I was in 2nd grade when our teachers brought TVs into the classrooms so we could watch Alan Shepard blast off into space, until he safely splashed down in the ocean. It was a BFD back then.
I was in 7th grade in Miss Bowen's English class. The radio broadcast was on the school intercom. I remember it like it happened yesterday. Big deal indeed!
Today I am sitting about 30 miles south of Cape Canaveral and hope to see the launch trajectory. Praying for success and the safety of the crew.
My elementary school (a Catholic one) got them around 1969. It was heaven, because our 6th grade teacher (Sr. Mary Harold...such a gem; she had 55 kids in her class and had us ALL, every single one, wrapped around her finger) Put on the NY Mets (we were in the Bronx) for every World Series game. We all raced home during the 7th inning stretch.
I watched Apollo 11 lift off in 1969. Days later, earthlings saw (we're pretty sure) a couple of guys walking around on the lunar surface. The computing power onboard the lander in terms of random access memory was 4k.
Going "to the moon" and buzzing the tower carries none of the significance of that series of events. Indeed, it seems more like a monument to the diminished capabilities of NASA. That said, I hope all goes well and the astronauts return safely.
The difficulty NASA has had in getting the Artemis rocket ready (years) to fly makes what the US did in the 1960's, with 1960's computer technology, even more impressive. (and makes current NASA look less impressive. I think Jared Isaacman is a good appointment as NASA head however)
Everyday Astronaut on YouTube has a good overview of the flight profile.
Oh man the memories of Apollo 11 and before it, Apollo 8 on Christmas..."In the beginning..." look it up, and envy. LOL
But no kidding, even after the near disaster of Apollo 13 (at St. Helena's, we all went to a prayer service for the crew) the public (and even me as a young boy) got bored with it. Skylab was no big deal to us at the time, either.
Now, pushing 70, I'm experiencing that wonder again. Back in Feb, I was in FL for six weeks playing snowbird, and Space X had a night launch about 50-100 miles away. Even so, we were able to see the craft; it was like a small red comet shooting across the horizon to the sky.
It was wondrous.
A major contractor for Artemus is Boeing. And their track record's not great: they stranded 4 astronauts back in '24, remember? So I'm concerned for the safety of the crew. Nevertheless...
I still remember the day in summer school 1969 when they rolled TV sets into the classroom so we could watch the moon landing. I was eight years old and seeing that filled me with immense pride for my country.
It's a shame that I feel increasingly alienated...in any case, this is exciting, and I will be watching and hoping that in the near future we could all feel the same collective excitement that seemed to reign over everyone in 1969.
The 60s were a wild time. They just killed a president on TV and convince the world that one person was guilty when all the evidence was contradictory — and then the one guy gets killed — in a police station.
Then, when people start asking questions and not trusting the media — like in today’s age — the media calls them “conspiracy theorists” for not trusting the mainstream narrative, just how the vaccines are “safe and effective.”
We need to look at history with fresh eyes instead of just believing what was told. Best quote I’ve heard is “if you think the news is fake, wait till you find out about history.”
Hey, the JFK assassination is a whole 'nother thing... my point on that is, the one thing we know for sure is that the Official Story as stated in the Warren Report, is not true. Beyond that, who can say, really. My preference is for the CIA/Mafia Hit Job Theory. Both organizations had their reasons to do the deed.
But claiming the moon landings--all six of them--were faked is a side trip to Crazy Town. Best to avoid that. Not all conspiracy theories are false, but not all of them are true, either.
"... wait till you find out about history." Yep, that is the insight that prompted some of us to go into that field of study...
Why do you conspiracy theorists change subjects when you get caught?
The subject is the space program and the FACT that we went to the moon and the fact that we're going back – destroying that ridiculous conspiracy theory – again.
So, “In May 2023, Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, sparked controversy by posting on his Telegram channel that he had yet to see conclusive proof of the 1969 U.S. moon landings.
He questioned how the U.S. could achieve such a feat with 1960s technology when modern space programs still face significant hurdles in returning to the moon…”
To be fair, we also hear: “In July 2024, the current head of Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, explicitly refuted these doubts. He confirmed that the Russian Academy of Sciences has verified lunar soil samples brought back by American astronauts, proving the landings were real” — so the propaganda one wants to believe is up the individual
Strangely enough, it seems like people who want to deny reality usually start right after an event and then when they are proven wrong, go silent for a generation or two.
