Highbrow Magazine - apollo 11 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/apollo-11 en ‘Shoot for the Moon’ Charts Space Race from Sputnik to Apollo 11 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10096-shoot-moon-charts-space-race-sputnik-apollo <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/books-fiction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Books &amp; Fiction</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 08/15/2019 - 09:32</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1donovanbook_0.jpg?itok=uhZF9F7g"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1donovanbook_0.jpg?itok=uhZF9F7g" width="310" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11</strong></p> <p><strong>By James Donovan</strong></p> <p><strong>Little, Brown</strong></p> <p><strong>464 pages</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Seen from 50 years later, it’s difficult—even for those who witnessed the event on grainy black-and-white TV—to fully credit the technological wonder of one man’s first steps on the moon. Since July 20, 1969, adventures in space have become either too predictable and bland (in the eyes of some) or insufficiently daring—except for quixotic hopes of a manned flight to Mars in the 2030s.</p> <p> </p> <p>James Donovan’s <em>Shoot for the Moon,</em> along with a plethora of other moon-landing-related books during this anniversary year, carries readers back to that more or less distant era. In brisk, workmanlike prose, Donovan details the space race from the USSR’s electrifying launch of the Sputnik satellite and the early days of the Mercury and Gemini space programs, culminating with Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind.</p> <p> </p> <p>Some of the most affecting passages center around the sheer unknowability of what might happen to a human being thrust into space and transported hundreds of thousands of miles to the moon:</p> <p> </p> <p>“A fragile human in the vacuum of space would die almost instantly …  Even if his lungs didn’t rupture, the deoxygenation of the blood would result in a loss of consciousness in fifteen seconds or less. As the water in his body vaporized and his oxygen disappeared, the moisture on his tongue, in his eyes, and elsewhere would begin to boil and bubble; his skin and the tissue beneath it would start to swell and turn bluish purple; and the gases in—and possibly the contents of—his stomach, bowels, sinuses, and other body cavities would release rapidly.”</p> <p> </p> <p>What comes across in <em>Shoot for the Moon</em> is the unadorned heroism of ex-test pilots and other scientific whizkids who understood these dangers and still persisted in becoming astronauts. In fact, there was intense competition among the fledgling spacemen, each vying to be the first to set foot on the lunar surface.</p> <p> </p> <p>Training was equally intense, since there was no telling precisely what would happen when astronauts were subjected to conditions of space travel. That’s why training could include “blinding the subject, sticking a hose in an ear, and pumping cold water into his ear canal until he was dizzy, or submerging a man’s feet in a bucket of ice-filled water until they went numb or he couldn’t take it anymore.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1moonlanding.jpg" style="height:318px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>In attempting to anticipate all conceivable hazards, the astronauts-in-training underwent what could easily pass as “torture” in another setting.</p> <p> </p> <p>Donovan excels at taking readers through the mind-boggling logistics of preparing for Apollo 11’s flight, as well as the internecine struggle to be chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime honor of the first lunar landing. His account is extensively researched and draws upon firsthand interviews with many of the key players of the time.</p> <p> </p> <p>And when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins make the final approach to the moon, and two of the three men on board descend to the moon’s surface in the Lunar Module, “Eagle,” the whole world is watching:</p> <p> </p> <p>“In New York’s Central Park, ten thousand watched on giant screens; bars and restaurants throughout the United States and in much of the free world showed the broadcast. In Warsaw, several hundred Poles crammed into the lobby of the U.S. embassy to see it. Even the pope, in his summer villa, sat mesmerized in front of the TV. Despite the turmoil of the time, for one day, the billions of inhabitants of Earth shared the same sense of yearning and wonder as a human walked on the satellite above them, so far away.”</p> <p> </p> <p>For readers unfamiliar with this historic event, or who want to fill out their knowledge of the space race of the 1950s and 1960s, <em>Shoot for the Moon </em>is an excellent place to start.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Lee Polevoi, author of </em></strong><strong>The Moon in Deep Winter<em>, is </em>Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief book critic.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.afmc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1910591/aiming-higher-airmen-contribute-to-human-spaceflight-from-apollo-to-tomorrow/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(223, 34, 39);">NASA</a></em></p> <p><em>Little, Brown</em></p> <p><em>Cover Photo: <a href="https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/a29bdb75-4926-45d4-a537-047cf4348673">"Apollo 11,"</a> U.S. State Department (Creative Commons)</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/james-donovan" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">james donovan</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/shoot-moon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">shoot for the moon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/space-race" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">space race</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/neil-armstrong" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">neil armstrong</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/apollo-11" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">apollo 11</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sputnik" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sputnik</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jfk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jfk</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nasa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nasa</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Lee Polevoi</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 15 Aug 2019 13:32:58 +0000 tara 8903 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10096-shoot-moon-charts-space-race-sputnik-apollo#comments Moon Landing Memories: 50 Years of Nostalgia https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10062-moon-landing-memories-years-nostalgia <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 07/22/2019 - 09:02</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1moonlanding_0.jpg?itok=qhCZjMKO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1moonlanding_0.jpg?itok=qhCZjMKO" width="480" height="244" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Parades. Moon pies. And five decades of nostalgia.