As hard as it is to believe, July 16th 2009 will mark the 40th anniversary of the liftoff of the Apollo 11 lunar expedition, which was the first mission to have a man walk on the surface of the moon.
On that day, three men, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were strapped into the capsule atop the biggest firecracker ever made and were propelled from the "surly bonds of earth" on a mission of extraordinary historic significance.
I don't think that those that were not alive to witness this momentous event will ever understand the impact of this singular aspiration on American society and culture, and the level of national commitment that was necessary to achieve the goal set by President Kennedy to place a man on the moon before the end of the sixties.
Can you imagine accomplishing this amazing feat with the technology that was available in 1969? The pocket calculator was not even invented yet, the engineers had to use slide rules to make their calculations. There were no off-the-shelf electronics that could be used, everything had to be first invented and then constructed from scratch.
And when it came time to land the lunar module on the surface of the moon, the electronic navigational equipment failed and it came down to a human pilot visually flying with a joystick and landing with only a few seconds worth of fuel left..
But the country was committed, and these brave men were committed, and there was no turning back. And when all was said and done, they had successfully completed the greatest scientific mission of all time with nothing but rudimentary equipment and sheer determination.
I still sense the euphoria every time I think about it. It was an amazing time to be alive, and it changed the way we think about both space and the ability of the good people of the United States to collectively pursue a challenge that was previously considered impossible to achieve, and succeed beyond our wildest dreams.
I have goosebumps now just writing about it!
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All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Coweta Fayette Real Estate Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers, Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2009. Richard Weisser REOS, E-Pro. licensed Auctioneer. 770-827-6225.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and to search the entire Georgia MLS for free with no registration required. Visit CowetaFayetteRealEstate.com! Photos of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. North Georgia Photos.
Thanks for the wonderful memory...we were on vacation on the Outer Banks of NC and were fortunate to witness the landing on giant closed circuit tvs at the Wright Brothers Memorial. I will never forget it - it was an awesome place to be. I was very young, of course...LOL
Beyond the bravery and commitment, many, many subsequent products and materials came out of that mission, as well.
Susan...
What an awesome place to be for the event ... and of COURSE we were kids! lol
But it's a memory that is burned in our brains and will always be with us. Thanks for the great comment.
I remember that day well. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind...
I think the laptop I am using (50 GB hard drive) to write this response has got to be 1000 times more powerful than what they were using on the lunar module. Anyone know what the size of the memory was on that computer?
Always important to stop and look out and look up. thanks for this memory.
Dan...
I believe that it was 2K, but I am only guessing. And the LED wasn't invented yet. Nor was the hard disk drive ... it was driven by "core" memory and overloaded on descent.
Also, the "skin" of the lunar module was about three times as thick as a sheet of aluminum foil, a flimsy tin can that was designed to have as little weight as possible for the ascent.
Thanks for the comment.
Janice...
It was a time of achievement that has not been duplicated since! Thanks, as always.
That is what is so amazing, they did it all mostly with slipsticks. And a lot of faith! I was just in my second year of working on computers then, and they were almost as big as my Ford Ranger with less power than a pong game.
Richard,
I still had my slide rule back then. Good thing they never asked me to help with the calculations though. 40 years ago...unbelievable.
Rich
How well I remember watching that day with a bunch of other shaved heads in an Army rec room in Ft Jackson SC. So many grunts just standing and cheering patriotism at it's highest. It was surreal to say the least. Also so many skeptics as to whether it was real or not. I know a number of elderly people at the time assumed it was a huge hoax all filmed on a soundstage somewhere. It didn't help that about the same time there was a James Bond movie shot with a sequence that was a moon walk simulation.
Mike...
I started on an IBM 360 ... what these people did was amazing. I don't think that we could ever accomplish something as momentous as this again in such a short time. Thanks.
Rich...
I've got a Pickett in a leather case around here somewhere ... I've got to dig it up and write about it. THX
Ed...
There are many today that believe that it was a hoax, but there is absolute proof that it happened ... some of the instruments that were left behind worked for years afterwards! Thanks for the nice walk down memory lane.
Richard,
It seems like it's always been a part of our history, but has it really been 40 years. Wow. Thanks for the observation. If you haven't visited or become a member of "Observances and Celebrations," this would be a good group for this post. :)
Steve
Richard, I too remember this event. There are many though that feel that the whole thing is a hoax. I guess the only way to stop the doubters is to send a man back on the moon to take picture of this first event.
Only 2k?! Sounds about right Richard.
No hard drive? Wow. No LED. Geez.
No iPhone, internet or ActiveRain to keep them in touch? Man, how did they do it?
Richard...this is huge. Thanks for remembering. I just spoke about this just this past week. Kudos for you for having better brain power than your truly.
Richard...I am still amazed they got there and back with the technology they had. Now days with all the gadgets, they seam to have a harder time getting it all right. Or...it's just more safety oriented!
Richard, I don't know how much memory was on the lunar module, but at that time I was working for a company that had a contract with NASA. The computers I worked on were the latest and greatest large scale mainframes - the CDC 6400. The 6400 stood for 64K of memory. The disk drives were in cabinets large enough to stand up in and all the data was stored on magnetic tapes. We've come a long way.
Richard, I do remember, that was so awesome. It seems that events back then were larger than life. (getting nostalgic here)
I am off to try and read your other posts. Been busier than a one armed paper hanger, LOL. AR had to take a back burner... can you imagine? And my modem at home fried... have to drive 40 minutes to get a new one.
Take care, thanks for the memories!
Steve...
Sounds like a great group ...I'll check it out. THX
Michael...
There are so many ways to prove that it was real ... it defies logic to think otherwise. All of the so-called "evidence" of a fake has been debunked, and there are many artifacts left on the moon that can be detected from earth! Thanks, as always.
Dan...
That's the amazing thing about it! THX
It is amazing what is possible when good leadership and teamwork collide!
Hi Richard. It certainly was an amazing feat.
Still hard to imagine.
I was one year old at the time, so my memory of the event is a little fuzzy. :)
Thanks for writing,
Ken
Truly a historical moment for all of us. I am still amazed that we can get to the moon, but we can't cure cancer, can't figure out how to independent of foreign oil ... things that would appear to be so much less involved.
I remember it well. I was already married and making my own mark on the world.
I would love to have been alive at the time this took place so I could seen the moment in person. A lot has happened between then and now, but it will always be a great thing to give us a sense of accomplishment as a nation.
Richard: Our space program is truly an amazing one. While I was not alive to remember this event, I vividly remember sitting in my fifth grade class and viewing photos that my teachers' husband had given her of Saturn and Jupiter. He worked for NASA. Utterly amazing.
Tomorrow is the day Richard! 40 years ago I was with a bunch of HS seniors in Stone Harbor NJ... quite the event that was. For those lucky enough to be in DC - check out "Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World"