posted 01-09-2009 04:19 PM               

I hope that some of the eyewitnesses to that 1969 event will present their stories on this thread.

In July 1969 I was a sophomore at the University of Michigan and a reporter for the Michigan Daily, the student newspaper. I was intensely interested in space and tried to get press credentials for the upcoming Apollo 11 flight. NASA did not plan to issue credentials to college journalists.However, a fellow student who was in Washington working for the College Press Service prevailed on NASA Public Affairs to allow me and a friend to represent that collective group.

Having just turned 19, I was probably the youngest of all the more than 3,000 journalists credentialed for Apollo 11.

I flew to the Melbourne FL airport before the launch on the same commercial plane as Rose Cernan (Gene's late mother). She introduced us to Al Bean, who was picking her up. Jim Irwin, Charlie Duke, and Bruce McCandless were also there.

I brought an old camera and lots of film for the ensuing adventures.

posted 01-09-2009 08:35 PM            

My dad recorded every minute from lift-off to splashdown with his reel to reel tape recorder at 1-7/8ips (including all of the commercials).

I specifically remember walking outside in my front yard, gazing up at the moon, with my naked eye, and informing my dad that I could actually 'see' the American flag on the surface of the moon.

My dad informed me, that Michael Collins, who was a lot closer to the moon than we were, couldn't even see the flag.

That was the summer of '69 and that was the moment that I was 'hooked' on Apollo.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to meet most of the moonwalkers and it has been a dream come true.

posted 01-10-2009 05:45 AM               

I think it's sad that a lot of people who worked on the program won't be around in the next 10-20 years, and that some of these people don't even think they have a story to tell.

posted 01-10-2009 09:15 AM               

Other little known facts about the moon landing:

• The LM control panel was made from a washing machine and cardboard
  
• The astronauts communicated with walkie-talkies
  
• The astronauts sometimes had to wear Batman cowls for helmets
  
• The astronauts used a flexible claw grabber that they obtained from the hardware store to pick up rocks, and they put them in Baggies and paper bags
  
• The astronauts sometimes got splinters going down the 'ladder' on their stomachs!

posted 01-10-2009 09:11 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by ilbasso:
I don't know why NASA refuses to acknowledge it, but THIS is the real LM that landed on July 20, 1969.

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posted 01-13-2009 06:21 AM               

I seriously expected to miss the whole flight, but fortunately there was a TV set in the local restaurant where people from vacation homes in the neighbourhood assembled to follow all the live broadcasts. Dutch TV had very elaborate coverage, so I spent a lot of time watching the flight.

After watching the landing, the EVA was planned for early the following morning (Dutch time). Not knowing that the astronauts would start the moonwalk early, we went to bed. In the middle of the night we were startled awake by the neighbours, who were knocking on our door calling "They are on the moon, they are on the moon". We quickly made our way over to the TV-set in the restaurant and were able to watch the whole thing live. I shall never forget it.

I feel very fortunate that I was old enough at the time to understand what it meant. When we went back to bed after the moonwalk I kept staring up at the moon, knowing that two people were up there at that very moment. I miss those days...

posted 01-13-2009 01:05 PM               

I'll have to dig through my parent's old slides, I'm pretty sure I remember one of me playing "LM" in my sisters playpen. I had some kind of paper helmet on too. That would make a great profile photo on my blog page!

posted 01-13-2009 09:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel Katzowitz:
Thank you Neil, Buzz, and Mike.

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posted 01-31-2009 12:27 AM               

The entire family congregated again a few hours later for the moonwalk, just before midnight, and watched Neil & Buzz's first steps. I stayed up for the entire 30 hour televised stretch, from lunar landing to liftoff, stealing a moment every now and then to go outside and gaze in wonder at the moon, filled with awe that two human beings were actually up there, living and working on its surface. In this day of CNN and other all-news networks, it should be remembered that the coverage of this event was in itself history in-the-making - TV's longest continuous coverage of a planned event.

