Is It True About Ohio?

The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring the one hundredth anniversary of the first flight by the Wright Brothers.

The first man in powered flight was from Ohio.

The first man ever to orbit the Earth was from Ohio.

And, the first man on the Moon was from Ohio.

It sounds like a lot of people are trying to get out of Ohio.

But, really, congratulations to Orville, John and Neil and Ohio.

--CootOutofHere

Deaths: NASA's Mission Control Guy-- Part 2: We Did Not Know A Damn Thing About Putting A Man Into Space"

Neil Armstrong once called him "the man who was the 'Control' in Mission Control."

"From the moment the mission starts until the moment the crew is safe on board the recovery ship, I'm in charge,"  Mr. Kraft said in his book, "Flight:  My Life in Mission Control,"  .  "No one can overrule me....They can fire me after it's over.  But while the mission is under way, I'm Flight.  And Flight is God."

In the early days of Mercury at Florida's Cape Canaveral, before Mission Control moved to Houston in 1965, there were no computer displays, "all  you had was grease pencils."

"We didn't know a damn thing about putting a man into space.  We had no idea how much it would cost."

But, Much Success Did Come.  Thanks Mr. Kraft

Deaths: NASA's Mission Control Guy, Chris Kraft

From the July 24, Chicago Sun-Times obituaries "Founder of NASA's Mission Control" by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer.

CHRIS KRAFT (1924-2019)

"Behind America's late leap into orbit and triumphant small step on the moon was the agile mind and guts of steel of Chris Kraft, making split-second decisions that propelled the nation into once unimaginable heights.

"Mr. Kraft, the creator and longtime leader of NASA's Mission Control died Monday (July 22) in Houston, just two days after the 50th anniversary of what was his and NASA's crowning achievement:  Apollo 11's moon landing.  He was 95."

He founded Mission Control and created the job of flight director, which he held, describing it as being like am orchestra conductor making sure all the parts ran well.  He served as flight director for every one-man Mercury flights and seven of the two-man Gemini flights and helped design the Apollo missions that took 12 Americans to the moon from 1969 to 1972.

He was later director of the Johnson Space Center until 1982, overseeing the beginning of the space shuttle era.

Eleven Fascinating Numbers About Apollo 11-- Part 2: 48

30--  When the Eagle, Apollo 11's lunar module landed, it had less than 30 seconds of fuel left.  Any less than that and the mission would have been aborted.

21:13--  Number of hours and minutes Armstrong and Aldrin spent altogether on the Moon.

151--  The number of minutes spend walking on the surface.

73--  In addition to the lunar module, American flag and a plaque, a one and a half-inch silicon disc was left with goodwill messages from 73 countries.

48--  Pounds of Moon rocks brought back.

21--  For fear of lunar bacteria, the three had to spend  21 days in quarantine.

1,096,348--  How far Apollo 11 traveled from liftoff to landing.  That's 224 round trips between New York and Los Angeles.

Figures In My Eyes.  --Cooter

Eleven Fascinating Numbers About Apollo 11-- Part 1: 363

From CBS 19 by Arthur Pittman.

Here are some obscure and not so obscure numbers about the mission.

Obviously 7-20-69.

2,978--  Before a joint  session of  Congress, Pres. John F. Kennedy made a declaration on May  25, 1961, to get a man on the Moon.  It happened this many days later.

400,000--  The estimated number of men and women involved in getting this to happen.

1--  Just one movie, "Hidden Figures," that showed the role of women, especially black women, in getting it done.

363--  The Saturn V rocket that carried them off Earth stood this tall in feet.  There is a Saturn 1B rocket at the Alabama border on I-65 if you want to get an idea of how big of a rocket it is.  It is huge.

6,200,000--  Number of pounds it weighed fully fueled.

More to Come.  --Cooter

Man on the Moon, 11 Things-- Part 4: Flag From Sears

10.  President Nixon had a speech prepared in case of mission failure.  Nixon speechwriter William Safire had written a failure speech two days before the landing in case of the deaths of Aldrin and Armstrong.

The speech focused on their being marooned on the Moon.  Part of it went like this:   "Those courageous men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know there's no hope for his survival.  However, they know there's hope for mankind in their sacrifice."

This speech is in the National Archives.

11.  The flag planted by Aldrin and Armstrong is the only one planted by all the missions which is not standing.

They had had trouble planting the flag in the hard lunar soil.  Aldrin said that he had seen the flag topple from the lunar module's exhaust.

All of the Apollo flags were purchased at Sears by NASA secretaries on their lunch hour.

So, Now You Know.  --CootFlag

Man On the Moon, 11 Things-- Part 3: A Felt-Tip Pen to the Rescue

7.  A felt-tip pen rescued the astronauts.  Within the cramped confines of the lunar module, Neil Armstrong's backpack smashed into the  ascent engine arming transfer.  He broke it.  Not a good thing.  But Buzz Aldrin pulled a felt-tip pen out of the pocket of his spacesuit.

