Posted on 12/04/2016 7:42:17 AM PST by Kaslin
Americas Apollo astronauts -- 24 of whom travelled to the moon, 16 of whom walked on the moon, all of whom made mankinds moon steps possible -- are a sobering lesson in patriotism and risk-taking, not to mention lifetime stamina. The topic arises a teaching moment, as they say -- because Buzz Aldrin was recently evacuated to New Zealand from a South Pole expedition. First word is, he is okay -- if still intrepid.
Aldrin, one of the first two humans to walk on the moon, Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11, is now 86. You would not know it to see him. Over the years, opportunities have presented themselves for working together -- and he is always the same. He bounds up the stairs, two bags in hand; answers every technical question to a depth that freezes keyboards and fills whiteboards. He is sharp as they come, still the PhD in astronautic engineering, still the moon walker. He is Americas most outspoken ambassador for getting to Mars, and back to the moon.
Nor is it just talk. Buzz walks the walk, did on the moon and does now. He has authored half a dozen books on when, how, why, and with what second- and third-order effects America should get back to space exploration. He is cogent, eloquent, and fervent in conviction that America must regain, maintain and press dominance in space -- maximizing the advantage of being first. And of course, he is right.
Today, our grip on space is weakening, with implications for national security, big science, human and robotic space exploration, satellites, and international leadership. Unclear for many, but crystal clear to Buzz and the Apollo astronauts, history does not stand still. What we do in space matters here on Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
We have fallen behind in Space Technology and exploration because we stopped going to the moon. Now we can’t even launch a large enough rocket when half a century ago the biggest rocket on earth was ours.
And when we see the Russians and Chinese up there....well it will be obvious how terrible our error was. Hopefully Trump can figure out how to get us in first place in the Space Race ....AGAIN.
I suppose so. . .but my take is different.
I think he has the “also ran” syndrome.
Always second. When mentioning who walked on the moon first, Armstrong is mentioned, when asked who was the second, far fewer can remember his name.
When Neil Armstrong received an aviation award in London (Guild Award of Honour), Buzz asked to see if it could arranged so he can receive the same award as Neil. . .nope, Royals said one was enough, the man that walked first om the moon and while being the second one to walk on the moon was notable, he wasn’t the first.
Aldrin is a recovered alcoholic. Also bipolar.
Cut him a little slack.
I still think of Apollo 11 and the Armstrong-Aldrin moon landing team as being equally creditable, almost like the equally credited Lennon-McCartney songwriting team of the Beatles or Jagger-Richards of the Rolling Stones. Yeah, I was 11 years old when it happened, but what else would an 11 year-old have thought? They even looked kinda the same in their space suits, and moon boots...Hey, that rhymes!
“Space Suits And Beatle Boots”
Maybe I’ll write a song about it.
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