Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Apollo 11

Currently watching a documentary on the mission. What a time it was watching the NASA series of missions live.

They have the Apollo 11 capsule at the entrance to the Smithsonian in Washington.
I was admiring it (it is tiny, think 3 seater sofa wide plus a few feet in diameter), when an American mansplanned to his girlfriend that it was from the film set of Apollo 13.

When you see the capsule you realise how brave they were.

I agree it is so tiny and when you see how flimsy the landing module was it brings the stark reality of the achievement and their incredible bravery. I can't even begin to understand how it must have felt being in Apollo 13.

They were a very special breed. Such fantastic achievements - and all without a touch screen!

The command center in Houston TX has been restored to period. It has cigarette butts, coffee cups and a few jackets scattered about and one TV has a black and white image of 'Walter Cronkite' reporting. I was impressed with the attention to detail.

Cheers,
Mark

Mad how long ago it was and what was achieved with so little experience. They were true creators.

I love that they did it on a computer that is so small it would count as an assist module for a door opener in a car now! Who needs artificial intelligence eh?

There's a related film on tomorrow (Tues 30th)

Channel 4, 5:40pm, Hidden Figures

If you want to learn something about the Russian competitors:
The film The Spacewalker is really great, a feature film about the life of the first Russian cosmonaut who took a space walk.

Trailer:

Slightly off topic .... the UK is investing in trying to develop a low-orbit/small package launch capability .... they have a couple of launch-sites ready to go but no successful launcher so far .... having been and seen the Black Arrow launcher in the Science Museum that could put 100kg payload into a 500km low earth orbit over 50 years ago, why don't they just take it out and 'draw round it' .... the tech is just sitting there.

A mild upgrade using modern materials combined with the strides in miniaturising satellite tech would give an immediate capability with virtually zero development cost and lead-time. Seems a no-brainer? ... what am I missing?

K

I watched it all live when I was 10 years old. My dad let me stay up all night with him, and I'll never forget it. In addition to all the technology-related films and documentaries, this movie really moved me when I saw it in the theater shortly before the COVID lockdown. The focus here is not on technology, but on the life of Neil Armstrong, played by Ryan Gosling. But there is one technical aspect. The film begins in the Gemini era, when Armstrong had already been to space once. In these sequences, the film captures very vividly in sound and image that the astronauts were really traveling in tin cans. You get a feeling of trepidation and a little fear when they are in their capsule.
Fortunately, they didn't know or have more than they had. Otherwise, they might not have dared to do it. It only became clear later that the astronauts were incredibly lucky because cosmic radiation, or at least solar radiation, could have fried them in a less favorable situation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Man_(film)

For those who haven't seen the film yet, I won't reveal the story or the meaning of the scene, but when Armstrong stands at the edge of a lunar crater, I had tears in my eyes.