My interest in space began with the flight of Apollo 8. When I heard that this was the first manned launch of the world's biggest rocket, the Saturn V, I was sure that one of its million parts would go wrong with disastrous results. Thank God it didn't. I watched and I was forever hooked. A real space junkie, religiously watching each mission after that, coaxing my Mom to let me stay home from school (recurrent cases of 'moon sickness', no doubt), clipping out every newspaper, Life, Time or Newsweek article I could find (now faded yellow with age) and trying to tape as much of the audio coverage as I could (few private individuals could afford a video recorder back then). By Apollo 14, I had earned enough money working at a grocery store to buy a 4-track 7" reel-to-reel recorder (which allowed one to put up to 12 hours on a single tape!) and had built a 15" Heathkit color TV. For Apollo 16, I had added a new-generation 'cassette' recorder to my arsenal (don't forget that the venerable 8-track was still popular at the time). And, of course, I had acquired a VHS video recorder by the time the first Space Shuttle flew in 1981. It has always annoyed me that the more recording resources I could afford, the less TV & radio coverage there was available to tape. (Alas, it is also a bit disconcerting to realize that not only are reel-to-reel tapes obsolete these days but so too are audio cassettes as well as VHS tapes.)

But the effect of the Apollo program on me was profound. Because of it, I entered into a career in science becoming a radio astronomer where I continue to enjoy the technical challenge of building instruments to investigate deep space from the Earth - perhaps recognizing the likelihood that I would never have the opportunity to leave its surface (although I did make the first cut for the Canadian Astronaut Program nearly 25 years ago). In tribute to Project Apollo, we named our son (now 21) after astronaut David Scott who commanded Apollo 15, my favorite of all the lunar flights.

In many ways, I feel sorry for the children of today - they will never experience the monumental awe and global celebration that we were privileged to witness back in 1969. Strange, isn't it, that although Apollo - the pinnacle of mankind's technical achievement - which occurred nearly 40 years ago - is now looked on as though it was something out of our deep past rather than a part of our future. It is almost treated like it was a chapter out of ancient history, similar to other great accomplishments of civilization - like the building of the Pyramids or the Great Wall. Although it might not seem so today, 500 years from now I'm convinced the moon landings will undoubtedly be remembered as the most significant event to have occurred in the 20th century.

Yet many people today are convinced the moon landings never happened. Young and old alike have grown to distrust government and belief in conspiracies has become rampant. A friend of mine, the documentary filmmaker who created the "Rocket Science" TV series shown in Canada, was distressed to be told by a seemingly bright kid that "Do you really expect we'd develop the technology to go to the moon and then just abandon it?". The fact that we are not there now, or that we have not gone back, to disbelievers is all the evidence they need to prove that we have never actually been there.

posted 02-16-2009 10:49 PM               

The first new set shows arrival at Melbourne FL Airport where we happened to encounter 4 astronauts (Irwin, Bean, Duke, and McCandless). It also contains pictures from pre-launch NASA press tours, including inside the VAB and on the floor of the Launch Control Center.

The second set shows the Saturn V at dusk and at night, the rollback of the gantry, press conferences with top NASA officials, and the launch as seen from the VIP viewing site.

posted 03-01-2009 09:57 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Obviousman:
The funny thing is, my clearest memories are of a local (Perth, WA) television report Syd Donovan and his reports from the Cape prior to the launch. We watched the moonwalk live on TV in school, and I was as excited as one could be.

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posted 03-11-2009 10:23 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Obviousman:
That would be great.

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posted 04-16-2009 10:08 PM               

Apollo 11 Diary
By David Chudwin, M.D.

Part I

In 1969 I was a sophomore at the University of Michigan who spent much of my time reporting and writing for the Michigan Daily, the independent student newspaper. As someone interested in space exploration, science, and medicine, I was somewhat of an anomaly compared to my humanities-oriented compatriots. So when the announcement came that Apollo 11 would be the first attempt to land on the Moon, I immediately sought to cover the event in person, even though as a 19 year-old sophomore I was low on the totem pole at the Daily and NASA would usually not accredit college journalists.

My big break came when one of the seniors, Jim Heck, went to Washington, D.C. as an editor of the College Press Service, a group of university student newspapers which shared stories and resources. He went to bat for me and I received the following letter:

June 17, 1969

Dear Dave:

I'm now editor of the College Press Service wire network and it is only after this, and two weeks of red tape, talking to high NASA officials, etc. that I have finally gotten you and your friend some press credentials.

