As many of you know, I (Warren) am considered by my family to be a Space Geek. I’ve followed NASA and the space program since before the Mercury 7 Astronauts were selected. Did you know NASA considered using prisoners as the first astronauts? They would receive reduced sentences…if they survived. President Eisenhower nixed that idea and said test pilots were the better choice.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the Kennedy Space Center many times, including for the launch of Apollo 13 and one of the last launches of Space Shuttle Atlantis. As professional photographers, Carol and I had the pleasure of photographing Alan Sheppard, first American in space and commander of Apollo 14 and on another occasion, James Lovell, commander of Apollo 13. Tom Hanks played Lovell in the movie Apollo 13.
Carol said she had never seen a bigger smile on my face than when Lovell asked if I had ever seen a launch. When I told him of my presence at the age of 19 during his Apollo 13 launch, he responded, “Sorry to disappoint you!”. I assured him it was a high point in my life and that I followed their ill fated journey as best I could in those pre internet days.
In February 1986, we took our children on a cruise, leaving from Port Canaveral. Prior to the cruise we did a tour of the space center. The Space Shuttle Challenger was being prepared for another flight. It was scheduled to launch on the day we were returning to port from our cruise, which would have given us a spectacular view of the launch. That was the last time it was delayed prior to the disaster that followed a few days later.
Carol gave me a gift a few years ago of a Moon Watch. It’s a replica of the watch worn by astronaut David Scott during Apollo 15. The official watch, issued to him by NASA, malfunctioned so he wore his personal watch during his walks on the moon. His original watch, still with moon dust on it, sold at auction in 2015 for $1.6 million. I couldn’t talk Carol into getting me the original…for obvious reasons.
Apollo 11 took place the summer after my first year of college. My parents and I were glued to the black and white TV as we followed the launch, journey, landing and the first steps by humans on the moon. I still have the newspapers of the day with bold headlines, MAN WALKS ON THE MOON.
At that time I was sure that 50 years later we would see established moon research stations, and hopefully, tourist being able to make the trip away from our home planet and exploring a new world. I was confident that technology would advance at lightning speed, and the cartoon show that my generation enjoyed, The Jetsons, would come to life in the way of flying cars. Unfortunately, none of this came to pass.
We do have talking computers with Alexa and Siri. And robot maids of sort with iRobot and similar devices. But I was really counting on those flying cars! And as far as moon colonies, sadly, not yet. Yes, the space race was all about the cold war, and with the Vietnam War still going on, it was hard to get the necessary government funds and interest to continue the Apollo program as was originally planned.
But we did receive a lot of benefits that are now part of everyday life. Some of the spinoffs from NASA that we take for granted include:
- Memory Foam
- Scratch-Resistant Sunglasses
- LED Lighting
- Digital Camera Sensors
- Invisible Braces
- Portable Cordless Vacuums
- Solar Cells
- GPS
Can you imagine that if in the year 1542, there had been no continuation of Christopher Columbus and his Giant Leap in 1492? He was using the best technology of his day on his government sponsored exploration. The entire known world of his day had no concept of the Western Hemisphere. And of course the natives of the new world knew nothing of these peoples. His reason for the journey was not to go where no man of his time had gone before, but to find faster, cheaper ways to the spices and goods of the Far East.
Today we are seeing private enterprise such as Space X being heavily involved in the space program, not unlike what followed Columbus. I wonder if the dreams of my youth and things I just KNEW I would see, will develop in my lifetime. Certainly not all but perhaps I’ll get to enjoy seeing humans on the moon once more.
So on this 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, I want to thank NASA and the thousands of people who inspired me and others in their past and future accomplishments. Now if I could only be hired for one day and received a pay stub from NASA, that would be almost as good as having the original moon watch.
I could imagine the excitement surrounding all those launches at a young age. Was really a new frontier.
You and your sister never knew a world where we had not reached the moon. For me it was the most exciting experience of my life up to that point. Your grandparents and I were glued to that black and white TV. I’m glad they lived long enough to witness such an historical event.