View Full Version : One Small Step for a Man....
Tifosi24
08-25-12, 03:20 PM
NBC broke into coverage a few minutes back to announce that Neil Armstrong has passed away. It's never good when we lose a true hero. :(
RIP Mr. Armstrong. :cry:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/us/neil-armstrong-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
-Kevin
Bummer. One of my few childhood heroes. :(
RIP
TravelGal
08-25-12, 06:02 PM
Somehow you thought he'd always be alive. What he did transcended space as we knew it at the time. Farewell Neil.
Just reading the family's statement which concludes with, "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
datachicane
08-25-12, 06:15 PM
Bummer. One of my few childhood heroes. :(
RIP
+1
:(
Andrew Longman
08-25-12, 08:47 PM
Somehow you thought he'd always be alive. What he did transcended space as we knew it at the time. Farewell Neil.
Just reading the family's statement which concludes with, "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
"Family statements" don't always get it right (the Paternos come to mind). The Armstrongs hit it squarely right. :thumbup
However, since I was a kid I was always more of an Aldrin fan because he lived a few blocks from me.
Somehow you thought he'd always be alive. What he did transcended space as we knew it at the time. Farewell Neil.
Just reading the family's statement which concludes with, "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
I took a long look @ the half moon earlier today.....
-Kevin
"Family statements" don't always get it right (the Paternos come to mind). The Armstrongs hit it squarely right. :thumbup
However, since I was a kid I was always more of an Aldrin fan because he lived a few blocks from me.
He didn't punch you by any chance, did he?
RIP, Neil.
Anteater
08-25-12, 10:26 PM
RIP, Neil--a true hero.
opinionated ow
08-25-12, 10:30 PM
Tragic news. Armstrong wasn't just an amazing aviator or astronaut, he was (with Aldrin) the greatest explorer the world has ever seen. His achievements look likely to never be replicated (other Apollo moonwalks notwithstanding) and his humbleness in acknowledging these achievements mark him as a remarkable human being. It looks like it might be the first clear night in Adelaide for about a month so I'll go out into the cold and give the moon a wink.
TKGAngel
08-25-12, 10:42 PM
NBC broke into coverage a few minutes back to announce that Neil Armstrong has passed away. It's never good when we lose a true hero. :(
NBC TV got it right, but the online version of the story called him astronaut Neil Young. :shakehead
Andrew Longman
08-26-12, 12:01 AM
He didn't punch you by any chance, did he?No, but I never ambushed and accused him of faking the moon landing either.
For all the post-moon land grace that Neil will be remembered for, Buzz will be remembered for the courage he faced his post-landing demons with. He openly talked about his battle with depression and alcoholism at a time when people just didn't do that.
His memoir Magnificent Desolation is a great account of the landing with many great insights into Neil. For example, I never knew that one of them had broken the switch to the launch engine fuse breaker when climbing back into the LEM after their moonwalk. They were screwed and mission was about to be a disaster. Then one of them realized the cap to their only pen fit in the breaker perfectly and the whole moon program was saved.
Also, the decision to have Neil go out the hatch first was not made by NASA but by them and them alone. Neil was the LEM pilot so consideration was given to the fact that if something happened to the first one out the hatch then the guy left behind ought to know how to fly the LEM back to the command module. But then they thought that the mission commander ought to be brave enough to be first out. It wouldn't look good to tell the second in command to go try things out.
Lux Interior
08-26-12, 07:28 AM
It took HUGE stones to fly a rocket to the moon in 1969. Neil was a great American. RIP Mr. Armstrong.
People today have little appreciation for just how much was unknown back then. Things like the shuttle accidents are seen like airline crashes, not something that happen because we're pushing the limits of what is possible.
I was inspired by those grainy black and white images to pursue technology rather than comics.
It took HUGE stones to fly a rocket to the moon in 1969. Neil was a great American. RIP Mr. Armstrong.
Plus the X-15 and over 50 over types of experimental aircraft. :thumbup:
Napoleon
08-26-12, 05:28 PM
RIP neil
I guess John Glenn spoke to the crowd at the Indian's game today about him and NASA had a display there.
NBC TV got it right, but the online version of the story called him astronaut Neil Young. :shakehead
:rofl:
In their defense he did have an album Harvest Moon (a song as well).
It took HUGE stones to fly a rocket to the moon in 1969. Neil was a great American. RIP Mr. Armstrong.
To just think about the risks they took!
Fireball, freeze, decompression, thirst, radiation, abandonment, etc., the risks were a long list.
Let's not forget Collins up there playing solitaire for a day. He had to be ready to decide (follow orders) whether or not to leave w/o them, I suppose.
