50 Years Ago...

[onwardjames]

Remember it was Hotter than French Fried Dammitt,.

Ahh, one of those wonderful Southern colloquialisms that I so enjoy and collect in my noodle for a rainy day.

I'll be using that one.


Edit - upon further reflection, that might be an "idiom" and not a "colloquialism".

 

[sfox52]

I saw the Saturn V on the pad in March of '69, then watched the moonwalk on tv with the rest of the world that July. I wish I had seen a launch in person- closest I saw was a Minuteman.

 

[Sandy G]

When you consider that a smartphone today has more computing power than NASA did to go to the Moon & back, & a typical smartphone will record video & sound very nearly BETTER than the top studio cameras & equipment of 1969 could, yes, we HAVE come a looooong way, indeed.. Then you look at all the wars, the strife, lying politicos, etc, etc, & especially at some of the things walking around nowadays trying to pass as "People", you gotta think, well, wait a minute...

 

[WobblySam]

Despite all the numerous technological advances that came out of the space program, does anyone really drink Tang anymore?

 

[Sandy G]

Not since about 1973....

 

[FONSguy]

Or Space Food Sticks.

 

[Ronald1973]

if it were I that went to the moon then, instead of some memorable saying as I stepped off the ladder I would have went "haha! I am on the moooooooooooon!!! look at me! this is the mooooooooooooon!"

woulda made for a better tape.

plus I woulda kicked a rock and said 'its clearly not made of cheese but there are a bunch of little green men over there waving'

algore would have invented the internet 20 years earlier just to support the conspiracy pages that would have generated!

There's livin' proof that the moon ain't made of cheese. If it was, Jethro would be there! ~ Granny

And there'd be a heap less moon! ~ Jed

 

[dcmfan]

A panoramic view of life inside the Lunar Module:

Cramped! Source here: https://www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/seeing-inside-apollo-lunar-module/

 

[Omegaman]

I have a collection of Apollo DVD's from Spacecraft films
Hours of pretty boring tasks that seem to take a long time


Plus I tried to collect all the signatures of the Men who walked on the Moon (Their signed books)

My son with Buzz Aldrin (he signed that book for $150, but free handshake)

 

[dcmfan]

My son with Buzz Aldrin (he signed that book for $150, but free handshake)

I met Buzz in the Rapid City airport.

He was flying home with his assistant from a lecture the same time I was leaving vacation with my family.

In the security line he and his assistant were behind me but in front of my wife. My wife didn't recognize him and asked if she could cut in front of him to be with me.

Buzz was distracted, but his assistant said "Go ahead, honey. He's used to going second."

Later on I got to shake his hand, but that comment from his assistant was pure gold.

 

[SuperjazzyJa]

Despite all the numerous technological advances that came out of the space program, does anyone really drink Tang anymore?

I had some Tang this past weekend. First time in......well, more years than I care to count.

 

[ETLS]

A smart watch or a cell phone has many, many times more computing power than the lunar lander's navigation computer. That's 50 years for you.

And today's GPS can still get you lost on THIS planet.

 

[dcmfan]

Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth by Andrew Smith is filled with some great bits of information like this:

We assume that Uncle Sam handsomely rewarded the single combat warriors who hung their asses far out over the line and did one of the most amazing things that any of us can imagine. But no. Not at all. When they went to the Moon, they received the same per diem compensation as they would have for being away from base in Bakersfield: eight dollars a day, before various deductions (like for accommodation, because the government was providing the bed in the spaceship).

 

[dcmfan]

This is pretty cool.

NASA recreated a 3 minute video of the moon landing video from Neil Armstrong's point of view. Article and link here:

https://gizmodo.com/breathtaking-simulation-recreates-neil-armstrong-s-view-1836447240?

 

[rickiroo]

In 1964, SF Giants manager Alvin Dark was talking to reporter Harry Jupiter watching future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry hit a couple home runs during batting practice. Jupiter commented that Perry might hit a home run in a game. Dark replied "Mark my words, a man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run."
July 20, 1969, Perry starts against the Dodgers. At 1:17 PM pacific time, the Eagle set down on the moon. 30 minutes later, Perry stepped up to the plate. Yep, that's right. He hit his first home run in the majors.
I love that story.

 

[old_tv_nut]

NY Times recreation of the sequence of Hasselblad shots from Apollo 11 with the communications at the moment and a virtual-reality overlay of the orientation on the surface. You should be able to get free access if you are not a subscriber and haven't used up your allotment this month:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...k&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Science


https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/18/science/apollo-11-moon-landing-photos-ul.html


https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/18/science/apollo-11-moon-earth-photos-ul.html

 

[RickeyM]

I more so remember the moon landing. The family and myself were at my aunt's house down in Indian Head MD gathered around the TV in the living room. Being a dumb young kid I actually thought something would happen to the Earth if they touched down on the moon. Sad that I never got to see one of those launches in person. That Saturn V was a beast. I had a model of one of those complete with removable Apollo capsule and Lunar module.

 

[MaxxVolume]

We got the news over AFVN Radio, most seemed pretty amazed.

What really amazed me (still does, actually) is that we managed to get from propeller-driven aircraft, to putting men on the moon (and getting them safely home again) in a timespan of about 20 years.

(And then there was that little incident down in New Mexico back in `47. Hmmmmmmmm….)

 

[c.coyle]

15 years old. Hot muggy night in Pennsylvania. I watched it alone, on a little TV in my parents' bedroom, while the rest of the family watched together downstairs. I don't remember why.

 

[dcmfan]

Landing on the surface only marks the half way point of the mission.