Astronauts DO enthuse about Apollo

[Kiwi]

margamatix said:

...don't you wish that NASA had chosen at least one astronaut out of the twelve who could enthuse about the fantastic adventure on which he went, and share with us the excitement of the 20th Century's greatest achievement of exploration?

Even in the post-flight interviews, when a little triumphalism might be forgivable, they appear to be reluctant to speak at all about their achievement. I once read somewhere that their demeanour was more what you would expect to see at a funeral, and I would say that's "fair comment"

Why are they all so reluctant to talk about it?

Were do hoax-believers get this nonsense from? Maybe no Apollo astronauts have turned up at a public hall in Margate to give talks, but that doesn't mean they don't give any. And not all of them would want to. It has already been pointed out in the above thread that plenty of them have written a book and some more than one. Buzz Aldrin was here in New Zealand this year, talking about his experiences. Just a few days ago I saw a photo on the internet of Neil Armstrong standing at a lecturn in September. And he stated in a big interview that he can only respond to a tiny fraction of the many requests he gets.

The early astronauts were picked for their ability to do a particular dangerous job. They were not picked to be media darlings.

Anyone who is a fan of Apollo or who believes that there is no astronaut who enthuses "about the fantastic adventure on which he went" should get hold of the wonderful DVD of Al Reinert's movie "For All Mankind," (No. 50 in the Criterion Collection)
www.criterionco.com

On that they will see wonderful clips from the original movie film of the Apollo flights and hear very enthusiastic commentaries by a number of astronauts. There is also an extra bonus commentary by Al Reinert and Gene Cernan, who always speaks very eloquently of his experience. I have watched the movie about seven times now -- five on the DVD and twice on a small-screen CD-ROM version I have, and I could still watch another 4-5 times, it is so good, so moving.

Here is an important point: Most talks by the astronauts would only be published on a small scale, if at all, and that would be why the general public never hears of them. They are never published on a big-enough scale. "For All Mankind" was shown around the world, yet still many people have not seen it.

Yet again, Margamatix imparts to us the dubious benefits of his considerable ignorance.


<Fixed typo, changed podium to lecturn>

[Kiwi]

Here's a good example of what I said above:

jayutah said:

Guess who's in town this week...
www.getignited2005.com/attendees.html

I have never heard of the Association of Space Explorers, yet they have held 18 congresses, and I'll bet that a fair amount of enthusing has gone on at them over the years. I'll also bet that Margamatix hasn't heard of the Association either.

[Kiwi]

Come on, guys, we only need a few examples to show Margamatix that it's completely untrue that astronauts don't enthuse about their experiences, or that they are reluctant to talk about them.

Here's one -- Gene Cernan enthusing about the Saturn 5 on the Criterion Collection DVD of Al Reinert's movie "For All Mankind":

0:11:06 That's spectacular. That Saturn 5 is a testimonial to not just American ingenuity but America's commitment to fly to the stars. Look at that! And that's a moonship. That's not science fiction, that's not Star Trek. That's not animation — that's a moonship. That's going to the moon, a quarter million miles away. It's gonna take us to another planet — a place that I had the opportunity to call my own little Camelot for three days.

0:11:39 I think about it now and it still seems unrealistic to me, and I know it happened. I know I was part of it, I know I lived there. I can still look over my shoulder and see those final steps I made on the surface of the moon with the earth hanging over that mountain in the background, and yet sometimes it seems like a dream. But all this is real. If it sometimes seems unreal to me, what does it seem like to other people who barely remember it, or others who weren't even born?

0:12:08 I see these pictures all the time, people show 'em. I give a talk and a speech and people introduce me with a film, and yeah, it is me, and I know it's me, and I know I was there and yet it is just... it's unnatural to accept, and I've got to believe that it's that way for all of us.


And in the commentary section of the same DVD:

0:05:10 Having flown it twice, I described in my book, "The Last Man on the Moon", this Saturn Five, 38-storey building. It was a magnificent beast that I literally had a love affair in public with. 0:05:27 I mean, when the hydrogen boils off the sides, when it's fuelled and the ice crystals just break away, it's dynamic, it's alive, it's ready to take you to the moon and you get in there and you've got your hands on controls which can actually get you there and fly. 0:05:42 It's over seven and a half million pounds of thrust and you're going to point it to the stars. 0:05:49 How lucky a human being can someone like me be to be sitting in that position? 0:05:55 A love affair, it truly was. 0:05:58 Walking across that catwalk was very interesting because here you are, 38 storeys up, and that was maybe one of the more, if you will, scared parts of the entire flight. 0:06:09 Yeah, I go back to the question people ask, "Were you ever scared?" 0:06:12 And I keep saying, "Well, we were apprehensive because we were expecting to encounter some exciting things." 0:06:18 But, after I watched the Apollo 13 movie and realised, subsequent to that, that I went back to the moon after Apollo 13, I must have been a very determined individual because the Apollo 13 movie got my attention even more so than it may have in the real world. 0:06:33 And I wasn't really scared until after I re-read the book and realised some of the dumb things I did and lived through 'em, and some of the places I went that were fairly unique.

