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Joined: Dec 2002
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 14,228 Likes: 1 |
Fifty years ago I was one year out of high school, lived in Atlanta. I got together with 2 of my high school buddies, I borrowed my parents' big old Ford station wagon, and we drove down to Cape Kennedy.
We arrived there at 3 am. We were 14 miles away, that was the closest you could get. We were on a country highway, and both shoulders were packed with people who wanted to see the launch. It was great, everybody was up and talking to one another, drinking beer, or coffee. It was a great festival in celebration of America, which was a pleasant change from the acrimony present every day, due to Vietnam. There was an air of excitement.
NASA did a great pr job, the rocket was very well lit up. Even from 14 miles away you could clearly see the giant white rocket, it looked beautiful. About 9 am, they lit it up! What a fantastic fireball! But, apparently we were so far away the sound didn't carry, for it made no noise at all. We all watched as the giant rocket slowly climbed into the clear blue sky. Then, the sound wave hit us. It is the loudest sound I have ever heard. It made the earth shake, or at least it felt like it did. We watched the big rocket slowly climb into the blue sky, and slowly angle towards the east. In a minute or two, it was gone.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 11,774 |
That’s a great story. I had just graduated from high school. Was at a lake in west central Ks, drinking beer and listening to it on the radio.
NRA Patron
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 67,130 Likes: 30 |
Dad was headed to viet nam
And I wasn't even born yet, I take your word for it.
You "I retired from johns manville asbestos factory in 1959" guys crack me up.
Brain in a jar with wires coming out.
😄😄
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 38,880 Likes: 4 |
While at the time, I thought that it was a marvel that it could be pulled off, I am even more amazed looking back at the technology then as compared to now.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
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Joined: May 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 17,133 |
Really an amazing time. I was only 5 but remember it and later saw a Saturn IB launch for skylab - That was impressive yet a shell of the moon rockets. American Experience on PBS is running a bunch of really great 2 hour episodes on the space program from past seasons right now. ( American Experience Episodes) I' m sure we have others but I'll call out our own Rocky Raab, as a former NASA guy, and his recent interview. Summer of Space. Scroll down to the "memories of the moon" section for Rocky's section and to hear him call a Space Shuttle launch. Very very cool Rocky.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
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Joined: May 2003
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 31,262 Likes: 4 |
They did a very nice job of editing what I thought was a so-so interview on my part. I've been interviewed thousands of times, and it stuns me to realize that was almost certainly my last one.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 29,383 |
One Million gallons of fuel lighting up. It must have been spectacular.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 7,857 |
I was 8 years old and we were on vacation in Nantucket, MA. I don't remember the launch, but I remember the landing and Armstrong's first steps on the moon as if it was yesterday. It was hard to see the images on the black & white TV because the reception was so bad and the rabbit ears weren't quite cutting it.
Last edited by StoneCutter; 07/16/19.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
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Joined: May 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
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Since we're all doing this with computers over what started as the ARPANet, a little info on the Apollo 11 guidance computer.
Program memory 73,728 bytes (8 bit equivalent) (0.000073728 gigabyte) Random access memory 4096 bytes (0.0000004096 gigabyte) Memory was a matrix of bead-like magnetic cores strung with a spider web of hair-fine wire all assembled by hand Processor hand wired, looks like wire wrap, discreet RTL integrated circuits Speed 2.048 MHz Weight 70 lbs Power consumption 55 Watts (RTL chips were slow and power hungry) Dimensions 24×12.5×6.5 inches
Compare that with your phone.
My computer runs at 3.4 GHz or 3,400 MHz. Apollo communications were in the S band, 3-4 GHZ and very few people could eavesdrop on communications at that frequency which was chosen partly for privacy - in case things went badly. Now common computers can handle that speed. And your Wifi can handle those frequencies.