And then they pipe up with the same BS all over again.
I wouldn’t use Rogozin as a valid source. He’s also the guy that suggested that we use a trampoline to get to the ISS after we retired the space shuttle. He was also blown up in a restaurant while celebrating his birthday and some of the intel could have come from us, so he’s not really keen on us.
My high school ecology class did not know about this major national science discovery project. What do families talk about at the dinner table? Clearly geopolitics, and politics in general, draws way too much attention away from much more important topics for our public discourse!
6:24 pm eastern time. I’ll be watching for sure
I was in 2nd grade when our teachers brought TVs into the classrooms so we could watch Alan Shepard blast off into space, until he safely splashed down in the ocean. It was a BFD back then.
I was in 7th grade in Miss Bowen's English class. The radio broadcast was on the school intercom. I remember it like it happened yesterday. Big deal indeed!
Today I am sitting about 30 miles south of Cape Canaveral and hope to see the launch trajectory. Praying for success and the safety of the crew.
I was so stoked when I got home from school I told my mom I wanted an Alan Shepard haircut!
You're tellin' me that you had TV's in your classroom in 1961? Are you sure about that? For real?
We had 1 in 1965. Just 1 for the whole elementary school
They wheeled them in on a cart. Not every day
Oooo....lookit the snotty rich kid.... LOL
My elementary school (a Catholic one) got them around 1969. It was heaven, because our 6th grade teacher (Sr. Mary Harold...such a gem; she had 55 kids in her class and had us ALL, every single one, wrapped around her finger) Put on the NY Mets (we were in the Bronx) for every World Series game. We all raced home during the 7th inning stretch.
I watched Apollo 11 lift off in 1969. Days later, earthlings saw (we're pretty sure) a couple of guys walking around on the lunar surface. The computing power onboard the lander in terms of random access memory was 4k.
Going "to the moon" and buzzing the tower carries none of the significance of that series of events. Indeed, it seems more like a monument to the diminished capabilities of NASA. That said, I hope all goes well and the astronauts return safely.
Thank you for finding a bit of our Gen X childhood and sharing it. Such pure pleasure to witness and drives such honest curiosity about space.
This feels like the excitement back in the mind blowing Carl Sagen Cosmos days. Great moment to be Americans!
I never watched the series, but as a 30-ish year old man I bought the book at a garage sale.
IT CHANGED MY LIFE.
He made 'science' understandable to me. For the first time, I was able to 'get it' on so many scientific questions.
The series on PBS in the 70s blew my mind and is worth seeking out. Such a great teacher and scientist!
The difficulty NASA has had in getting the Artemis rocket ready (years) to fly makes what the US did in the 1960's, with 1960's computer technology, even more impressive. (and makes current NASA look less impressive. I think Jared Isaacman is a good appointment as NASA head however)
Everyday Astronaut on YouTube has a good overview of the flight profile.
Lol I'm so old I witnessed the Mercury and Apollo missions and watched that Neil Armstrong walk the dusty terrain one summer evening!
Oh man the memories of Apollo 11 and before it, Apollo 8 on Christmas..."In the beginning..." look it up, and envy. LOL
But no kidding, even after the near disaster of Apollo 13 (at St. Helena's, we all went to a prayer service for the crew) the public (and even me as a young boy) got bored with it. Skylab was no big deal to us at the time, either.
Now, pushing 70, I'm experiencing that wonder again. Back in Feb, I was in FL for six weeks playing snowbird, and Space X had a night launch about 50-100 miles away. Even so, we were able to see the craft; it was like a small red comet shooting across the horizon to the sky.
It was wondrous.
A major contractor for Artemus is Boeing. And their track record's not great: they stranded 4 astronauts back in '24, remember? So I'm concerned for the safety of the crew. Nevertheless...
"Godspeed, Artemus II. Godspeed."
Retreat from the Moon was one of the worst public policy decisions in history. I hope this goes well.
I still remember the day in summer school 1969 when they rolled TV sets into the classroom so we could watch the moon landing. I was eight years old and seeing that filled me with immense pride for my country.
