First manned lunar landing

“For those of us old enough to remember the significant event on this date in 1969, it was pretty exciting.
last edited: 7/20/05 9:51:43 PM”

“Do you know where you were when they televised it?”

“I think I was watching it on TV from the living room of Russell Schweickart, the pilot of the lunar module from Apollo 9.

His twin boys Randy and Rusty were two of my best friends. His daughter Elin was one of my first crushes. They lived two doors down.”

“Cool Fritz! You win! I bet that was one of the coolest places in the world to watch that from. :D”

“In honor of the occasion, Google has extended it's mapping service to the moon. Check out http://moon.google.com”

“I was nine and in our family owned laundry shop watching the lunar landing. I guess everybody just had a black and white t.v. with rabbit ears, back then.”

““In honor of the occasion, Google has extended it's mapping service to the moon. Check out http://moon.google.com”


If you zoon in all the way, you can see what the moon is really made of. lol!”

“That's very funny! Good joke. I think one of the reasons Google is so successful is they keep things interesting.”

“Anyone interested in a wilderness backpack in the Sea of Tranquility???

I'll take care of the permits if someone else can arrange the shuttle.”

“I remember that night well. It was utterly amazing. For the first few minutes on B&W TV, it was hard to make out Neil Armstrong.”

“The magic of Hollywood.”

“HeHe, that Google visual is a hoot!”

“TV was piss-poor back then, but we were used to it.”

“Remember how we all used to watch every launch?

Man that was an exciting time.”

“In 1963 I sent for an recieved pamphlets from Goddard in Greenbelt, Md.

These had drawings of Mercury, Gemini(ha ha) and Apollo/L.E.M./Command Module.

They had all the vehicles at least preliminarily designed at that time.

I wish I still had that stuff.
My mom probably tossed it along with the old comic books.”

“I read an article that said the Gemini project was thought up when the realized that they would have a gap between the Mercury and Apollo eras, that it was actually a modified Mercury capsule design, was in some ways technologically more advanced than Apollo, and probably could have succeeded in landing on the Moon.”

“The USS Hornet, which picked up the Apollo 11 astronauts, is now a "floating museum" in the city where I live (Alameda, CA). I've been to it a few times, and my favorite exhibit is the one about picking up those guys. They even have an Airstream trailer that is the same as the one used for those guys - it was supposed to be used for a later mission (maybe #13), but never got used.”

“This is Walter Cronkite in Mission Control in Houston. With me is astronaut Wally Schirra ...”

““TV was piss-poor back then, but we were used to it.”

Before my family even HAD a TV, I used to go across the street to watch TV at Tracy Cernan's house. She was another of my earliest crushes.

Shameless name-dropping, I know. Her dad was Eugene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 and author of "Last Man on the Moon."”

“leofric, that would be an interesting article to read. I don't suppose you remember where you saw it?

Nevermind, I found it.
last edited: 7/21/05 3:22:05 PM”

“Damn Fritz, I'm impressed!”

“Dave Scott's (first lunar rover operator) daughter was in my college freshman dorm - neener neener neener....”

“Actually I think this is the one I was looking at:

http://www.astronautix.com/craft/gemini.htm”

“I think they're smoking something funny when they say that it could have been used for an earlier lunar landing. The limiting time factor on that was the availability of the LM, not the availability of Apollo. The LM used on Apollo X came to within a few miles of the moon's surface, but it was overweight, so even if Rusty Schweikart had gotten a wild hair and decided to land, he wouldn't have been able to lift off again and make lunar orbit.

They mention the small size of the Gemini capsule, and how it was difficult to get back into after EVA. During one of the EVAs, the astronaut had significant trouble getting back into the capsule far enough for the hatch to close properly. He became exhausted, and they actually discussed whether his partner should cut the umbilical, shove him out of the spacecraft, and return alone. Fortunately, they managed to get him all the way back in.”

“I found a picture of a couple of TTers with a Gemini:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/398061002/399054132cWBTkt”

“Years later, Apollo 13 was our greatest triumph.

Apollo 1 our greatest loss (at the time).

For Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee,of Apollo 1, called Home all too soon, I still grieve.

May they be resting in Peace now.

Godspeed”