A short picture thread from yesterday's expedition to Raisting Earth Station, in freezing fog (-12℃) and being completely alone there. This station (opened in 1963, still one of the largest in the world) enabled satellite comms between Norh America & Europe for the very 1st time and then was also used for transmitting the moon landing and the 1972 Munich Olympics...
The foggy weather and flat light was almost exactly as I'd hoped for (and been patiently waiting & planning for). It absolutely emphasized the artificiality of these structures in the surrounding landscape. Also loved the design, scale and architecture of some of the antennas. A pretty special place & experience - we shall return!
[CuriousMarc] explains how the core rope memory, that stored the software which took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the Moon, really works https://youtu.be/hckwxq8rnr0
Much more complicated than I had expected
Damien Chazelle's First Man was released 5 years ago today.
The moon landing scene is spectacular, thanks in particular to Chazelle and cinematographer Linus Sandgren's camerawork, the VFX of DNEG, and Justin Hurwitz's soundtrack. #firstman#moonlanding#moon#vfx#apollo11#movie#chazelle
Man this one was hard. There are a lot of little bitty details that are hard or impossible to show at this size, plus the blasted thing has a very funky shape overall.
Ho visto finalmente "Il primo uomo", di #DamienChazelle, basato sulla biografia di #NeilArmstrong. Anche grazie alle interpretazioni misurate di #RyanGosling e #ClaireFoy, è un #film intimo, dolcemente doloroso, malinconico, molto umano, che alla spettacolarizzazione dell'impresa e ai toni trionfali della conquista, preferisce il non detto, il non visto, la vicenda umana dell'uomo dietro la Storia.
Decisamente consigliato.
"The filmed TV coverage is of NBC News. Peter Hackes shows up with their LM mockup. This was in Studio 8H where Saturday Night Live now originates from. This may be the only video coverage of NBC's Lunar Landing and Moonwalk coverage that exists!"
54 years ago today, the effort of thousands resulted in sending humans to orbit and land on the #moon. My dad was one of them, he worked on the guidance system of the Lunar Module. He received this desk model then, and it was passed on to me after he passed. It was in bad shape, my siblings & I did much damage to it when kids, but a couple of years ago I sent it off to a person that specializes in Lunar Module model restorations & he did a great job.
Happy Moon Landing Day and #InternationalMoonDay !!! The Apollo program and Moon exploration is a life-long obsession of mine. I’m so excited for our return on Artemis 2 and 3!
Today is the anniversary of the #Apollo11 Moon landing!
At Kennedy #Space Center’s Visitor Complex, it’s possible to visit the #Apollo / Saturn V Center, where a #SaturnV#rocket is on display, with its stages separated.
These are the 5 J-2 engines that powered the S-II stage that was the second stage on the Saturn V.
They burned liquid hydrogen (#LH2) and liquid oxygen (#LOX). This high-energy combination of propellants made it much easier for the United States to build a successful #Moon mission, whereas the Soviets were forced to stick with hypergolic fuels or kerosene, making lunar missions impractical.
Get a print or other merchandise at https://heronfox.pixels.com/featured/s-ii-stage-aft-from-side-heron-and-fox.html
"It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small”
– N.Armstrong
Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56...
The Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (#LPSC) has been held in #Texas since 1970 when the first results from the #Apollo11 mission were presented. This year will be the last in Texas, and the organizers are searching for a new location.
This abstract "Ethics in choosing a meeting location" describes some of the issues that should be considered. "Is Texas safe for all members of our community? Unfortunately, the answer in 2023 is NO, they are not."
Buzz Aldrin on the 54th Anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 (i.redd.it)
Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56...