A few notes: 1) Please realize that your authorization for the Cape Kennedy press group is extremely important. NASA has never authorized any scholastic, non-scientific or other people for press credentials. It took a two-page letter informing the (NASA) public relations of our importance and impact to get the OK...

You received credentials over newsmen from several African countries and Kuwait. You will be the only ungraduated people there. Be nice to our capitalistic friends...

I immediately arranged air tickets to the Melbourne FL airport, a car rental, and a reservation at the Sea Missile Motel in Cocoa Beach, somewhat seedy but one of the few places that had any rooms left for this historic event. A fellow space enthusiast friend would accompany me.

I decided to write a diary of the trip, and here are some annotated excerpts of my Apollo 11 launch adventure:

"July 13, 1969: Left at 9:10 a.m. and arrived at O'Hare after pleasant drive in beautiful weather. An older lady was standing next to us. Glanced at her ticket and saw the name was Rose Cernan (mother of Astronaut Eugene Cernan). Talked to Mrs. Cernan for a second and then loaded on plane. Miracle of miracles! The plane took off on time!

Melbourne Airport -- Guess what? Saw (Astronaut) Jim Irwin (in his blue NASA flight suit) and other men saying hi to Mrs. Cernan. (Fig. 1) Went to change return flight reservation and Mrs. Cernan came up to us. She asked where we go to school and introduced us to Al Bean, Bruce McCandless, Charlie Duke and Irwin. Bean signed an autograph. They're at the airport meeting their wives. Bean was friendly, and said this was the time to come here.

"I'm next," Bean said. They readily posed for pictures. (Fig. 2) Missed airline bus so we had to wait 45 minutes. Waiting, we watched the astronauts (as they waited too). [To be continued.]

Fig. 1: Astronauts Alan Bean and Jim Irwin (right) at Melbourne, Florida airport on July 13, 1969 prior to Apollo 11 launch.

Fig. 2: Astronauts Alan Bean, Jim Irwin, Charlie Duke and Bruce McCandless (left to right) on July 13, 1969, before Apollo 11 launch.

posted 04-21-2009 05:29 AM            

I also remember that when the Moonwalk was over the TV channels immediately showed it all over again.

posted 05-02-2009 12:00 AM               

Apollo 11 Diary
By David Chudwin, M.D.

Part II

July 13, 1969: Cape Canaveral -- Got to Sea Missile motel. Walked to the beach; beautiful sun, sand, surf and space. Could see the gantry towers of the Eastern Test Range.

Went back to (highway) A1A where we continued walking interminably all the way to the Hilton Hotel [we did not have a car rental scheduled until the next day]. There we signed up for 'reservations' to the Moon with TIA and saw Walter Cronkite lounging by the pool. Walking back, we stopped at the Mousetrap (bar) where we saw Bruce McCandless and F. Curtis Michel again.

July 14, 1969: Went to KSC News Center where we picked up our press passes and 5 'tons' of news releases. They had quite a news set-up [with long tables piled with information from NASA and contractors, and other tables with rows of telephones. Some of the 'goodies' included the official Apollo 11 Flight Plan and the Apollo 11 Press Kit and folders from contractors touting their contributions to the mission.]

We signed up for the long press tour which covers 4 hours. There are a large number of foreign journalists here and the babble of a number of different languages is audible. We go on press bus tour with 3 Spaniards, Swiss, and Belgian journalists. There are nine of us in a Volkswagen-type bus. It's hotter than hell outside. Our guide [a volunteer contractor employee] has worked here since 1962.

[We drive by the Mercury and Gemini launch pad sites, enter the Mercury mission control center (no longer in use), pass the pad which was the site of the Apollo 1 fire, and visit inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, taking an elevator inside to the top of the interior of world's largest structure for a dizzying view looking down.]

We drive within a mile from the Apollo 11 rocket. (Fig. 3) There is a gray mobile service structure around it and a red tower on a huge concrete pad. God, it is huge!

The crawler carries 6 million pounds at 1 mph. It is a two-story, large gray structure. (Fig. 4) It dwarfs people standing near it. We see the wire escape system and fire escape vehicles near the pad.

