Where were you 50 years ago?

[Sundowner]

We all know its half a century since Apollo 11 did its thing. And what a fabulous thing it was too.

I was 18 years and 18 days old when I left work on an early lunch break to watch Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the moons surface. As the only other TV I had access to was at home, several miles away, I had to walk a couple of blocks up the main street of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales to watch it all unfold on a B&W TV in a shop window. I stood there for well over an hour, completely absorbed by the slow moving event, but I wasn't alone, there were about 20 or 30 of us watching. The shop (A music store called "The Clef") had mounted speakers outside so we could hear it all too.

So now you know where this Aussie was on this momentous day in history, and although I know it was about 3am in the UK at the time, Where were you?

Cheers,
Rob

[trackerjack]

I was a similar age to you and remember going to a friends house and sat with them for a little while as they all watched. However it did not really get to me as much as it did to others and just like modern youngsters I carried on regardless!

[Carledo]

Since British telly ended before midight in those days, I was safely tucked up in bed when it actually happened! But ISTR it was shown 12 hours later and the whole school watched it (on 3 or 4 specially imported tellies) in the gym! I was actually quite excited about, being 15 at the time and very into flight and sci-fi.

I just find it sad now, that those guys, who surely had cojones of solid steel, made that trip in that glorified baked bean tin, effectively for nothing! They went there, they did that, and then everybody gave up!

Whatever happened to the glorious future of man expanding through the galaxy that sci-fi predicted? Like almost every other good idea on earth, the accountants killed it!

Steve

[yorkshire_spam]

I was busy being -6 years old at the time

[xvivalve]

Sitting on my Mum's knee, not quite understanding the significance, but recall it all the same...I remember my Dad using a couple of tennis balls to show me how things look smaller at a distance

[Howard81]

I just find it sad now, that those guys, who surely had cojones of solid steel, made that trip in that glorified baked bean tin, effectively for nothing! They went there, they did that, and then everybody gave up!

I disagree, for a number of reasons. Space exploration did not stop, we just realised there was no need to send someone to do the job when a robotic probe could do it just as well and without the risk! Just look at the number of missions that have taken place since Apollo, the Voyager probes, space stations such as Spacelab, MIR, and the ISS, the countless Mars Rovers, most of the Solar System has been explored and photographed in high definition, the Hubble and soon to become active James Webb space telescope. etc..

Apollo only really existed as an act of global superiority over the Russians. The Apollo technology was so advanced, it's taken us until recently to actually get ahead of that technological curve that was so far ahead of it's time - but then again Apollo had the budget to do that (again, something that has taken several decades for the USA to recover from!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_ ... xploration

While I am sad that I have never had the honour of witnessing watching any form of interplanetary landing of a human being (I was born in 1981), it is exciting that technology once again is improving to the extent that I may actually be able to witness this in my lifetime - hopefully with the same amount of excitement as I watched most of the news coverage on the shuttle launches for 30 years! And Britain is one of the world leaders in space technology, past present and future.

If the technological side of the Apollo missions fascinates you as much as it does myself, I would recommend watching this video series on the restoration of the Apollo Guidance Computer:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... _x7-Ut_-w7

[RichardHyde]

I was born in March 1970 so I was probably just about in my mum’s womb !!

[Robert 352]

50 years ago I was working in Sheffield in the UK, and yes I missed seeing the landing alive for it was in the early hours of the morning. I was sound asleep in bed!

I wrote back to my father in New Zealand and explained that perhaps the most awe inspiring thing for me was that the film had been transmitted live back to the world. New Zealand was not then capable of receiving such signals and I think a copy was flown across to New Zealand from Australia. I am not sure either whether it was possible to show it live throughout this country.

I said to my father that I found the prospect of the Concorde flying supersonically as something even more exciting. Yes the Yanks had put a man on the moon at some huge cost but the British and the French had already flown the Concorde on its maiden flight and at that stage it seemed possible that not only would it fly supersonically but sufficient aircraft would be made and sold to make a profit.

Those of us living in this part of the world knew back then and acknowledge to this day that the Russian space effort was far ahead of the Yanks. The Russians built and manned the MIR space station long before the Yanks were capable of doing so. And without Russian technology I doubt that the existing Space station would have survived for as long as it has.

The Yanks have never been able to fly passengers in an aircraft supersonically.

