Neil Armstrong

[Chris Allman]

The thing is, did they actually go to the Moon, or was it, as some people think, one big hoax, to stop Russia in their tracks and prevent them getting there first. !!!

[John Arton]

The first lunar landing gave rise to a great pub quiz question.
q. What was the first word received on earth from the moon
a. (that everyone says) The tranquillity has landed.
real answer is "Houston".
just go to Houston and ask around there and all will tell you that and they are very proud of it.
Not a lot of people know that!!!
rgds
JA

[Gulliver]

Standard Tricky Pub Questions
I’m also aware of the following pub quiz questions: The dedicated pub quizzers amongst us will know these straightaway,and maybe the rest can remember them for future success in the pub.

1 Q Who was the 3^rd Man on the Moon?
A Charles (Pete) Conrad
Most people will quickly say Michael Collins (the third member on the successful Apollo 11 mission with Armstrong and Aldrin)
But remember,the third man of any Apollo mission has to remain with the craft whilst the other two go walkabout,therefore numerically the 3^rd man to walk on the moon was Conrad, the commander of the next mission,(Apollo 12.)

　
2.Q How many men in total have walked on the moon.
A 12. Many people will say 21 or even 14 . But remember only 2 men ever leave the craft to walk on the moon.Therefore those who say 14 will think they have it right(2 x 7) .-but they haven’t. You see there were 7 Apollo moon landing missions in total ,(Apollo 11 to Apollo 17) but remember that Apollo 13 was aborted leaving only 6 successful missions,of whom only 6 x 2 astronauts = 12 walked on the moon.

3. Q Which foot did Neil Armstrong use when he set foot on the moon?
A.
Commander Neil Armstrong put his left foot down on the moon first. His right one was on the landing pad. It was then that he uttered the famous, "That's one small step..."

Gulliverastronaut.gif

[leratty]

Cleaning widows to earn money when at London Uni.

[happy daze john in oz]

In the interview Sunday morning with the man from NASA he claimed the wording was not as planed. It should have been
'One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind'.

[John Arton]

Would have thought that Armstrong would have more on his mind than getting his lines right when taking his first steps on the moon. I mean, he had to be on a lookout for all thoses clangers that lived there (clangers..kids t.v. show where squeaky little things used to live on the moon...for those who never got to watch kids t.v. in the 70's)
rgds
JA

[Keith at Tregenna]

Neil Armstrong to be buried at sea because of his service as a Navy fighter pilot before he became an astronaut

Neil Armstrong died aged 82 from complications during a heart procedure

A memorial service has been scheduled for September 12 in Washington

Sea burials are common for Navy veterans:

LINK: Neil Armstrong to be buried at sea because of his service as a Navy fighter pilot before he became an astronaut | Mail Online

[Keith at Tregenna]

Space shuttle Endeavour had one last hurrah last Friday - taking a tour over the hills of Hollywood and the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco before finally retiring gracefully to a life in the museum.

Hundreds of thousands of people would have seen the shuttle fly by - many of them no doubt taking picture after picture as the spacecraft hitched a ride on top of a jumbo jet.

But there was one other unobserved observer of the shuttle - for a satellite high in space was also staring down at the ground as the shuttle flew by, and captured this image over flat brushlands in New Mexico.

LINK: Stay still! Aerial satellite captures final voyage of the Endeavour Space Shuttle - but the craft moved too quickly to get the perfect picture | Mail Online

K.

[Rodney Mills]

A loose connection with Niel Armstrong.


In the mid 1970s I had sold options to two screenplays. I was tempted to try screenwriting full-time, but first I thought I would attend a few writers workshops. At a work-shop the attendees were split into teams. the lecturer of my team was the late science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. He was the author of many novels,screenplays, short stories, even poems and one of the most interesting people I have met. His most famous novels were "Fahrenheit 451" ( a very successful movie too) and "The Martian Chronicles" ( a t.v. mini-series). At the conclusion of the workshop I made my way to the hotel cocktail bar. Seated alone I ordered a glass of wine. Mr. Bradbury wandered in recognizing me, and asked if he might join me. It seemed he couldn't and didn't want to drive and was waiting for a ride home. I never did find out if he didn't drink alcoholic beverages or was just plain thirsty, but he ordered a lemonade made from fresh lemons. It was made, served, sipped and pronounced "delicious". "It better be", I answered I'm the Food and Beverage Director of this hotel. He laughed and the ice was broken, and we began to chat about this and that, until, finally I asked him "Where were you when Armstrong walked on the moon?" He told me he was in England participating in a discussion on B.B.C. t.v.. The other guest - probably chosen for her obvious bias against the U.S.- was a young Irishwoman named Bernadette Devlin (B.D.). Naturally, the conversation embraced the moon-walk; B.D. went straight into attack mode:

B.D. "It's a terrible thing it is, for the United States to spend billions and billions of dollars on the moon, when there's millions of poor starving, barefoot and sickly people down here on earth...etc. etc.,

R.B. to me, " I let her rant and rave until she ran out of invectives and breath, then it was my turn...(to B.D.).

R.B. "Do you know how much money was spent on the moon?"

B.D. "Billions and....

R.B. ( Holding up his hand for silence). "It's my turn now young lady...Nothing! Not a penny was spent ON the moon. It was all spent In the United States GETTING TO THE MOON. It has provided income for scientists, engineers, designers, security guards, office cleaners and all employees of hundreds of ancillary companies. Thousands of new products that today are taken for granted, which in turn provide jobs and better lives WORLD-WIDE...It provided jobs: building houses, furniture and cars for these new employees and it paid for university for another generation of scientists and space engineers and the teachers that taught them. It raised the standard of living for thousands-and generations too. And instead of being harangued by harpies such as you that produce nothing, just for a moment the United States of America can bask in world-wide admiration...tomorrow it will be back to business as usual hurling brickbats at the U.S., but young lady today, me and my countrymen are all aglow with pride.

R.B. said it was lovely, she sat there with her mouth hanging open and sank lower and lower in her chair.

I asked him later "How come he couldn't drive, especially in L.A.?" "I never saw the need" he replied. "I have a bike, I have friends who don't mind filling in and there are taxis." How strange, from a master of creating tales of space.

We both had something in common, Both of us had poor formal education, and neither attending university. Both avid readers and self-educated. One big difference, his self-education was far superior to mine...he had a BETTER TEACHER THAN ME.

Cheers, Rodney