Forty Years Ago Today, We Dreamed Big
Forty years ago today, we put three men in a metal box that would give today’s average OSHA inspector nightmares for a year, stuck that box on top of a giant fuel tank, lit the bottom end, and exulted in the sheer audacity of the act.
Well, most of America did anyhow.
This site is a must-visit if you are interested in how the mission progressed. The site is is recreating, minute by minute, the entire Apollo 11 mission in real time, with actual recordings from both the craft and Mission Control.
I’m really not sure what the site will do once the “mission” is done, but I’d hope they’d let you go through it again at your leisure.
If that’s not your speed, here are a couple great pictures and video of the launch. I admit to goosebumps as the countdown hit three seconds.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Drama and Grease, In Space!
- Another Phoenix Has Landed…on Mars
- Well, You Certainly Have to be Brave to Take on Stephen Hawking.
Category: Hey, Mr. Science Guy!, Out in the Black
The phrase 'stuck that box on top of a giant fuel tank,' doesn't seem to me to convey the actual scale, nor the volatility of the fuel. Some people might think it's like a bus loaded with gasoline. I prefer to describe it as 'a skyscraper filled with high explosives.'
I tried to go with something more poetic, but failed, it seems.