Where were you 50 years ago?

[dursley92]

I was at Stafford College of Advanced Technology (now a Uni) doing a Mechanical Engineering degree course but stayed up all night to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon and failed my Electrics exam next day. At least that is my excuse, but it could also have been I didn't do enough work? The good news is that I had to change to an HND course instead which was much better for me.

[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!

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.

Probably, but the West needs a villain, and Putin is no worse than Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who we sell weapons too, and Boris sucks up to. At least Putin is only poisoning an ex Russian double agent, with a Russian only made nerve agent. that failed to kill the 68 year old target. Its terrible about Dawn Sturgess though.

But hey, I love the Moon, and as youngster and Snowflake, I hope I like long enough to get the chance to visit!

Barry

[naskeet]

In July 1969, I had just come to the end of my second year at Furtherwick Park comprehensive secondary school (it was a secondary modern, that had been re-designated in early-September 1967) on Canvey Island, Essex. It's possible that I might have been in Cyprus, on a multi-centre touring holiday with my parents, in a hired FWD Triumph 1300, whose cooling system and/or battery needed topping-up on an almost daily basis.

This was in the days when there were 1,000 mils to the Cyprus pound, which super ceded piastres. If my memory serves by correctly, I think we flew to Cyprus in a De Haviland Comet 4B, but if not then probably a Bristol Britannia or an Airspeed Ambassador (yet another aircraft with three tail fins, in common with the Lockheed Constellation, Boeing Clipper, Miles Messenger and the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer - an example of which I saw at Cranfield in circa 1983/84 and another some years later at RAF Cosford!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havill ... et#Comet_4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Britannia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Ambassador

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Messenger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_ ... in_Pioneer

https://military-history.fandom.com/wik ... in_Pioneer

50 years ago today, in January 1973, I was studying for my three GCE "A" Levels in Physics & Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology at SEEVIC - South East Essex Sixth Form College (opened in September 1972) in Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, which was one of the first two purpose-built sixth form colleges in Great Britain.

[naskeet]

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

Unless there are vital rare minerals to be mined on the Earth's moon, it's questionable whether it would be worthwhile establishing a colony there and it would be too expensive simply to use as a prison colony.

The accountants would NOT have helped matters, but the limitations of physics and human physiology (e.g. tolerance of acceleration g-forces), make manned exploration of even our solar system rather impractical, unless we can assemble very large spaceships which can accommodate a sufficiently large, genetically viable, self-contained community, with all the support services of a small town), that can harness solar or nuclear power for several decades. Even assuming one could accelerate close to the speed of light, it would take a very long time, even at an acceleration rate of 5g.

[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

Unless there are vital rare minerals to be mined on the Earth's moon, it's questionable whether it would be worthwhile establishing a colony there and it would be too expensive simply to use as a prison colony.

The accountants would NOT have helped matters, but the limitations of physics and human physiology (e.g. tolerance of acceleration g-forces), make manned exploration of even our solar system rather impractical, unless we can assemble very large spaceships which can accommodate a sufficiently large, genetically viable, self-contained community, with all the support services of a small town), that can harness solar or nuclear power for several decades. Even assuming one could accelerate close to the speed of light, it would take a very long time, even at an acceleration rate of 5g.

I know of only one sci-fi book that proposes the moon as a penal colony, Heinlien's "The moon is a harsh mistress" I'm a big fan!

But it's advantage listed there as being at the top of a gravity well, works well as a base for long distance further exploration. This could well be it's future, especially if metal ores are found to build the ships from. Let's face it, I doubt anyone would get abused for destroying the beautiful landscape with mining!

Steve