Posted on 10/18/2024 7:19:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
For those who lived through the '60s, it was a decade of tragedy and triumph.
The often deadly quest for civil rights for Black Americans was a battle well worth fighting.
The tragedy of Vietnam for those of us in uniform, (personally, I was on active-duty Navy and Marines from '65 to '75), tore a generation asunder with many, too many, peers blaming the warrior for the war.
But as the sage of a generation, Kurt Vonnegut, would say, “so it goes”, over time healing began.
However, the one truly unifying pride all felt during that fractious decade was the world class and very public and dramatic American scientific and engineering quest to meet the great challenge of President Kennedy:
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”
Using ingenious creative thinking and slide-rule mathematical calculations, that is exactly what happened, and along that journey, the famous can-do phrase introduced in 1961 -- that everything is “A-O.K.” was often used.
Now another “A-O.K.” space moment was just created by Elon Musk and his team of engineers and scientists.
A revolution in space launch occurred on Oct. 13 on the Texas Coast. The SpaceX team with skill and the audacity to dream big captured a massive 20-story booster as it broke away to return to the launch pad for reuse.
The consequences of such a brilliant endeavor is truly revolutionary. A reporter for a T.V. program from India called “The Breakfast Club,” saw that right away.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
What is noteworthy is the clip also shows the SpaceX team’s heartfelt pride in their accomplishment. In essence, a team led by a visionary consisting of a diverse crew of scientists, engineers and technicians, all a product of a meritocracy-based selection process, made history and were joyous in that moment.
Elon Musk‘s SpaceX rocket company has sued the California Coastal Commission, alleging in federal court that the panel’s members are biased because of the billionaire owner’s conservative political views, according to papers obtained Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, alleges “unconstitutional overreach” by the commission after members criticized Musk’s political leanings during a meeting about whether to approve more frequent SpaceX launches off the California coastline.
“Rarely has a government agency made so clear that it was exceeding its authorized mandate to punish a company for the political views and statements of its largest shareholder and CEO,” SpaceX alleges in the 45-page lawsuit.
I hope all in America on election day will vote for former President Trump, and not the hollow phony-baloney contrived politics of 'joy' by his opponent.
Time to make America A-O.K. again.
thanks to Obama/Biden/Harris, NASA now focuses on muslim outreach, affirmative action, DEI and ESG in their hiring.
This country would be much better off with 100 more Elon Musks and 100 less democrats.
For those who lived through the ‘60s, it was a decade of tragedy and triumph.
—
The same could be said for the Orion team in 1963.
The promise of Project Orion was cancelled in 1964 - Mars by 1968, Saturn by 1970.
Most people don’t understand the significance of Super Heavy being recovered at the launch tower.
When the current generation of ‘politicians’ are a vague memory, this will be a milestone in human history.
I agree. I am still in awe of SpaceX being able to do that. The engineering involved in that is absolutely incredible!
In those heady and important days beore the moon landing, I was working a gig with a BigName HiTek development corp.
2 am, and I had to pee.
So, I walked down the long dark hall in th enormous building, and into the restroom.
There was a night-shift team cleaning woman in there, and she told me to use a booth if her presence was a problem.
When I was done, we got to talking, and she said at one point, “We’re going to the moon!”
I have never forgotten her (Marcy James) or that incident.
She was absolutey a Full Participant in The Program to her mind; and was completely invested in the spirit of the thing.
As my short-sleeve white shirt and K&E 6-inch (short) skiderule shifted around a bit as I walked back to the test area, I marveled at our collectve immersion in The Program, and our joint American indominable enthusiasm in the Value of our work — right down to the cleaning lady at 2am in the men’s can.
We need that spirit back.
Showing my age here, I know, but I, too, was enthralled by our Space Program. It gave me such pride in our country, and really motivated me to do the things I did as an adult.
Thanks for sharing!
I witnessed the space program from its infancy and as a result I graduated in 1972 with a degree in electrical engineering.
I would not be smart enough to be a SpaceX engineer and have a profound respect for the SpaceX talent and Elon Musk. I have lived through an amazing time in history. My only regret is that I was not able to share an Ale with Ben Franklin and George Washington.
When hauling freight into orbit becomes as cheap as trucking it here on earth, everything changes.
Yep, especially if astronauts unionize....lol
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