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
Which explains a lot.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 3,717 |
I watched it from a small plane about 10 miles west of the Cape. Me and about 500 others! That count came from ATC controllers later that day. They quit counting targets in a 10 square mile area. Talk about dodge ball with planes....to make it worse, the Air Force sent a flight of 4 F-4's up through the mess about 1 minute pre launch! We had a radio with the count down going and everyone timed a turn so we were all pointing at the pad as it went off. Got an old picture of it here somewhere....all you can see is a small pinpoint of light as the candle burned oh so bright! Will never forget the day I saw history made.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2005
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They did a very nice job of editing what I thought was a so-so interview on my part. I've been interviewed thousands of times, and it stuns me to realize that was almost certainly my last one. Your voice?
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Joined: May 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 17,133 |
They did a very nice job of editing what I thought was a so-so interview on my part. I've been interviewed thousands of times, and it stuns me to realize that was almost certainly my last one. Your voice? His face too. Scroll down on that page Summer of Space and about half-way down is some more videos titled "Moon Memories" and Rocky's interview is there.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 10,497
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 10,497 |
Fifty years ago today when they took off I was 19 and at work that day. Ran the grease rack at a Chevy dealer. A couple of the mechanics had their radios tuned in to it. I was able to catch most of it that way.
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,028 |
I was 22, and working on the assembly line at IBM. Pulled silicon crystals , that we had doped with either phosphorus, arsenic, antimony. The crystals, through many operations, became integrated circuit memory chips..... The brains for computers, involved in the space program. We watched with pride 50 years ago, from the cafeteria, as our handiwork was going to the Moon....
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
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Since we're all doing this with computers over what started as the ARPANet, a little info on the Apollo 11 guidance computer.
Program memory 73,728 bytes (8 bit equivalent) (0.000073728 gigabyte) Random access memory 4096 bytes (0.0000004096 gigabyte) Memory was a matrix of bead-like magnetic cores strung with a spider web of hair-fine wire all assembled by hand Processor hand wired, looks like wire wrap, discreet RTL integrated circuits Speed 2.048 MHz Weight 70 lbs Power consumption 55 Watts (RTL chips were slow and power hungry) Dimensions 24×12.5×6.5 inches
Compare that with your phone.
My computer runs at 3.4 GHz or 3,400 MHz. Apollo communications were in the S band, 3-4 GHZ and very few people could eavesdrop on communications at that frequency which was chosen partly for privacy - in case things went badly. Now common computers can handle that speed. And your Wifi can handle those frequencies.
Heard it said, well actually read at the San Diego Air and Space Museum that a cell phone today has more computer power then the whole NASA control room during the Apollo 11 time frame! I was but a young buck back then, but remember my great grand mother stating that the world would never be the same after a moon landing. She believed it would upset the "balance" of the world and change everything with the most noticeable thing being the weather! Although I had entertained a career as a pilot/astronaut, I got distracted/derailed/missed the turn and went a different path, I am proud that my son is enjoying a career as one of the most experienced rocket propulsion engineers in the world today!
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 10,430 |
I remember the lousy live TV feed of Armstrong stepping off. Couldn't see $&*@#T. But I'll never forget the giant leap. Wow. We all cheered like crazy.
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 31,262 Likes: 4 |
Dave, that lousy picture was due to the downlink limitations of the lander. It had a weak signal, with a small bandwidth, and was sent at only 10 frames per second. Not compatible with broadcast TV, in other words. By the time it was converted into something the TV could use, it was pretty bad.
Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 69,249 Likes: 10
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 69,249 Likes: 10 |
I was 9. Remember watching it on TV. Seemed unreal at the time. Now it’s amazing with the technology they had at that time. Read a article today on a speech Nixon had prepared just in case they were stuck on the moon’s surface.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 17,030 Likes: 6 |
Very cool, RockyRaab. Enjoyed your interview.
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20,683 |
Cool thread
One big question though ? 🤔. How did Rocky ever come up with his 24 hour handle ? 😂.
Really is pretty cool to have you here Rocky, you’ve lived a life I’d like to read more about. Just so you know, I’ve counted down a few launches myself, but my family kept tellling me to shut up so they could hear you and others count the launch down 🤷🏻♂️
I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
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