Without boasting for various reasons I was sat at Jodrell Bank watching those first footage being streamed via there radio receiver.
It will stand out in my mind as one of those very special moments.
As another sad sign of our times, the Apollo 11 movie is not doing well and there are very few showings. The cinema is dominated by major-genre / CGI junk and has been for years. I’ll go and see it next week.
The impressive part of this great achievement was to deliver on that promise “Moon before the end of the decade, JFK 1961 speech”, completely different spirit from current public/private race to Mars, not sure many of us will live that longer to see it…
Jacko wrote:
What a contrast to some of the desperately dull and risk-averse aviators we see in other countries today.
Any examples? To understand what you mean?
Breaking the sound barrier in a Bell X-1 was risky business, as has spaceflight been ever since. I don’t think „pushing the envelope“ today is exactly risk averse.
I work in flight test and it remains a risky business however hard that we try with risk assessment and mitigation not to mention all sorts of analysis and team working, much of it invented or refined by the Mercury-Gemmini-Apollo programmes. The flight test world has lost more people than you might imagine in the past few years.
Off the top of my head as the details are at work:
A400M
Virgin Spaceship
Gulfstream
AW609
Bell 525
There are others.
Joe-fbs wrote:
The flight test world has lost more people than you might imagine in the past few years.
Thanks for your post. That’s what I implied.
I don’t think the success of the moon mission had to do with how bold or brave US pilots? or even with the pilots themselves (viewed as just the output of a successful NASA program but media/politic want heros for obvious reasons…)
I bet the Russians had on their ranks some very risk takers, skilled and brave pilots still they did not make it
Let’s never forget the great Yuri Gagarin…who was the first! A Russian risk taker of the highest order.
Just watched this really good documentary, mainly on Nail Armstrong himself and his life
Snoopy wrote:
The average age of the many people involved was in the mid twenties (not verified). Impressive I think.
Interview with one of the programmers of the Apollo LEM computer and explanation of the 1202 error seen several times on final approach to Tranqulity Base.