The forgotten man: Here's something I had not thought about but very profound. http://trib.al/fXbq4P8...

Bob Smith Loc: Banjarmasin

Here's something I had not thought about but very profound.

http://trib.al/fXbq4P8

Paul Best. Loc: California desert

Three brave men indeed. Michael Collins was always the forgotten man as the press expended all of their adulation onto Armstrong and Aldrin. I remember on the 25th Anniversary of the moon mission, the astronauts lamenting that the US Space Program had not lived up to it's potential as NASA had decided to not go forward with more manned flights.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting idea.

Sirsnapalot Loc: Hammond, Louisiana

Bob Smith wrote:

Here's something I had not thought about but very profound.

http://trib.al/fXbq4P8

I was born the week the atom bomb that ended WWII was dropped, and only 24 years later America accomplished the unthinkable, putting a man on the moon, and this was done without the aid of today's modern computers! The sky is no longer the limit, thanks to free thinking individuals in a capitalist society! God bless America!

MtnMan Loc: ID

Sirsnapalot wrote:

I was born the week the atom bomb that ended WWII was dropped, and only 24 years later America accomplished the unthinkable, putting a man on the moon, and this was done without the aid of today's modern computers! The sky is no longer the limit, thanks to free thinking individuals in a capitalist society! God bless America!

They make the BMWs for the left wingnuts from Berkley to the G20 who are only about destruction.

Oyens

I had the privilege of spending an evening with General Collins, along with my then boss, Lt. Col. Bob Zimmerman, at the Maxwell AFB, Officer's Club, many years ago. General Collins could not have been a more entertaining and genuine nice guy. Truly a memorable occasion for yours truly.

taffthetooth Loc: U.K

I still have the b&w photo I took of the TV of Neil Armstrong stepping out on the moon. Collins is still a hero in my book.

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

How truly fortunate for you to have met him. I've never been a person who went bonkers over actors or entertainers of all sorts, but, I've always been in awe of the men and women who go into that unknown, knowing that there is a good possibility that they may not make it back home. While they were on the moon I used to wonder what the poor astronaut on the Challenger was thinking out there all by his lonesome.

Mercer Loc: Houston, TX, USA

...a beautiful piece of writing from a brave traveler in space... Thanks.

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

MtnMan wrote:

They make the BMWs for the left wingnuts from Berkley to the G20 who are only about destruction.

Huh?

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

I worked in the space program for 30+ years. Articles like this still make one feel humbled. Here is another profound fact to ponder how far we have come.
Any current high end model of smartphone on the market today has about 1000 times the computing power of the of all of the Apollo 11 computers combined.
And it is all in one chip about the size of a dime

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

BBurns wrote:

I worked in the space program for 30+ years. Articles like this still make one feel humbled. Here is another profound fact to ponder how far we have come.
Any current high end model of smartphone on the market today has about 1000 times the computing power of the of all of the Apollo 11 computers combined.
And it is all in one chip about the size of a dime

After visiting the space center in Houston, I was astounded at how small the command center was. It looked so much bigger on the evening news. After reading your description, all I could think of was the Wright Brothers and that our early astronauts were the Wright Brothers of the space era. How brave they were and astonishing how much faith they had in the people backing up their flights.

Pudge Factor Loc: Texas

My best buddy's cousin graduated U. Texas in '60 and hired on w/NASA which at the time only had small offices scattered around Houston. The three of us were visiting and Don asked
what he was doing at NASA and Allen replied, we are testing the friction of a capsule on the ice of an ice skating rink by throwing it across the rink. True story, only Allen knows. I was
raised in Webster,Tx which is abt 4miles from the main gate at JSC, I joined the AF in '58 our 1950 census shows 350 ppl, when I returned in '62 there was abt a billion transplants.

'

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Bob Smith wrote:

Here's something I had not thought about but very profound.

http://trib.al/fXbq4P8

Great article, thanks for posting. One of the best books I've ever read was Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins. One of the best parts of the book was his discussion of what he was thinking while alone in lunar orbit. I'm going to read it again. I've always been interested in airplanes and space, I had my name on the astronaut list for a while and finished my career as an engineer at NASA.