Remembering Apollo 11
I was 5 years old on July 21, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. But I was already in awe of the Space Program. Had a G.I. Joe Astronaut. Made my own lunar modules. Read books and comics on the Space program.
By the time the 70's rolled around my NASA fascination was over. The almost doomed flight of Apollo 13 was the last time most Americans, including a young me, watched these Apollo flights.
Until the Space Shuttle came along in 1981 and suddenly my 17 year old teenage self caught the bug again. Which lasted right up until the 1986 Challenger disaster. The only other time I paid close attention was when the Shuttle returned to space in 1988, for the first time since Challenger.
Sure, I always knew that Shuttle missions continued. And tragedies still stung like the 2003 Columbia accident. But today going back to the Moon doesn't capture anybody's interest. And a trip to Mars seems as distant as the getting to the Planet.
Back in 2013, I visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and was awed again at what an achievement the whole Space program was and the other thing NASA has accomplished.
The 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 has found me watching many TV specials plus a great Documentary simply titled Apollo 11. Watch that doc and you will be amazed at what a feat the first manned lunar landing was in 1969. It brought me back to those childhood years when one had heroes. Who wouldn't want to be Neil Armstrong?
By the time the 70's rolled around my NASA fascination was over. The almost doomed flight of Apollo 13 was the last time most Americans, including a young me, watched these Apollo flights.
Until the Space Shuttle came along in 1981 and suddenly my 17 year old teenage self caught the bug again. Which lasted right up until the 1986 Challenger disaster. The only other time I paid close attention was when the Shuttle returned to space in 1988, for the first time since Challenger.
Sure, I always knew that Shuttle missions continued. And tragedies still stung like the 2003 Columbia accident. But today going back to the Moon doesn't capture anybody's interest. And a trip to Mars seems as distant as the getting to the Planet.
Back in 2013, I visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and was awed again at what an achievement the whole Space program was and the other thing NASA has accomplished.
The 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 has found me watching many TV specials plus a great Documentary simply titled Apollo 11. Watch that doc and you will be amazed at what a feat the first manned lunar landing was in 1969. It brought me back to those childhood years when one had heroes. Who wouldn't want to be Neil Armstrong?
posted by Tom Lane at 7:35 AM
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