It's a shame that I feel increasingly alienated...in any case, this is exciting, and I will be watching and hoping that in the near future we could all feel the same collective excitement that seemed to reign over everyone in 1969.
Good luck to them and God bless.
This is going to be a body blow to conspiracy theorists.
Because one of their primary retorts to the 'we didn't go to the moon' lie is: "why didn't we go back"?
Well, conspiracy theorists? What are you going to say now?
It was fake before but real now? No, that's not going to work.
Going beyond the green screen hopefully...Watch out for astro-nots with 6 fingers
XF1! You might light this when I call out the moon landing as the OG false flag: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-big-three-how-false-flags-shape
So, all six moon landings were "false flags"?
C'mon man!
The 60s were a wild time. They just killed a president on TV and convince the world that one person was guilty when all the evidence was contradictory — and then the one guy gets killed — in a police station.
Then, when people start asking questions and not trusting the media — like in today’s age — the media calls them “conspiracy theorists” for not trusting the mainstream narrative, just how the vaccines are “safe and effective.”
We need to look at history with fresh eyes instead of just believing what was told. Best quote I’ve heard is “if you think the news is fake, wait till you find out about history.”
Here’s a piece of JFK and the term if interested: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-art-of-theoretical-science
Hey, the JFK assassination is a whole 'nother thing... my point on that is, the one thing we know for sure is that the Official Story as stated in the Warren Report, is not true. Beyond that, who can say, really. My preference is for the CIA/Mafia Hit Job Theory. Both organizations had their reasons to do the deed.
But claiming the moon landings--all six of them--were faked is a side trip to Crazy Town. Best to avoid that. Not all conspiracy theories are false, but not all of them are true, either.
"... wait till you find out about history." Yep, that is the insight that prompted some of us to go into that field of study...
Why do you conspiracy theorists change subjects when you get caught?
The subject is the space program and the FACT that we went to the moon and the fact that we're going back – destroying that ridiculous conspiracy theory – again.
Just checked out your piece on being a "Theoretical Scientist." I like what it is you are trying to do. Keep on.
Do you realize that it would have taken thousands of people to have 'faked' the space program?
Why didn't we seen many of them write best selling tell all books in the decades since?
Because it's a ridiculous conspiracy theory.
Ever heard of Telemetry data transmission?
How did we know about the capabilities of Soviet ICBMs?
If we had 'faked' the moon shots, the USSR would have called us on it and it would have been an international embarrassment of historic proportions.
Enough with all of the ridiculous conspiracy theories.
So, “In May 2023, Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, sparked controversy by posting on his Telegram channel that he had yet to see conclusive proof of the 1969 U.S. moon landings.
He questioned how the U.S. could achieve such a feat with 1960s technology when modern space programs still face significant hurdles in returning to the moon…”
To be fair, we also hear: “In July 2024, the current head of Roscosmos, Yury Borisov, explicitly refuted these doubts. He confirmed that the Russian Academy of Sciences has verified lunar soil samples brought back by American astronauts, proving the landings were real” — so the propaganda one wants to believe is up the individual
Strangely enough, it seems like people who want to deny reality usually start right after an event and then when they are proven wrong, go silent for a generation or two.
And then they pipe up with the same BS all over again.
They need to be ignored.
I wouldn’t use Rogozin as a valid source. He’s also the guy that suggested that we use a trampoline to get to the ISS after we retired the space shuttle. He was also blown up in a restaurant while celebrating his birthday and some of the intel could have come from us, so he’s not really keen on us.
LoL
America...land of the Gullible.... I guess you are all on a roll right now?
That's describing people such as yourself.
Everyone note that You had NOTHING in response to my comments.
Do you actually know anything about this subject?
Because if you had, you would at least be able offer something..
Yes! It is a huge deal for all of mankind and we get to watch it live.
This is very helpful. Thank you, Sasha.
My high school ecology class did not know about this major national science discovery project. What do families talk about at the dinner table? Clearly geopolitics, and politics in general, draws way too much attention away from much more important topics for our public discourse!
NASA is once again doing what it was created, to do! About damn time! Godspeed, ArtemisII!!