Lux Interior
08-26-12, 06:45 PM
To just think about the risks they took!
Fireball, freeze, decompression, thirst, radiation, abandonment, etc., the risks were a long list.
Let's not forget Collins up there playing solitaire for a day. He had to be ready to decide (follow orders) whether or not to leave w/o them, I suppose.
Exactly. It's not like we had the technology we have today.
Exactly. It's not like we had the technology we have today.
We can't do what he did anymore. :irked:
We can't do what he did anymore. :irked:
I have an uncle who retired from Boeing - heavy into aviation stuff. Deeply involved in GPS development and missile defense.
We've had many deep and meaningful talks on just this topic. He simply says we lack the balls to do it.
His recommended reading: Angle of Attack (http://www.amazon.com/Angle-Attack-Harrison-Storms-Race/dp/014023280X)
The space program consumed peoples lives whole. Entire careers. Stress, illnesses, death, divorce.
My uncle insists it isn't in us anymore. Until someone makes a serious goal, with a serious commitment -we are stuck in low earth orbit.
We can't do what he did anymore. :irked:
Amen. :saywhat:
-Kevin
I have an uncle who retired from Boeing - heavy into aviation stuff. Deeply involved in GPS development and missile defense.
We've had many deep and meaningful talks on just this topic. He simply says we lack the balls to do it.
His recommended reading: Angle of Attack (http://www.amazon.com/Angle-Attack-Harrison-Storms-Race/dp/014023280X)
The space program consumed peoples lives whole. Entire careers. Stress, illnesses, death, divorce.
My uncle insists it isn't in us anymore. Until someone makes a serious goal, with a serious commitment -we are stuck in low earth orbit.
The space race was very much a product of the cold war. It wasn't solely about space exploration, it was surrounded by fear. We can't nor do we want to duplicate that environment again.
cameraman
08-26-12, 11:25 PM
We could do it again if we actually wanted to. Given the current extremely short-sighted climate regarding all things scientific it isn't going to happen.
What's really incredible is that he didn't trade in on his moon walk for fame and fortune. Compared to John Glenn he was almost invisible.
I always liked that scene in 'Apollo 13' when Jim Lovell's mom asks Neil and Buzz, "Are you boys in the space program?" :D
I recall a story about Armstrong testing an early protoype for the LEM. It started to pitch and roll a few hundred feet up and he punches out.
Later that afternoon when the the story gets out, the other Apollo astronauts are concerned and want to make sure he's ok.
They find him sitting at his desk doing paperwork like nothing happened.
TKGAngel
08-27-12, 01:51 PM
To just think about the risks they took!
Fireball, freeze, decompression, thirst, radiation, abandonment, etc., the risks were a long list.
Let's not forget Collins up there playing solitaire for a day. He had to be ready to decide (follow orders) whether or not to leave w/o them, I suppose.
Some of you may have seen this, but Nixon's speech writer had a speech ready (http://io9.com/5880226/read-the-speech-nixon-prepared-in-case-the-apollo-11-astronauts-died-on-the-moon) to go in case Armstrong & Aldrin had to be left behind.
In case you missed it, History snuck in 'Failure Is Not An Option' the other day in lieu of a Modern Marvels episode to honor Mr. Armstrong. My Tivo only caught the first hour, but I found the full video on Youtube. A good synopsis of the Space Race from the viewpoint of the Flight Control. :thumbup:
COSigkGEOO0
How fitting that we have a Blue Moon tonight on the eve of Armstrong's funeral.
-Kevin
Andrew Longman
08-30-12, 09:04 PM
In case you missed it, History snuck in 'Failure Is Not An Option' the other day in lieu of a Modern Marvels episode to honor Mr. Armstrong. Yeah I caught that. Amazing that the guy who made the call not to abort the LEM landing was 25 at the time.
Then again, I learned the other day Al Capone was 25 when he rose to power in Chicago, was in prison by the time he was 30 and dead by 40.
Just a reminder what we can expect of youth if we give them the chance.
Yeah I caught that. Amazing that the guy who made the call not to abort the LEM landing was 25 at the time.
Then again, I learned the other day Al Capone was 25 when he rose to power in Chicago, was in prison by the time he was 30 and dead by 40.
Just a reminder what we can expect of youth if we give them the chance.
It's just not that, but anyone who knows anything about Di$ney (Elmo), gets that the engineers who worked with Walt (Bob Gurr, Marty Sklar, etc.) were about the same age in the mid-50s. An amazing era. :thumbup: :thumbup:
-Kevin
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