Free Republic

The speaker is Eugene "Gene" Cernan an American astronaut who was the last person to walk on the Moon during NASA's Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. My team recorded this interview in 1994. Cernan's first spaceflight was as the pilot of the Gemini 9A mission in June 1966. He served as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 10 in May 1969, a mission that served as a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Cernan and his fellow crew members flew to within 9.7 miles of the lunar surface but did not land. Cernan's most significant achievement came...

The three Apollo 10 astronauts are zipping through the desolate expanse of space, the Earth a small blue marble behind them, on a mission poised to set the stage for one of humanity’s seminal achievements, when, suddenly, astronaut Tom Stafford called out from inside the cramped spacecraft: “Oh — who did it?” After some confusion, he repeated himself: “Who did it?” He was laughing. Then astronaut Gene Cernan spotted the source of the commotion: “Where did that come from?” “Give me a napkin quick,” Stafford said, horrified. “There’s a turd floating through the air.” Ah, the glamour of space travel....

In 1969, the Apollo 10 crew ejected the lunar module, named Snoopy, from the command module into orbit, never to be seen again – or so they thought Astronomer Nick Howes, along with flight controllers, space dynamics experts and astronauts from the Apollo program, have spent years looking for it The team believe they may have found the four-meter wide vehicle Now all they need is someone with the expertise to go and retrieve it The Apollo 10 mission was a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 moon landing, which took place two months later in July 1969

Former astronaut Gene Cernan condemned NASA Chairman Bolten for his lunatic comments this past weekend on Aljazeera. Bolden told the Arabic Channel that the top objective of NASA is to make Muslims feel better about their scientific and mathematic achievements from hundreds of years ago. [Video at site HERE]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama’s plan to eliminate NASA’s Constellation program would jeopardize America’s national security and send a message to the world that the United States no longer cares about being the dominant force on the world stage. That assessment came from retired astronaut Gene Cernan in response to Congressman McCaul’s concerns about the proposed cuts. “My concern is that the handoff (to commercial space flight), it’s not an appropriate handoff. They can’t pick up the ball and run with it right now. And my concern is we’re going to have a gap in our superiority in space and...

3/10/2010 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- The first and last men to walk on the moon, the commander of Apollo 13, the last Air Force pilot "Ace" and the SR-71 chief test pilot, all "Legends of Aerospace," were the honored guests of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing March 8 at an air base in Southwest Asia. Hundreds of servicemembers flocked to the base theater to hear the stories of Neil Armstrong, retired Navy Capt. Gene Cernan, retired Navy Capt. Jim Lovell, retired Brig. Gen. Steve Ritchie and Bob Gilliland as they made a special appearance while visiting military installations throughout...

FR Exclusive American Heroes; Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, Steve Ritchie Forbidden To See Troops In SWA I am just off phone with a member of the American Heroes tour group stuck in Qatar. The four, Armstrong, Cernan. Lovell and Ritchie have been planning this tour to see the real front-line troops for months, so they could give some visual support and morale boost to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But now they are stuck in a rear area in Qatar, because some Washington Weenie claims it would be too dangerous for them to move any farther forward,...

As the presidential race enters its final week and the candidates step up their efforts to woo the space vote, both sides are trotting out the biggest space guns they can find: Apollo astronauts. Over the weekend, Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham toured cities around Florida to help promote Republican hopeful Sen. John McCain’s campaign by backing the candidate and his space platform. Cunningham said he had never campaigned for a candidate before but said that unlike Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama, McCain had a track record supporting NASA and was more reliable on the issue. Obama, he said, was...

INGRAM TEXAS— Space buffs packed the Elizabeth Huth Coates Theater Sunday to see the last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan, and the father of mission control, Chris Kraft, speak. Joining them was current NASA Chief Scientist Jim Garvin and Kerrville resident Tom Moser, who was the first director of the U.S. space program. Kraft praised the turnout, which left not an empty seat in the room. “NASA needs to know that we have 300-plus people in this room interested in space,” he said. The panelists shared tales of their time working in the space program, from Kraft’s...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... . U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. . . Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family...