Apollo: Race to the Moon

[Eclipse]

My library routinely culls their shelves and puts things out for "whatever" donations,
"books" for me have meant an eReader for the better part of 20 years, but once in
a while they have a DIY book or similar and I grab it for the shop.  Electricity, welding,
and woodwork don't change much just because Bob Vila's hairstyle does.

I picked this up a month or so ago for $2(?), left it sitting in the "library" and picked it
up the other day on a whim.



http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1421/1

Surprisingly, I'm finding it hard to put down.   As someone who thought they
knew a lot about the Apollo program, I'm amazed at the new details in here. and the
narrative is well-written.

The section on Apollo 1 is especially compelling, filling in details on issues not
normally discussed like the crews in the white room, gantries, etc.

Something else cool as a companion - I was reading about the Apollo 11 descent
and the famous "1202 alerts" and was able to find audio on Youtube of both the
CAPCom and the MOCR loop.   Very cool - talk about "And you were there..."

Apollo 11 Landing With Flight Director Audio Loop

I looked last night and didn't see it on any of the major ebook sites, but Amazon
has a fair number of them (including one for $500?!?) and a few on eBay.  I'm not sure
why, but it appears to be somewhat collectible, even unsigned.

Worth the time if you can find one at a decent price or your local library.

[Brad]

Now that looks COOL! Just submitted an Inter-Library Loan request for it with my county library. Ironically enough the library where I used to live will likely be the location lending it, lol!

[NIN]

Thanks for shooting 10+ minutes out of my afternoon schedule.

BTW, someplace I have a video of STS-93's ATO, which is annotated with who is talking on the Flight Control loops.

It is, in a word, both thrilling and frightening at the same time. 

[NIN]

I just finished that video.  Wow.

They don't make guys like that anymore. Seriously.  Gene Kranz has nerves of steel.  So did Aldrin & Armstrong.  Those guys were incredible.

(I've only heard the audio from the Eagle and the flight [CAPCOM] loop, never the Flight Control loop.. wow)

[Eclipse]

Yeah - no pressure.

2-3 guys' lives directly on the line, not to mention an entire massive program, "history of mankind" event, whole world watching...

[ol'fido]

For me, the romance kind of went out of the space program after the Apollo/Skylab days ended. They say that the best times of any organization, program, etc. like this are the early pioneering days and I think that is true of CAP as well as NASA. They still do some amazing high tech and high speed stuff but it just doesn't have the "mystique" of those early days. I have a CD series that I like to listen to about the early space program. It contains a lot of the radio traffic between the astronauts and the CAPCOMM. I like to play it at night sitting out on the patio under a starry sky or a rising moon. You almost get the feeling of being in the capsule with them.

I agree with the comments about Gene Kranz and the Mission Control Team as well. If have not read his book or seen the film' "Failure is not an Option" do it. My favorite part of that movie is when he walks into the old Mission Control room(which has been retired) and flashes back to those early days.

[Brad]

Colonel, check out Kerbal Space Program, www.kerbalspaceprogram.com, it channels a lot of that "pioneering space program" feel.

At the Kerbal Space Center

[Eclipse]

If have not read his book or seen the film' "Failure is not an Option" do it. My favorite part of that movie is when he walks into the old Mission Control room(which has been retired) and flashes back to those early days.

Well, there's my afternoon...
Failure Is Not An Option - A Flight Control History of NASA

[Grumpy]

After I saw your comment on it, I went surfing for it.  Fascinating

[bosshawk]

Interesting comments on the space program.  I had the fortunate experience to have been involved in one Shuttle mission: STS-27, which launched a classified satellite for the Air Force.  I happened to be in the payload control room during the launch, working as the Mission Director.  Was fortunate enough to have gotten to know the five military crew members that flew the mission.  I have a mission patch actually flown on the Shuttle, suitable framed with a certificate signed by all five crew members.


Later worked during the launch of a Titan IV out of Vandenberg AFB that launched another of our satellites.  Have a patch from that mission, also.

Oh, well, back to the uniform discussion.

[Brit_in_CAP]

I can also recommend 'From the Earth to the Moon', the twelve-part HBO television miniseries from 1998.  It's co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, and Michael Bostick, and tells the story the  Apollo program in docudrama format. Largely based on Andrew Chaikin's book, A Man on the Moon, the series is known for its accurate telling of the story of Apollo and the outstanding special effects under visual director Ernest D. Farino.  I later bought the book of the series and the DVD set.

I found this series originally on British television (Channel 4) and watched an episode per lunch break while I was decorating our bedroom!  It was so compelling I eventually had the whole family in with me, including my wife, every lunch break!  We finished the series by recording the episodes - incredible.  During a vacation in Florida, I took my eldest son to the Kennedy Space Center where he was able to see just how small a space was available inside the Command Module and the Lander. 

I was truly humbled by the likes of Kranze, Armstrong and Aldrin.

[BHartman007]

I looked last night and didn't see it on any of the major ebook sites, but Amazon
has a fair number of them (including one for $500?!?) and a few on eBay.  I'm not sure
why, but it appears to be somewhat collectible, even unsigned.

If you think that's bad, I decided I wanted to read "Sled Driver", about the SR-71. Make sure you're sitting down. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sled%20driver&sprefix=sled+%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asled%20driver

Gene Kranz was the speaker at this year's wing conference. I would have loved to have been there, but my paperwork didn't go through in time.

I started playing Kerbal Space Program last week. Two moons landed on, and a greater respect for orbital mechanics.

[NIN]

If you think that's bad, I decided I wanted to read "Sled Driver", about the SR-71. Make sure you're sitting down. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sled%20driver&sprefix=sled+%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asled%20driver

I have that. Its pretty good.

[BHartman007]

Well, if you ever find yourself short a mortgage payment, there's always ebay, lol.

Luckily you can also get it online for nothing.

[NIN]

Oh it's the PDF .... I didn't pay $4k for a book.  I thought Crickmore's books were better.

[NIN]

Btw, I found the STS-93 flight control loop video with annotations & captions.  It is definitely Apollo 12-style "oh crap" on ascent. Those people are working.  From ignition to MECO, that's 8 minutes of chaos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2c_hEY19n4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It is all of 10 minutes and worth it to observe the interplay between the various consoles and their backroom (booster & trajectory are highlighted here, but you have to know that everybody's backroom was hustling on this)

[Spaceman3750]

If have not read his book or seen the film' "Failure is not an Option" do it. My favorite part of that movie is when he walks into the old Mission Control room(which has been retired) and flashes back to those early days.

Well, there's my afternoon...
Failure Is Not An Option - A Flight Control History of NASA

I watched the sequel as well, which covers the shuttle era. Good stuff.