Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Apollo 11

Jim Grey
9 comments on Apollo 11
1 minute

Since Walter Cronkite died, the Internet is awash with footage of his newscasts. And since he died near the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, many of those clips are of his coverage of that event. Here’s one of the lunar module landing on the moon.

You may notice in that clip that CBS News landed on the moon 40 seconds before Neil Armstrong did! Their simulation didn’t account for some last-minute maneuvering that delayed the landing a bit.

Family lore, by the way, is that my grandfather was on the team that designed the lunar module’s landing gear.

I was 23 days shy of two years old when all this went down. I watched it all, but all I remember is that the whole thing was brought to you by Gulf Oil. Yes, I could read the logo even at that age.

I know I’m three days late for this event, but hey, I never promised a topical blog here. What are your memories of the moon landing?

Comments

9 responses to “Apollo 11”

  1. Lone Primate Avatar
    Lone Primate

    I’m reliably informed I was throwing peas on the floor at the moment the Eagle touched down, and asleep for the first steps. The only mission I have a real impression of watching is Apollo 17, though I must have seen others because I remember having the distinct impression that people went to the moon as often as they flew in jet planes… just that going to the moon was more interesting so it was worth putting on TV. Wasn’t interested enough in manned space flight to care about Skylab, and by the time I was, it was a long, long wait for the shuttle to start going up. THAT was exciting, though in retrospect, the truth is, watching a giant bus drive around the local neighbourhood really isn’t as epic as the Space Age equivalent of Columbus setting sail. :) Ah well… maybe I’ll be around for the Mars landing…

    Reply
    1. Jim Avatar
      Jim

      IIRC we moved the portable TV into the kitchen and I watched from a chair at the kitchen table.

      We watched other Apollo missions on TV but with less interest. And we always watched on NBC. I’m not sure why, but we were fiercely loyal to the peacock network.

      Reply
  2. kurt Avatar
    kurt

    even less than yours!

    Reply
  3. Bernie Kasper Avatar
    Bernie Kasper

    Jim I can honestly say I don’t remember it, I was six at the time but TV wasn’t a big thing in our house, don’t even remember watching TV till about 8-9 years of age.

    I bet you will remember this one though..My first and most vivid TV memory is Sammy Terry :)

    Reply
    1. Jim Avatar
      Jim

      I missed out on Sammy Terry! I grew up in South Bend, out of Channel 4’s range.

      Reply
  4. J P Avatar
    J P

    What’s odd to me is that I was ten and was certainly old enough to remember it. But I don’t.
    I carry snippets of memories from the multiple Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. I recall one when the teacher set up a TV in class, but it couldn’t have been this mission, which was in July.

    I think I have to admit that I had gotten bored with space travel by then.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I have some memories of feeling meh about the later space missions. My parents watched them all, though. I think I took them for granted in ways they didn’t, as I couldn’t remember a time before moon landings.

      Reply
  5. Christopher Smith Avatar
    Christopher Smith

    I remember it very well I was 14 nearly 15 at the time and remember staying up all night to watch it with my Dad and brother I can remember it as though it was yesterday.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I wish I were just a little older so I could have clear memories of it!

      Reply

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