Re: In the shadow of the moon « Reply #1 on Jan 7, 2012, 7:32pm »
Just go down and rent it or buy it from your local dvd store - it's pretty easy to find. It's very much worth seeing and is a quality production. Bit of a pity that shy Neil didn't participate, but great viewing anyway - some great footage that I hadn't seen before. Mike Collins is a highlight.
Yes, very much so. He expresses himself very well, both in his book and in person. I do think he tries a little too hard at times to distinguish himself from his "nerdier" colleagues in the astronaut corps. Maybe having Aldrin on his crew made that a little easier, but I don't think he's really fooled too many people into thinking he's just an average guy. Everyone knows that even the CMP slot on an Apollo crew was an enormously competitive position that only an enormously motivated and technically talented person had a prayer of attaining.
Joined: May 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 987 Location: Australia!
Re: In the shadow of the moon « Reply #3 on Jan 8, 2012, 8:53am »
Hmmm - I don't know if people were 'competitive' for a CMP slot, especially for a lunar landing mission.... but I agree that to be assigned to such said that you were considered to be extremely competent.
"My feet they finally took root in the Earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars, and I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car..."
"Show us a photo of either the descent or the ascent rockets firing and the exhaust plume. And exactly how does a space craft fly when "The engine is NOT ON"" -Stelios at the DIF Google search this site
"My feet they finally took root in the Earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars, and I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car..."
According to page 307 of A Man On The Moon, Jack Swigert specifically asked to be a CMP, but he was one of the only astronauts to do so.
It's a good thing he did. Swigert was an excellent Command Module Pilot. Getting that mission back alive takes not only an extremely dedicated, smart, talented and risk-taking mission control, but it also takes a crew that can work together efficiently and conduct themselves productively. Lovell, Swigert and Haise had to be some of the best pilots to be able to bring their mission back to the Pacific during splash down. Mission Control was also indescribably excellent.
Hmmm - I don't know if people were 'competitive' for a CMP slot, especially for a lunar landing mission....
What I meant was that simply getting on an Apollo crew, in any position, was an extremely competitive process. A lot of people seemed to think that being a CMP on a lunar mission would have been a consolation prize or disappointment of some sort, but I certainly wouldn't have turned down such an assignment if it were offered to me!
Yes he was, but to be honest he had little to do during the abort phase of the mission since the Odyssey was shut down an hour or so later. He was certainly busy during that first hour, though.
Fred Haise was probably the best guy to have on that flight as he knew LM internals as well or better than any other Apollo astronaut. Apollo 13 certainly pushed Aquarius far beyond its design limits.
The LMP's original designation was "systems engineer", and that really is a much more accurate description of what the LMP actually did.
It's true. The CMP was second in command of the mission.
That's also consistent with Ed White's title and seating position for Apollo 1.
Gus Grissom was the Apollo 1 Command Pilot. During the fatal test he sat in the left seat he would occupy at launch, the same as the Commander (CDR) starting with Apollo 7.
Ed White was the Apollo 1 Senior Pilot; at launch he would sit in the middle seat that was occupied by the Command Module Pilot (CMP) starting with Apollo 7.
During those later flights the CMP and CDR usually switched seats after the launch when the CMP assumed most of the actual flying of the CSM, particularly transposition and docking, LM undocking and redocking, solo operations in lunar orbit, and the atmospheric reentry. The CMP also spent a lot of time in the lower equipment bay performing navigational sightings, as CSM navigation was his primary responsibility.
Roger Chafee was the Apollo 1 Pilot, and he sat in the right seat where the Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) would later sit.
The right seat in both the CSM and the LM was far better described as a flight engineer's station. That certainly would have made much more sense for Apollos 7 and 8, which flew without an LM. But apparently the astronauts all wanted to be known as pilots. This might explain the unusual launch seating during the Apollo 11 launch, where Aldrin (LMP) took the center seat and Collins (CMP) took the right seat. I'm not sure why; perhaps Aldrin had focused so heavily on LM training that Collins was thought to be the better choice as CSM systems engineer during the launch phase. Anybody know?
Yes he was, but to be honest he had little to do during the abort phase of the mission since the Odyssey was shut down an hour or so later. He was certainly busy during that first hour, though.
Fred Haise was probably the best guy to have on that flight as he knew LM internals as well or better than any other Apollo astronaut. Apollo 13 certainly pushed Aquarius far beyond its design limits.
The LMP's original designation was "systems engineer", and that really is a much more accurate description of what the LMP actually did.
Very true. To be honest, Fred Haise is one of my favorite Apollo astronauts.
1.) Jack Schmitt 2.) Neil Armstrong 3.) Pete Conrad 4.) Charlie Duke 5.) Fred Haise 6.) Alan Bean
That list is still subject to adjustment and change, but it's fairly close. The closest I could get in a matter of a couple of minutes. The case with Apollo 13 was really all about teamwork. The effort included not 3 astronaut but hundreds of technicians. People should never forget that.
The case with Apollo 13 was really all about teamwork. The effort included not 3 astronaut but hundreds of technicians. People should never forget that.
As was every Apollo mission, which is why I hesitate to rank them in any kind of favorite order.
I will admit that there are particular astronauts I'd be especially interested in speaking with (though sadly several have already passed on) but that has more to do with their familiarity with some particular topic of interest to me than with my perception of their abilities as Apollo astronauts. They were all very good at what they did.
The case with Apollo 13 was really all about teamwork. The effort included not 3 astronaut but hundreds of technicians. People should never forget that.
As was every Apollo mission, which is why I hesitate to rank them in any kind of favorite order.
I will admit that there are particular astronauts I'd be especially interested in speaking with (though sadly several have already passed on) but that has more to do with their familiarity with some particular topic of interest to me than with my perception of their abilities as Apollo astronauts. They were all very good at what they did.
There are others, though, who I think would be a good person to go into space with. Humorous remarks etc. Jack Schmitt is probably my number one simply because he seems like a nice guy and he seems like a klutz. Always falling down during his EVAs. I know people like him and they're usually the kind of people I get along with. They were all skilled grade-a badasses, though.
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