Later, we go to a news conference at the press center with KSC Director Kurt Debus, Manned Spaceflight Center Director George Gilruth, Marshall Director Wernher von Braun and George Mueller, head of manned spaceflight. (Fig 5)

"The landing will be a beginning, not an end... We will, in due time, have a semi-permanent or permanent base on the Moon," von Braun said.

Asked to what event he would compare the landing, von Braun said he would compare it to aquatic life crawling on land for the first time.

Ate dinner at Hilton. Later, Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins interviewed by reporters by remote. [We were at the news center and could see the astronauts, who were in isolation, on television monitors.]

Took press bus at night to observation site to see Saturn V lit up by searchlights. A bright white jewel in the dark night. searchlights shooting out at angles. (Fig. 6) [To be continued.]

Fig. 3. The Apollo 11 Saturn V on Launch Pad 39 at Kennedy Space Center on July 14, 1969. The photo was taken from about 3/4 miles away. The 363-foot tall rocket is surrounded by the gray service structure and the red launch umbilical tower (gantry).

Fig. 4. The Apollo crawler transporter which carried the Saturn V rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background to the launch pad on a roadway of crushed rock. See the person standing lower right to visualize the size of the crawler.

Fig. 5. A press conference on July 14, 1969 of NASA Center Directors including Wernher von Braun (Marshall Space Flight Center), Kurt Debus (Kennedy Space Center), George Mueller (NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Spaceflight), and Robert Gilruth (Manned Spacecraft Center).

Fig. 6. Searchlights are focused on the Apollo 11 Saturn V the night of July 14, 1969. The photo was taken from about 1 mile away from Pad 39.

posted 05-30-2009 02:42 PM               

Apollo 11 Diary
By David Chudwin, M.D.

Part III

July 15, 1969: We went on a short tour to Launch Control Center where we went on the floor of firing rooms 2 and 3 (Fig. 7). [At the time, these electronics were considered high-tech, although they seem almost primitive compared to current technology.] Also watched from above the Apollo 11 launch controllers, viewing from the glassed-in VIP booth (Fig. 8).

Went to VAB but stayed at ground level. Saw a fantastic close-up view of Apollo 13 S1C (first) stage in preparation (Fig. 9).Returned to press site for pre-launch briefing.

"Very smooth count," said launch director Rocco Petrone.. We interviewed (Deke) Slayton and (Dr. Charles) Berry on tape and rushed back to NASA News Center for private interview with Dr. George Mueller (NASA's head of manned spaceflight). He wasn't there, so we had to go to the Holiday Inn where we met him in his hotel room. We talked to him for about 20 minutes on the future of space [transcript forthcoming].

We took the press bus to watch the rollback of the gray service structure from the Saturn V. Finally able to see the huge rocket uncovered and the round fuel tanks that supply it (Fig. 10).

After that, had dinner at Holiday Inn. Went back to News Center at about 6 and wrote a story on typewriters there. Phoned it in to the Daily. [This was before e-mail and the internet and even before faxes.]

July 16: We took the bus to see the astronauts come out of their crew quarters at the MSOB [Manned Spaceflight Operations Building]. We got there about 5:30 a.m. and literally ran to the second or third row behind barrier ropes. We stood crushed, until 6:10 a.m. when Deke Slayton came out for an interview.

Astros came out in their white space suits and bubble helmets at 6:25 a.m. to cheers and thousands of flashbulbs. I took 5 shots--I hope they come out. [There was feverish jostling for position, and elbows and heads were being thrown everywhere among the throng.]

Armstrong gave a boyish grin as he walked down the ramp to the van (Fig. 11). Collins had a serene smile on his face. Aldrin was also grinning (Fig. 12). As Armstrong approached the door of the van he gave a thumbs-up sign. The whole fantastic scene lasted perhaps 30 or 40 seconds.

These three men are on the way, hopefully, to be the first on the Moon and we are excited and privileged to be there for their departure. [To be continued.]

Fig. 7. The floor of a Launch Control Center firing room at the Kennedy Space Center on July 15, 1969 (all photos by David Chudwin). Note the "advanced" electronics.

