[Leica] [LRflex] Apollo Mission Control

[Nathan]

I too remember watching the moon landing on a B&W TV. I was 8 years old, in Poland. But my perspective was somewhat different. While space was mildly interesting, as a boy I was much more fascinated by the polar explorers. I swallowed books about Nansen, Amundsen, Scott, Peary, Shackleton etc. I regretted that I was born too late so that both poles had already been concquered. 

The moon landing was important for a very different reason. Like the vast majority of people in Communist Poland, we viewed the space program through the Cold War prism. So we were happy to see Armstrong step on the lunar surface not because of the "giant step for mankind" stuff but because it represented a victory of the USA over the Soviet Union. That is what I cared about. Keep in mind that this was less than a year after the rape of Czechoslovakia, so our hatred of the USSR was even stronger than usual at that particular time.

Today, I still think that manned space flight is a waste of money from a scientific perspective--you can get much more info from unmanned missions. Like 50 years ago, the main justification for the current planning for a Mars mission is superpower rivalry, this time between the USA and China. Not much science going on there.

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain


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YNWA


> On 26 February 2020 at 07:41 Aram Langhans via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> Great shots.  I am envious.  Have been through Houston a few times but 
> the traffic was horrible, so never stopped.  I am a space junky like 
> you.  Saw all the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launches glued to the old 
> B&W TV.  Would love to see Mission Control.
> 
> 
> Aram
> 
> On 2/25/2020 7:44 PM, Peter Klein wrote:
> > I'm back from 12 days in Texas--Houston and Austin.  A highlight of 
> > the trip was a visit to NASA's Johnson Space Center. It was pilgrimage 
> > I've wanted to make all my life. Part of me is still that space-crazed 
> > kid who watched all the launches, hoping I'd be in one of those 
> > spacecraft someday.
> >
> > Building 30 houses most of the Mission Control rooms, past and 
> > present. The room used for the Apollo program has been restored to 
> > look as much as possible as it did at the moment Neil Armstrong 
> > stepped onto the moon 50 years ago.  The period "artifacts" are very 
> > detailed, many contributed by people who  worked there during the 
> > Apollo program.
> > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/49585990292/in/dateposted-public/> 
> >
> >
> > A better view of the center consoles. Flight Director Gene Kranz' 
> > console is just left of center.
> > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/49585990232/in/dateposted-public/> 
> >
> >
> > Another console, closer up:
> > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/49585753721/in/dateposted-public/> 
> >
> >
> > The building courtyard, with its historic landmark landmark plaque:
> > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/49585990392/in/dateposted-public/> 
> >
> >
> > A very happy visitor:
> > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/49585753836/in/dateposted-public/> 
> >
> >
> > The room is smaller than it appeared on TV.  Wide-angle lenses do 
> > that.  The viewing area is behind glass in what used to be the VIP 
> > observation area--reserved for astronaut's families and visiting 
> > dignitaries back in the day.  They normally show an audio-visual 
> > presentation of the minutes before and after the landing, but it, um, 
> > malfunctioned. No matter. They displayed the "one small step" picture, 
> > and a guide talked us through.  All I cared about was that I was THERE.
> >
> > Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic 20/1.7.  Enjoy!
> > --Peter
> >
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