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What were you doing when they landed on the Moon ?

I was 9.

I don't remember whether we stayed up or just watched the reruns.

It was all in grainy black and white on our 17" telly.

Many years later we went to Florida for a holiday. The Space Centre was a highlight. To see a Saturn V rocket and command capsule up close is something I will always remember.

Seagull jr was 9 at the time and obsessed with the Shuttle. There was a launch planned for while we were there but it was delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
 
I was waiting there on the moon to greet Neil Armstrong, but he landed in the wrong place.
 
I wasn't quite 6, but was told my dad got me out of bed in the middle of the night and plonked a bleary eyed child in front of the TV to watch it. I don't remember that, but I remember watching playback of the mission and certainly remember subsequent Apollo missions.

Let's not forget Apollo 8, when humans first left earth orbit to orbit the moon and unexpectedly saw earthrise over the moon. Look up the 'overview effect': most astronauts are changed by looking back at the earth in its entirety, so to speak.
 
I was 18, and stayed up and watched it. I still can recall the long wait until Armstrong emerged from the LEM. Then watching/hearing his 'first step'. During the 1960's I was very interested in the whole project, and used to get 'Analog' magazine every month. That had a number of detailed technical articles on Apollo and many other aspects of the USA space programme. Very dissapointed when the USA later cancelled the last missions.
 
I was 20. I came in after fulfilling my role as a fab DJ at a local club. My Dad was still up watching it. We both stayed awake to watch the 'One Small Step..' etc., then Dad went to bed. I carried on watching until it was properly light and then went and did a bit of weeding in the garden (no idea why), before setting off across the fields opposite and securing work with a drain laying company who were setting up the conditions for the fiinal obliteration of my childhood playground under brick and concrete. Something symbolic there..
 
Continuing on the same theme, I have been watching the BBC 4 series ‘Chasing the Moon’ and thoroughly enjoying it.
I was obsessed with the Apollo programme ( program ? ) and never missed a thing.
This series shows that I did.
One aspect of the Apollo program ( got it right at last ) I loved was watching the lift off of the Saturn Vs.
Often early in the morning UK time.
I used to set an alarm clock and one morning I failed to wake up, and missed the launch.
When I got to work my Chief said it had been delayed.
We later watched it live in the Chemistry Dept’s lecture theatre.
In colour...
 
Mullardman said:
At four o'clock in the morning? :)
Click to expand...

It is confusing because I can remember being dragged out of my bed, being sat in front of a TV and something was very exciting. No idea what it was, but Thunderbird 3 was my favourite.
In my memory there was loads of spaceship / rocket stuff on TV, nevermind Fireball XL5. It could have easily been any number of space adventures. It was soo common at that time.
 
There was certainly a lot of interest post WW2. IIRC, Russia was ahead in rocketry pre WW2., but the Germans caught up and then once the Americans figured out how to launch their 'acquired' Nazi weapons.. with the help of their acquired Nazi scientists.. it all took off. as it were.. I recall being fascinated by things like 'edge of space' balloon ascents and parachute drops. Bell X1/X15.. Chuck Yeager, 'The Right Stuff', 'Sputnik' Telstar, Earlybird. The Friendship, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programmes.. etc., etc.
They were exciting times.

It's also easy to forget that there was a whole parallel military effort around intercontinental ballistic missiles cruise missiles etc. The 'Space Race' was the acceptable face of the Arms Race.

Around 1970, I read a fascinating book by some American military chap, who gave a warts and all, very detailed account of the American antics with captured V2 rockets etc. They really didn't have much of a clue at that stage and I suspect that only the sheer weight of resources.. plus Von Braun.. gave them the eventual edge.
 
Interesting slant there Mull.
Up to Apollo the US was consistently behind the Russians in every step of the way in space exploration innovation.
They then overtook them, largely because of the death of Sergei Kolorev, the failure of the N1 rocket and they were richer, and could throw more money at it.
This prevailed up to the end of the shuttle.
It is interesting though that now the US have no means of getting their astronauts up into space and use Russian rockets to get there.
 
The Russians were ahead in places. They are to this day the only country to have sent a lander to the surface of Venus, a planet with bone-crushing atmospheric pressure and a temp so extreme that lead melts, a global experiment we're trying our best to replicate on Earth.

venera13.gif


That the Venera craft were able to last long enough to take a few pictures and send them back to Earth blows my mind. Not even a Musical Fidelity A1 can operate at those extremes.

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Joe

 
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I remember that during the first shuttle launch I was round at my mates watching his mum use their brand new microwave... two bits of top future science in one day.


The eggs were all rubbery...
 
I remember going outside and looking up at the moon and thinking “there are people up there”. Although I’d like to be younger than I am it’s one of the few things that makes me glad I’ve been alive this long. Funny thing is at the time I was awestruck and excited whereas now when I watch the footage I just get emotional.
 
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