Tag Archives: Apollo

Greetings Earthlings, This Day Belongs to the Planet and All Who Live Here


It’s time to stop and ponder the needs of the Earth on this beautiful spring morning. April 22 is Earth Day. In commemoration, I have highlighted a blog post I wrote a few years ago about the photograph of the … Continue reading

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A New Moon Race?


It’s amazing when you think about it. One might think that there is a new race to the Moon underway, this time with robotic spacecraft rather than astronauts and cosmonauts. There has been a small armada of space probes sent … Continue reading

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Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Race: The Complete True Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon”


The Race: The Complete True Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon. By James Schefter. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1999. Anchor Reprint, 2000. It is becoming increasingly obvious with every passing year that the Apollo program … Continue reading

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Andy Chaikin on the Recent Neil Armstrong Kurfuffle over his First Words when Walking on the Moon


Andy Chaikin relayed to me his distress in seeing the recent news stories claiming that Neil Armstrong lied to the world about when he made up his famous “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” quote. As a … Continue reading

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A Chronology of Space Anniversaries for 2013


Many people have asked what anniversaries are upcoming in 2013 in space history. Here is a quick list. Are there items that I should add to this accounting? 1923—90 years ago December: Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into … Continue reading

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44 Years Ago Today: Apollo 8′s Historic Broadcast from the Moon on Christmas Eve in 1968


Hard to believe, it was 44 years ago today that the crew of Apollo 8 made their historic broadcast from the Moon on Christmas Eve in 1968. Launched on December 21, 1968, astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and … Continue reading

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The Encyclopedia Show DC: The Moon


On Tuesday night, December 4, 2012, I had the pleasure of participating “The Encyclopedia Show DC” which focused this time on “The Moon.” It was a free form educational variety show that included skits, poetry, music, and me. My task … Continue reading

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Roger Launius Interviewed on “The Space Show,” November 30, 2012


On Friday, November 30, 2012, I participated in an interview about the history of spaceflight on “The Space Show,” hosted by Dr. David Livingston. We talked about my new book, Coming Home: Reentry and Recovery from Space, co-written with Dennis … Continue reading

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A Truly Hilarious Cartoon on the Apollo/Saturn Stack


This cartoon from the XKCD website helps explain with considerable humor the awesomeness of the Saturn V. It uses onlty the most common words in English to rescribe the stack. You may find the original here. Enjoy!

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Do You Know Me? The Legacy of Neil Armstrong


Do You Know Me? That was the unforgettable phrase that opened a series of classic American Express commercials from the 1970s. In them, people with well-known names but whose faces were not so memorable pitched how that charge card gave … Continue reading

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