Tag Archives: space

After walking on moon, astronauts trod various paths

It turns out going to the moon is a tough act to follow. For all their Buck Rogers, “Right Stuff,” history-making achievements, the question for many of the 12 astronauts who walked on the lunar surface starting four decades ago ultimately became “one giant leap to where, exactly” “You have your peak experience at 38 or 39,” says space historian Andrew Chaiken, summing up their collective experience, “and [they] have a hard time coming up with something to do for an encore.” Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 16, 1969. Four days later, the first two humans walked on the lunar surface; 10 more Americans followed by the end of 1972

India’s space odyssey: Moon dreams move east

Flashback to 1984: As a child, I am glued to my family’s black-and-white television set for our daily dose of evening entertainment and news on India’s national broadcaster. But this is no ordinary newscast: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is speaking via videolink with astronaut Rakesh Sharma, who is aboard a space station

From doughnuts to lift off, Apollo 11 launch was blast

Just after midnight on July 16, 1969, Jack King kissed his wife goodbye at their Cocoa Beach, Florida home, jumped in his car, and drove to Dunkin Donuts for a doughnut and a cup of coffee. It was the start of a big day: the launch of a Saturn 5 rocket, lifting man from the face of the Earth to the face of the moon. King, the chief of public information at Kennedy Space Center, would become known that day as the voice of Apollo 11.