</p> <p> </p> <p>That's how destinations like <a href="https://www.visithoustontexas.com/">Houston</a> and <a href="http://www.visitspacecoast.com/">Florida's Space Coast</a> are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing this week. </p> <p> </p> <p>But the anniversary of the lunar landing -- when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969 -- represents a bigger opportunity. For the travel industry, it's a moment to showcase a customer service reputation shaped by space tourism. And it's a chance for deeper reflection on the next half-century of space flight.</p> <p> </p> <p>Among the moon landing anniversary highlights:</p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://spacecenter.org/apollo-50/">Johnson Space Center in Houston</a> is hosting a series of events from July 16 -- when Apollo 11 blasted off -- through the mission’s conclusion, when the astronauts safely splashed down back on Earth on July 24. Among the events: an outdoor concert and festival, Apollo 11-themed pop-up science labs, mission briefings, and a special NASA tram tour featuring a just-opened historic mission control.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/landing-pages/apollo-50th">Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex</a> on Florida's Atlantic coast is commemorating the Apollo program with a series of on-site community events and giveaways. It redesigned its signature Apollo/Saturn V Center and has a new lunar lander exhibit. On July 16, the day of Apollo 11’s launch, the complex is launching <a href="https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches-and-events/events-calendar/2019/july/apollo-11-global-launch-event">a record number of air rockets</a>.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li>The <a href="https://www.rocketcenter.com/">U.S. Space &amp; Rocket Center</a> in Huntsville, Ala., has a new exhibit, "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon," which chronicles the timeline from the beginning of the space race to the collaborative culture of the International Space Station program and beyond. It also has an <a href="https://www.rocketcenter.com/Apollo50">ambitious series of events</a> which include a parade and re-enactments.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2moonlanding.jpg" style="height:625px; width:423px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Moon landing memories</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>John Tribe smiles when he thinks of the moon landing in 1969. A former chief engineer at Rockwell, he managed the Apollo Command and Service Module Propulsion Systems at Kennedy Space Center. He's now a docent at the <a href="http://spacewalkoffame.org/">American Space Museum</a> in nearby Titusville, Fla., which features exhibits and memorabilia from the space program.</p> <p> </p> <p>"We were doing something that had never been done," he says, recalling 12-hour workdays in the months preceding the historic launch of Apollo 11. </p> <p> </p> <p>I asked Tribe about his moon landing memories. Back then, Titusville was like an old western town with dirt roads and citrus farms, he said. He says his team was so focused on their project that as soon as Armstrong and Aldrin cleared the launch pad, they started work on Apollo 12, the next mission. The engineers on the ground hardly too the time to stop even as the astronauts took their first steps on the lunar surface.</p> <p> </p> <p>John-David Bartoe, a payload specialist on a 1985 Space Shuttle mission, is more nostalgic. In his office at the <a href="https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/">Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex</a>, he reminisces about the night of the landing. He was in his apartment in Washington, D.C., and just before the Lunar Module touched down, he woke his 2-year-old son and put him in front of the TV to watch the historic event.</p> <p> </p> <p>"I felt like this was the beginning of something big," says Bartoe, who worked as an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Center at the time.</p> <p> </p> <p>In dozens of interviews with space insiders, that's a recurring theme. Those who were working on the Apollo program say they didn't have time to think about the significance of what they were doing. The rest say they marveled at the moon landing, not just for what it was, but for what it meant.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Moon pies and a caricature or two</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Even for people who are too young to remember the moon landing, the anniversary is an opportunity to show their creative side and to connect with customers. <a href="https://www.kennyandziggys.com/">Kenny &amp; Ziggy's New York Delicatessen</a> in Houston, for example, rolled out several new menu items to commemorate the event. It includes Dark Side of the Moon in a Sea of Tranquility (a matzoh ball and kreplach meat dumplings in chicken soup), a Tang Egg Cream (the orange soda is Fanta), and Black &amp; White Moon Pies (chocolate and vanilla cookies with Mexican vanilla ice cream). </p> <p> </p> <p>"We wanted to do something special for the moon landing," says owner Ziggy Gruber, who was just 1 year old at the time of the lunar landing.</p> <p> </p> <p>Across town, <a href="http://theclassichouston.com/">The Classic</a> has also whipped up a Tang soft-serve beverage with grape soda and chia seeds as a tribute to the moon landing. The chia seeds look like the lunar surface.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hotels are participating in the moon landing anniversary, too. At the <a href="https://www.rosenplaza.com/">Rosen Plaza Hotel</a> in Orlando, there's an "Over the Moon" overnight stay package special this month with rates starting at $119 a night. That includes a $50 food and beverage credit on the first night of the stay that can be used at <a href="https://www.jacksplacerestaurant.com/">Jack's Place</a>, its signature steak restaurant that features autographed caricatures of the Apollo astronauts. They're drawn by Jack Rosen, a safety engineer at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York from the 1930s to the 60s. Harris Rosen, the hotel's namesake and Jack's son, met many of the astronauts when he helped manage the Hilton Cocoa Beach in the 1960s. The Over the Moon package is the hotel's salute to their dedication and bravery.