It worked and they got off the Moon.

8.  Armstrong and Aldrin left their pee and poop on the moon along with pieces of items associated with seismic testing,  and the silicon "Memorial Disc."

9.  NASA quarantined the astronauts for three weeks after their return for fear of Moon plague.  First they were on the USS Hornet and then at Pearl Harbor.

--CootMoon

Man on the Moon-- Part 2: 11 Things You Might Not Know

4.  The lunar spacesuits had been created by way of an underwear corporation.  Playtex, better known for its bras, had a lot to do with the design of those spacesuits.

5.  NASA was fearful that a launching pad explosion could hurt spectators.  The large Saturn V rocket used for the launch.  In 1965, two engineers figured an explosion on the pad would  create a 14,000 foot fireball with temperatures of up to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bits of shrapnel could rain down on up to a 3 mile radius.    As such, NASA seated Vice President Spiro Agnew and former President Lyndon Johnson and other VIPs three miles away.

6.  Buzz Aldrin took communion on the Moon.  After the lunar module touched down on the Sea of Tranquility Aldrin radioed back to Earth:  "I'd love to take this chance to invite each and every particular person listening in, whoever and  anyplace they is also, to pause for a second and ponder the occasions of the previous few hours and to offer thank you in his or her  personal approach."

Then, Aldrin -- an elder in the Webster Presbyterian Church in Webster, Texas,  -- switched off the radio, opened small plastic boxes of bread and wine and browsed silently from the Gospel of John.

--CootMoon

Man on the Moon-- Part 1: 11 Things You Might Not Know

From the Latest Breaking News "11 Things You Never Knew About Apollo 11."

1.  Did Neil Armstrong put his dead daughter's bracelet on the Moon?  He was out of sight and communication for three minutes while on the moon.

2.  President Kennedy didn't really care that much about the Moon.  In the public he was all gung-ho about it, but wanted to get there before the Soviet Union.

3.  The Apollo 11 team had to sell their autographs to secure insurance for the mission.  Sitting on a flaming rocket propelling into space was not a safe insurance for providers.  To cover insurance, they signed a lot of envelopes and would have their buddies postmark them for July 20, 1969.

These envelopes have sold for as much as $28,500.

--Cooter

JUly 21... Events On This Date

From the Chicago Tribune.

1862--  See my Civil War blog.

1925--  The so-called Monkey Trial ended in Dayton, Tennessee with John Scopes convicted of violating the state's law about teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution.  It was later overturned.

1949--  The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.

1954--  The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern countries.  And, we all know how this turned out.

1969--  Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buss" Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.  And that sure was scary.  Would they be able to get off the moon?

--DaCoot

July 20.... Events On This Date

Quite a few things happened of not on July 20.  here are some:

1862--  See my Civil war blog.

1881--  Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops.

1917--  The World War I draft lottery began.

1919--  Mountain climber and Antarctic explorer Edwin Hillary, the first man (with Tibetan mountaineer Tenzig Norgay) to climb Mt. Everest, was born in Auckland, New Zealand.

1923--  Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader was assassinated at age 45.

1937--  Inventor and physicist Guglielmo Marconi, winner of the Nobel Prize for his work in developing wireless telegraphy, died in Rome at age 63.

1944--  See my World War II blog.

1969--  Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon as they stepped out of their lunar module.

I sure remember that as I was glued to the TV with friends.  There is a story about the "Moon Dust" out now.

--Cooter

Dead Page: Moon Man

NEIL ARMSTRONG, August 25th.

This man would have been notable even without the famous trip.  He was a pilot flying missions during the Korean War and in both the Gemini and Apollo space programs.

July 20, 1969, I was in Goldsboro, North Carolina, watching the grainy black and white images at friend Ronnie's house and thinking this is nothing short of amazing. I remember walking outside and looking at the Moon and thinking, "Wow, there is a man getting ready to step onto it."

Everyone in the house was watching.

Then, we heard "Houston, Tranquility Base here.  The Eagle has landed."  WOW!!

Then, "I'm going to step off the LEM now."  That would be the lunar module.  DOUBLE WOW!!

At 2:56 UTC (?), it was around 9 PM in Goldsboro, those even more famous words, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."  WOWWWW!!  Couldn't have said it better myself, even if there is some question of whether there was an "a" before man.

Either way, we know what you were saying.

And, then, talk about your man who always tried to aoid the spotlight.

Whenever I look at the Moon, I will think about you.

Thanks.

July 20, 1969: Man on the Moon

Forty years ago, just a few minutes ago, 9:56 CDT, man set foot on the Moon. That man, Neil Armstrong, and he was followed by Buzz Aldrin. This was the Apollo 11 Mission. Astronaut Michael Collins remained in the command module Columbia.

I never thought I would see this day.

"One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

And that considering that humans had first flown just 63 years before that!!

One Impressive Event. --Cooter