July 20th, 1969

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
Just a little History Blurb today during the slow times on J.D. Usually I'm pretty good with famous events in history but this one almost slipped by me. 47 years ago tonight I was a young lad watching TV with the family in Northern Wisconsin...

(FoxNews.com) Wednesday marks the 47th anniversary of when NASA astronauts first landed on the moon, a giant leap of an accomplishment that still resonates today, over four and a half decades later.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins blasted off from Earth on a massive Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969. Four days later, the Eagle module landed on the surface with Aldrin and Armstrong inside; Collins stayed behind in the orbiting Columbia craft.

Millions of people back on Earth watched, captivated, as Armstrong was the first down the ladder, then uttered his now-famous line: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Armstrong described the moon’s surface as being “very, very fine-grained as you get close to it— it’s almost like a powder.”

Only 12 people have ever walked on the moon.

Hard to imagine how much the world has changed since then. Now we have to hitch a ride with the Russians to get to outer space. About the only thing I recall from that night is that the picture was really bad, black and white, fuzzy shadows and scratchy audio. But it was happening live from the surface of the moon 250,000 miles away and had never been done before.
 

mezz

Well-known member
I was 8 years old at the time & do remember watching it on the one & only good ole black & white TV via Antenna, no cable. Our technology has taken us a long way since then & it is pretty amazing what is accomplished. Those men were true pioneers. Thanks for reminding me how friggin old I am! LOL!:eek:-Mezz
 

sweeperguy

Active member
I remember laying on the floor watching it. I remember the television (UHF and VHF channel selectors) and the brass (fake, brass colored) and wood stand it sat on.
It's my understanding smart phones now have more memory and faster computing speed, than the lander did then. AMAZING!
 

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
And as long as were on the subject. If you look up at the sky tonight and notice that the moon looks brighter than usual, you’re not wrong – it is!

Tonight will be the Buck Moon, when the moon becomes totally full, and it only happens in July. The moon will appear to be its fullest at 8:02 for those of us in the midwest.

The Buck Moon is also sometimes referred to as the Thunder Moon or the Hay Moon.
And why is it called a “Buck Moon”? This is the time of year buck deer grow velvety antlers.

And a couple of thoughts on the technology thing. Christmas of 67 Dad bought our first color television, a massive console that we watched the moon landing on. 47 years ago, I also was laying on the floor listening to Walter Cronkite describe what was happening a quarter of a million miles away.

I also have heard that the Smart Phones memory far exceeds that of the Lunar Lander. Truly amazing.
 
T

Tracker

Guest
I think you'll really enjoy these...I watch em all the time....I hope the how low can you go guys don't see this...LMAO...no fun coming your way

 

coldbear

New member
People should know how dangerous those early Saturn rockets were. NASA escaped many mishaps with pure prayer from many individuals. Pressures from Washington to contractors put our astronauts lives in peril. I'm glad less than fifteen lives were lost. I miss the space race today, as those days seemed an adventure. My brother in law worked for NASA in the late sixties/seventies and some of the stories he told were chilling. The men and women of NASA were hero's in my mind.
 
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