</p> <p> </p> <p>Local businesses are also capitalizing on the moon landing anniversary. Just south of Cape Canaveral, <a href="https://kayakcocoabeach.com/">Adventure Kayak of Cocoa Beach</a> runs a late-night tour of the nearby Thousand Islands. The almost two-hour tour is ideal for tourists watching night launches, but at this time of year also features the famous bioluminescence of the mangrove channels. It's a favorite of the SpaceX interns, according to one tour guide.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <strong><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3moonlanding_reinhardt_link_-_flickr.jpg" style="height:352px; width:625px" /></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Are we going back to the moon?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>I lived in Central Florida when the Space Shuttle flew its last mission. Back then, there was a feeling that America's spacefaring days might be over. A sense of despair hung over the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex like an early morning fog over the Banana River. The aging displays, with a faint scent of sweat and mildew, made it a sad place -- even for an unapologetic fan of the space program. </p> <p> </p> <p>What a difference a few years make. Today, there are several new exhibits, including the new <a href="https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/explore-attractions/heroes-and-legends/us-astronaut-hall-of-fame">U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame</a>. The Space Shuttle Atlantis sits in a gleaming new home, where displays help visitors explore shuttle missions that secured the future of the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. There's also a lot of buzz about the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html">Orion program</a> and planned missions to the moon and Mars -- and, of course, the new presence of <a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/">Blue Origin</a> and <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">SpaceX</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p>Put it all together and the 50th anniversary of the moon landing is about more than a retrospective of past achievements. It is a moment to consider future possibilities.</p> <p> </p> <p>I was fortunate to meet with Tribe, the former propulsion specialist, and Charlie Mars, the chief of the Lunar Module Project Engineering Office for NASA's manned launch operations, at the American Space Museum a day before the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary festivities started. And I asked them if they had any thoughts about the present -- and future -- of the space program.</p> <p> </p> <p>Both men shared their memories of Titusville and Cocoa Beach, an area heavily influenced by the space program, and that ultimately welcomed millions of tourists and cruise passengers at nearby Port Canaveral. They said the area has grown so much since the 1960s that it's almost unrecognizable. Perhaps the biggest change is the cruise port, which <a href="https://www.portcanaveral.com/About/Recent-News/Port-Canaveral-Reports-Record-Breaking-Year-and-Hi">welcomed 4.5 million passengers last year</a>, an almost 8 percent increase from 2017. The same changes have happened in other space tourism cities, including Houston and Huntsville.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>So what's next?</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>But then the conversation drifted to our future in space. They, too, felt that the end of the Space Shuttle program could have been a finale of sorts. But as you walk around the exhibits of the museum, you realize that there have been many near-death experiences for NASA. Those include two failed shuttle flights and the deadly Apollo 1 fire in 1967. The program always bounced back.</p> <p> </p> <p>The space veterans argued about resources. Can we go to the moon <em>and </em>Mars? No, and there's no real reason to return to the moon, they both agreed.</p> <p> </p> <p>"Mars would probably be a good goal," Charlie Mars told me. "But we need better propulsion systems to get there."</p> <p> </p> <p>Hopefully, it will not take another 50 years to get there.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Christopher Elliott's latest book is “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). For help with any consumer problem, please visit <a href="http://www.elliott.org/help">http://www.elliott.org/help</a> This article originally appeared in Forbes.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>© 2019 Christopher Elliott. Printed with permission.       </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.afmc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1910591/aiming-higher-airmen-contribute-to-human-spaceflight-from-apollo-to-tomorrow/">NASA</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/129472585@N03/15229360684">Reinhard Link</a>  (Flickr – Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong#/media/File:RIAN_archive_837790_Valentina_Tereshkova_and_Neil_Armstrong.jpg">Wikipedia</a> (Creative Commons)<br /> <br />  </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/moon-landing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">moon landing</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/neal-armstrong" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">neal armstrong</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/buzz-aldrin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">buzz aldrin</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/apollo-11" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">apollo 11</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/space-shuttle" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">space shuttle</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mars</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/space-travel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">space travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Christopher Elliott</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:02:21 +0000 tara 8857 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10062-moon-landing-memories-years-nostalgia#comments