Typical astronaut understatement, fairly unique.

<Fixed typos and formatting>

[Kiwi]

Here are just two early articles and a record I have by astronauts:

"Sounds of the Space Age, From Sputnik to Lunar Landing" [33-1/3 RPM Monaural Recording], narrated by Astronaut Frank Borman. National Geographic, Vol. 136, No. 6, December 1969, page 750.

"Exploring Taurus-Littrow" [Apollo 17], Harrison H. Schmitt. National Geographic, Vol. 144, No. 3, September 1973, pages 290-307.

"What is it Like to Walk on the Moon?" [Apollo 15], David R. Scott. National Geographic, Vol. 144, No. 3, September 1973, pages 326-329.

Astronauts not talking about or enthusing about their experiences, right?

On page 301 of Jack Schmitt's story, there is the heading, "A geologist's paradise, if ever I saw one..." That sounds a little enthusiastic to me.

The book, "First on the Moon - A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr", written with Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin, epilogue by Arthur C. Clark. Michael Joseph Ltd, London (1970), is full of information from or about not only the three astronauts, but also their wives, children and colleagues. There doesn't appear to be any reluctance on their parts at all.

[ottawan]

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.

And . . .

You can lead a HB to knowledge but you cannot make him think.

I rest my case.

[sts60]

There was a nice story (free but registration required) in the Washington Post today about Apollo 12's Alan Bean giving a talk at Arlington (Va.) Traditional School. The print edition has a great picture of a grinning Bean throwing his arms wide and beaming at the students.

Why are they all so reluctant to talk about it?

Another "fact" which isn't. margamatix, do you retract this claim, or what?

[echnaton]

sts60 said:

Another "fact" which isn't. margamatix, do you retract this claim, or what?

I’ll place my bet that he will choose “What?”

[sts60]

I wouldn't bet against it. Though he's been gone a while; don't know if he's coming back.

If he does come back, I'd like him to comment on this thread, plus the numerous other claims posted by him which have been refuted ("type 1 fulcrum", LM landing loads, CSM ability to get back to Earth, EVA suit cooling, Saturn V 266x too small, etc., etc., etc.)

But I'm not going to hold my breath. (I kept doing that for the Astros, and it didn't get me anywhere the last four games, did it?)

[echnaton]

sts60 said:

But I'm not going to hold my breath. (I kept doing that for the Astros, and it didn't get me anywhere the last four games, did it?)

I had already chewed all my nails off and couldn’t even watch the game last night for fear of tuning blue. But even if they didn’t win, it was a great ride just to get there!

[sts60]

In the words of the great Bum Phillips: "Last year we knocked on the door. This year we pounded on it. Next year we're gonna knock the sumb**ch down."

Of course, the Earlers never got to the Super Bowl. But the 'Stros got to the Series! And 0-4 doesn't tell the whole story - those were four really hard-fought games.

[Bob B.]

I'm I the only one here who was rooting for the Chisox?

[Count Zero]

Yes.

;D

[LunarOrbit]

Since I'm a Blue Jays fan (the only Canadian team left) I have no attatchment to the White Sox or the Astros. I wanted the Sox to win just because it had been so long since they had done it, but I also wanted the Astros to win because of Houston's connection with NASA (which is maybe a silly reason to cheer for a baseball team, I know).

I would have liked it more if the series was closer, sweeps are boring. Both years that the Blue Jays won they had to really fight for it. I think they even played in the snow during one of the games.

[Bob B.]

I’m a Cleveland Indians fan so my team is in the same division with Chicago. During the regular season Cleveland and Chicago are fierce rivals, but once Chicago eliminated the Indians and earned the right to represent the division in the playoffs, I began routing for them. I also have a tenuous connection to the White Sox by living in Birmingham, Alabama several years ago. Birmingham is the home of Chicago’s AA farm club. (That’s the team Michael Jordan once played for.)

[Joe Durnavich]

I have lived all of my life in the south suburbs of Chicago, so I was rooting for the White Sox. Our baseball teams don't win the World Series that often. As my nephew pointed out, the sinking of the Titanic is more recent history than that of the Cubs winning the Series.