbital flights, orchestrated spacewalks, oversaw the first lunar landing and led the space center in Houston.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Susan1]

It was a huge deal. I was 10 at the time

Me too. I distinctly remember sitting on the foot stool (they call them ottomans now - upholstered, matched the wing chair) in front of the t.v. late at night watching. And it was a relatively big console color t.v. that we got when I was in first grade. Of course, the moon landing was in black and white!
One of the nuns at school, Sr. Bernadine, was from Wapakoneta and she went to school with Neil, so it was talked about a lot before we went on summer break. It was so neat that we knew someone who knew someone who was walking on the moon right that minute.

 

[Japanfan]

Another event from around a similar time I've never forgotten - Canada/Russia hockey Summit Series, 1972. Almost as big a deal as the moon landing, at least in our house!

 

[Artistic Skaters]

The NY Times had an article today about the death of Neil Armstrong. Doctors interviewed in the article said his death was preventable at the time even though he was in his eighties. It said the hospital was accused of malpractice due to a questionable diagnosis requiring heart surgery, followed by negligence during post surgery procedures. A $6 million dollar settlement was paid to the family under a NDA. He was living in the Cincinnati area when this happened at one of the suburban Hamilton Co hospitals.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

The Ohio State Fair starts tomorrow and visitors will not want to miss the butter sculptures! One honors all of the Apollo 11 astronauts, another is of Neil Armstrong in full spacesuit on the moon, and another is the dairy cows watching the moon landing. The subjects of the butter sculptures are a big topic of discussion every year and they put a lot into carving them. I'm more of a cornfield person myself.

State Fair's butter sculpture is out of this world

The cow that jumped over the moon is taking center stage with the astronauts who landed on it. The Ohio State Fair's popular butter sculpture this year

www.dispatch.com

 

[skatesindreams]

The NY Times had an article today about the death of Neil Armstrong.

Here it is:

Neil Armstrong’s Death, and a Stormy, Secret $6 Million Settlement (Published 2019)

The astronaut’s sons contended that incompetent medical care had cost him his life, and threatened to go public. His widow says she wanted no part of the payout.

www.nytimes.com

 

[skatesindreams]

Houston's space-age mylar Apollo 11 art installation | CNN

The fanfare surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing may be waning, but in Houston, home to Apollo's Mission Control, the celebration continues with a spacey art installation.

www.cnn.com

 

[Meredith]

Thanks for sharing. I hope others will too.

I was in my early 20s and my daughter was about to turn one year old when the Apollo 11 moon landing occurred. We watched much of the television coverage, and T was amazingly quiet as she sat beside me as I explained to her that, although she would not remember the event later, she was "there!"

What I especially appreciated about the 50th anniversary television broadcasts of the Apollo 11 mission was the stunning photography! I never tire of it.

 

[floridaice]

The landing was on my 9th birthday. I remember us all crowding around the TV to watch. We had gotten a new color console TV for Christmas and were bummed when it was in B&W. For some reason, I was more impressed that the astronauts had to stay in quarantine for 3 weeks.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

An article from today's paper about Neil Armstrong's legacy and the handling of the memorabilia, etc.

Neil Armstrong's priceless mementos, mixed feelings on fame leave quandry for family

Last fall, Neil Armstrong’s two sons began a round of media appearances to promote a venture that would make them millions of dollars: a series of

www.dispatch.com

Last fall, Neil Armstrong’s two sons began a round of media appearances to promote a venture that would make them millions of dollars: a series of auctions of about 3,000 mementos from their father’s moon mission and NASA career.

… Those sales by the brothers, who also pursued a newly disclosed $6 million wrongful death settlement over their father’s medical care, have exposed deep differences among those who knew Neil Armstrong about his legacy — and what he would have wanted. Some relatives, friends and archivists find the sales unseemly, citing the astronaut’s aversion to cashing in on his celebrity and flying career and the loss of historical objects to the public.

 

[Turbo-Mom]

I had returned home from the service and marveled at the TV coverage. NASA launched from Pad 39A and 19 years later I had an office in the basement of launch pads 39 A&B, and was a NASA "Pad Rat" working on Integration Team on Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle). Worked flight closeout on 39 Missions including Hubble, Magellan, Galileo, and Ulysses. Still with Dept. of Defense and hate paying Russia $85M a seat to get to Space Station. Go SpaceX

 

[Artistic Skaters]

I just read this article Christine Brennan wrote about Neil Armstrong.

Beyond the Apollo 11 moon landing: Neil Armstrong's close friend reveals a different side of legend

Ex-LPGA commissioner Charlie Mechem had an enduring friendship with Neil Armstrong, who he met two years after the moon landing. He reflects on bond.

www.usatoday.com

The golfer, an amateur with a respectable 16-handicap, topped his tee shot and watched it dribble into a large fairway bunker on Jack Nicklaus’ famed Muirfield Village Golf Club in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Undeterred, the man followed it, took another whack at it, watched it travel five yards, then hit it again, and again, and again.

Before he managed to reach the fairway, one of his playing partners had seen enough. Raising his voice to make sure he would be heard, legendary NFL coach Paul Brown said, “Is this the man who went to the moon?”

Indeed it was. Neil Armstrong, good sport that he was, laughed, and Brown and another member of the foursome, former LPGA Commissioner Charlie Mechem, laughed with him.

When the levity died down, though, Armstrong didn’t pick up his ball, as many a golfer has in a similar situation.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I was sitting in a bar in Los Angeles with a bunch of guys I worked with. We watched it on the bar t.v. I thought about President Kennedy.

During the entire space shuttle program, my dearest fantasy was to ride in one. We saw one launch on the space center & when it flew over our heads, I wanted to yell, "come back & take me with you!"