As hard as it is to believe, July 16th 2009 will mark the 40th anniversary of the liftoff of the Apollo 11 lunar expedition, which was the first mission to have a man walk on the surface of the moon.
On that day, three men, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were strapped into the capsule atop the biggest firecracker ever made and were propelled from the "surly bonds of earth" on a mission of extraordinary historic significance.
I don't think that those that were not alive to witness this momentous event will ever understand the impact of this singular aspiration on American society and culture, and the level of national commitment that was necessary to achieve the goal set by President Kennedy to place a man on the moon before the end of the sixties.
Can you imagine accomplishing this amazing feat with the technology that was available in 1969? The pocket calculator was not even invented yet, the engineers had to use slide rules to make their calculations. There were no off-the-shelf electronics that could be used, everything had to be first invented and then constructed from scratch.
And when it came time to land the lunar module on the surface of the moon, the electronic navigational equipment failed and it came down to a human pilot visually flying with a joystick and landing with only a few seconds worth of fuel left..
But the country was committed, and these brave men were committed, and there was no turning back. And when all was said and done, they had successfully completed the greatest scientific mission of all time with nothing but rudimentary equipment and sheer determination.
I still sense the euphoria every time I think about it. It was an amazing time to be alive, and it changed the way we think about both space and the ability of the good people of the United States to collectively pursue a challenge that was previously considered impossible to achieve, and succeed beyond our wildest dreams.
I have goosebumps now just writing about it!
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