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Fiftieth Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing


SoTier

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On 7/18/2019 at 8:31 AM, SoTier said:

Saturday, July 20, 2019, is the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  The Weather Channel has been showing lots of info snippets since Tuesday, the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo launch.  One of them I found interesting, having worked in IT for 30 years, is that the chips in today's musical/talking greeting cards have more power than the guidance system that took Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon and back!  PBS had an American Experience episode on it, and I'm sure that there will be more programs on Saturday.

Great day in our history. I remember as a kid looking out my window at night thinking that I would get a glimpse of it!

Edited by Rocket94
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On 7/18/2019 at 3:29 PM, RochesterRob said:

  It wouldn't be a matter of Von Braun faking it.  There could have been a hangup in an area where he had little expertise such as deep space life support.  The rub is when the government decides to fake a landing for a political agenda.  Does he stay silent or speak out.  He probably would have known he had a very short leash in terms of speaking out without being a target of the CIA for elimination.

I read an article a year ago about renewed Russian efforts to reach the moon and their suggestion that perhaps America did not really land there. They said that they may be joking, but any successful landing on their part would prove if it happened.

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10 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

....where the hell is Walmart??...........

No golden arches either!

7 hours ago, Limeaid said:

I am thinking of going to see "Apollo 50: Go for the Moon" tonight.

 

National Air and Space Museum is showing a recreation of launch of Apollo 11 of Saturn V rocket projected on the east face of the Washington Monument.  

https://airandspace.si.edu/go-for-the-moon?fbclid=IwAR3Z9p6u72-I2Efm8_B2tWs1vMV9c-dITXCJrvvxa8cbowRQjo2-9CdOcVc

https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article232873077.html

I am old enough  (was 7 at time and argued with my mother about watching Star Trek which was moved to 10pm that season with so I was into space ;10 pm was past my bedtime and summer was time for me to catch up on episodes I missed) to remember launch on TV vaguely.  I wonder if the presentation will be as good as advertised.

 

I need to work a 12 however tomorrow on a shifted schedule which I hate. I go to work at 9 AM when I normally go to work at 5 pm and this messes my sleep schedule.

My job sometimes requires a similar schedule...not good!

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3 hours ago, Rocket94 said:

My job sometimes requires a similar schedule...not good!

The reason for my schedule is logical even if I do not like it.

The developers did not want to support 24x7 so customer offered contract to cover swings, nights (5pm-9am) and weekends. Night workers have the hardest schedules so it is set up so they get off at same time every night at 9am which means they come in three hours early on weekends. I on other hand work 9am-9pm rather than 5pm-~3am but because we are double covered and I do (by his own statement) a lot of other work others do not do he gives me flexibility as l in turn cover other hours when people need off the best I can.

 

And no I did not go to watch film on mall. The weather tonight is very hot (the British considered DC sub-tropical) and tonight it feels like it.

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2 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

The reason for my schedule is logical even if I do not like it.

The developers did not want to support 24x7 so customer offered contract to cover swings, nights (5pm-9am) and weekends. Night workers have the hardest schedules so it is set up so they get off at same time every night at 9am which means they come in three hours early on weekends. I on other hand work 9am-9pm rather than 5pm-~3am but because we are double covered and I do (by his own statement) a lot of other work others do not do he gives me flexibility as l in turn cover other hours when people need off the best I can.

In my case, I was trying to be supportive of another department and now I find myself involved!

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7 minutes ago, sodbuster said:

I own a small piece of kapton foil the was stripped off of the Columbia command module after it landed. It's amazing to think that 50 years ago today it was circling the moon.

It is an amazing achievement considering how long ago it was. Computers and other technology that we take for granted today we're in their infancy or unheard of.

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2 hours ago, Rocket94 said:

It is an amazing achievement considering how long ago it was. Computers and other technology that we take for granted today we're in their infancy or unheard of.

In addition to taking the technology for granted, I think we take the sheer human brilliance for granted even more. Thousands of mathematicians, physicists, etc., using slide rules to calculate with great precision the orbital mechanics involved. It took them a little longer to compute vs. the fraction of a second it takes a powerful computer of today, but they were just as accurate. Amazing display of human capability. 

 

To think we have to suffer the flat earth and other science denying idiots 50 years later. 

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1 minute ago, K-9 said:

In addition to taking the technology for granted, I think we take the sheer human brilliance for granted even more. Thousands of mathematicians, physicists, etc., using slide rules to calculate with great precision the orbital mechanics involved. It took them a little longer to compute vs. the fraction of a second it takes a powerful computer of today, but they were just as accurate. Amazing display of human capability. 

 

To think we have to suffer the flat earth and other science denying idiots 50 years later. 

Exactly. People today have so many advantages. Back then you had to have incredible patience and work ethic. My late father once worked for the Pentagon and helped design rockets and later in civilian life he designed buildings and bridges. I was house cleaning years ago and came upon a closet full of his blueprints...just amazing and concise. Nothing computer enhanced...I was in awe. No way that I could do tha!

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5 minutes ago, Rocket94 said:

Exactly. People today have so many advantages. Back then you had to have incredible patience and work ethic. My late father once worked for the Pentagon and helped design rockets and later in civilian life he designed buildings and bridges. I was house cleaning years ago and came upon a closet full of his blueprints...just amazing and concise. Nothing computer enhanced...I was in awe. No way that I could do tha!

That is awesome that you have those blueprints, etc. They are testaments to your dad’s work and a treasure to have. 

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Just now, K-9 said:

That is awesome that you have those blueprints, etc. They are testaments to your dad’s work and a treasure to have. 

Oh yeah. He lived an interesting life...thing is, he had an interior sense about him...I asked myself years later how well did I actually know him.

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Maybe the most unifying moment in the history of the world. Not sure I can think of anything that rivals it, with so many people invested in a successful outcome. Hats off to you humans, and cheers especially to my fellow Americans. 

Edited by BeginnersMind
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