I will never forget leaving Heathrow one May morning in 1977 and arriving in Washington USA an hour before I supposedly left the UK. Our speed that day was only Mach 2.18, slightly slower than usual for the outside air temperature was a little hotter than expected. I had my sleeves rolled up, sitting in a very warm and pleasant cabin marvelling at the superb Anglo French technology –and enjoying a very nice lunch!

What a way to travel.

[Sundowner]

I wrote back to my father in New Zealand and explained that perhaps the most awe inspiring thing for me was that the film had been transmitted live back to the world. New Zealand was not then capable of receiving such signals and I think a copy was flown across to New Zealand from Australia. I am not sure either whether it was possible to show it live throughout this country.

NASA used 2 Australian deep space tracking dishes to receive those TV images and transmit them to the rest of the world.
The actual landing was recorded using the dish at Parkes NSW, but later in the day the dish was pointing so low down that when a breeze blew up, it endangered the quality of the signal so they switched it to Honeysuckle Creek, in the Brindabella's, just south of Canberra.
All of the fantastic TV images of those amazing steps and words all came through to this world from a point not far from where I am now. (about 70 miles, as the crow flies).
Yep, and we Aussies even cashed in on it with this slightly factually altered (artistic licence?) movie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dyGpXcQl-g
There is nothing at Honeysuckle Creek these days except a levelled area, some concrete slabs and a memorial plaque. Its a very nice place for a picnic in the bush though.
Cheers,
Rob

[dollyman]

Being 15 at the time i was tucked up in bed after a hard day as an apprentice in a garage. Leaving school at 15 and thrown into work was a big shock to the system God knows what the the poor little snowflakes of today would have done They would probably be still in their flea pits and missed it.
I did eventually marvel at it on our rented black and white telly Anyone remember renting "tellies"

Tony.

[Carledo]

Anyone remember renting "tellies"

Tony.

I rented tellies and later VHS video recorders, until well into the 80s. I bought my first (ex rental) VHS recorder in 1987 and it still cost me £180 second hand! The last one I bought, circa 2006 was £40 from the co-op! This died recently and I now have nothing to play our wedding video on! Anyone any good at transferring VHS to CD?

Steve

[Sundowner]

Anyone remember renting "tellies"
Tony.

We watched the landing on our "Baird" TV, rented from "Radio Rentals"
It was a not so big screen in a bigger, well build, stylish for the time, wooden case. The speaker was in the base covered with a golden metallic threaded woven material. It was very nice for the time.
My grandparents, who didn't have a TV, used to come around on Sundays to have dinner but mostly so they could watch a couple of hours of TV.
Cheers,
Rob

[NickMorgan]

Whatever happened to the glorious future of man expanding through the galaxy that sci-fi predicted? Like almost every other good idea on earth, the accountants killed it!

Steve

Steve,
I am quite pleased that we haven't managed to colonise other planets or solar systems. When you see what a mess we are making of this planet, I find it comforting that we are not able to do similar somewhere else.
I am also not a fan of providing space travel for those who can afford it. When we are only just coming round to trying to reduce our carbon footprint, how can this be justified. Oh yes, money talks, I forgot!

[bazyerma]

Being 15 at the time i was tucked up in bed after a hard day as an apprentice in a garage. Leaving school at 15 and thrown into work was a big shock to the system God knows what the the poor little snowflakes of today would have done They would probably be still in their flea pits and missed it.
I did eventually marvel at it on our rented black and white telly Anyone remember renting "tellies"

Tony.

I was minus 17 at the time, So I missed it, but its still the biggest ever human achievement, Shame the Americans made it into a them an us with the Russians, when it could have brought everyone together. I suppose nothing changes, maybe why us Snowflakes make less of an effort!

[trackerjack]

Being 15 at the time i was tucked up in bed after a hard day as an apprentice in a garage. Leaving school at 15 and thrown into work was a big shock to the system God knows what the the poor little snowflakes of today would have done They would probably be still in their flea pits and missed it.
I did eventually marvel at it on our rented black and white telly Anyone remember renting "tellies"

Tony.

I was minus 17 at the time, So I missed it, but its still the biggest ever human achievement, Shame the Americans made it into a them an us with the Russians, when it could have brought everyone together. I suppose nothing changes, maybe why us Snowflakes make less of an effort!

Well Russia and USA did join together in space with the space lab etc. But Russia since Putin took total control has become nasty,
even assassinating people in our country, and as far as I know USA does not. As an oldie I observe "snowflakes" seem to have a naïve view.