Fig. 8. Apollo 11 launch controllers at their consoles in the Launch Control Center at KSC on July 15, 1969. Photo taken from glassed-in VIP booth above the firing room.

Fig. 9. The base of the first stage (S1C) of the Apollo 13 Saturn V rocket in preparation in the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC in July, 1969. The scale of the huge first stage is apparent from the technicians at the center of the picture who are standing between two of the large engines.

posted 05-30-2009 02:43 PM               

Fig. 10. The Apollo 11 Saturn V on Pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center after rollback of the service structure on July 15, 1969. The hydrogen fuel tank which holds the liquid hydrogen fuel which helps power the rocket is to the right.

Fig. 11. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Buzz Aldrin exit the Manned Spaceflight Operations Building at KSC early on July 16, 1969 on their way to the transfer van, which will take them to Pad 39 and their Apollo 11 spacecraft.

Fig. 12. Astronauts Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin leaving the MSOB on the morning of July 16, 1969.

posted 06-29-2009 12:02 AM               

Apollo 11 Diary
By David Chudwin, M.D.

Part IV

July 16, 1969: After seeing the crew walk-out, ran back to the press bus where we were caught up in a major traffic jam on way to the VAB. Hundreds of cars just crawling.

Went to the Press Site, 3.5 miles from Pad 39, to look around (Fig. 13). There is a grandstand with hundreds of reporters, with more milling around in front.

We decide to watch the launch from the VIP site with hundreds of invited celebrities. [Apollo 11 was like the Super Bowl of space. It seemed like anyone who had anything to do with the program was there as guests of NASA or the major contractors. These guests ranged from Hermann Oberth, one of the fathers of spaceflight, to astronauts, leading politicians, military leaders, and even entertainers.]

In the bleachers or walking around we saw, among others, L.B.J. (President Johnson) (Fig. 14), (Gov. Lester) Maddox, (Sen. William) Proxmire, (Sen. Barry) Goldwater, Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon (Fig. 15), Cernan, Stafford, Anders, Haise, (Vice President) Agnew. They sat on bleachers, we watched from the grass in front of them. Although the Saturn V is 363 feet tall, it looks small in the distance across the scrub grass.

At 9:32 a.m. a speck of orange flame appeared precisely on time at the bottom of the Saturn V rocket. (Fig. 16) As its five engines lit up, two mammoth sheet of smoke and flame shot out laterally from under both sides of the booster. For what seemed like an eternity the rocket just sat there, a huge firecracker 3.5 miles off in the distance (Fig. 17)

Agonizingly slowly, the Saturn V and its precious cargo began to rise, a brilliant yellow-orange flame blasting from its base. (Fig. 18) As the booster cleared the launch tower, the noise began to reach us, silencing our cheers.

Repeated loud roars from the rocket buffeted us again and again as it climbed on its course. We could physically feel the crackling sound hitting our chests. The rocket kept gaining speed. After a minute or two, the rocket rose into the clouds and all that could be seen was a small dot of flame in the blue sky. Soon even that was gone.

An eight-day odyssey to the surface of the Moon had begun. [To be continued.]

The Press Site at the Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16,1969.

Fig. 14. President Lyndon B. Johnson at the VIP Site at Kennedy Space Center on the morning of July 16, 1969. The former president is leaning over to talk to someone. Gen. William Westmoreland is also visible on the upper left of the grandstand.

Fig. 15. Entertainers Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon sitting in the grandstand of the VIP Site before the Apollo 11 launch. They are center, with Carson wearing a neckscarf and McMahon sunglasses.

posted 06-29-2009 12:04 AM               

Fig. 16. A dot of flame at the base of the Apollo 11 Saturn V marks ignition at 9:32 a.m., July 16, 1969. This enlarged picture was taken from the VIP Site 3.5 miles from Pad 39.

Fig. 17. Smoke and flames shoot out as the five first-stage F-1 engines of the Apollo 11 Saturn V burn with 7.5 million pounds of thrust just prior to lift-off on July 16, 1969. The rocket is as tall as a 36-story building.

Fig. 18. The Apollo 11 Saturn V lifts off from Pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center on the way to the Moon.