by Dave McGowan | Nov 21, 2009 | Moondoggie
“The LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) was coated in Mylar. To many engineers, the final vehicle was an insult to every notion of what a spacecraft should look like … It was one of the weirdest and most improbable flying machines ever conceived.” – Moon Machines:... by Dave McGowan | Nov 22, 2009 | Moondoggie
“Whenever I saw a model of the lunar module, it had these rigid sides and [it] really looked strong. Turns out that external portions of the lunar module are made up of Mylar and cellophane and it’s put together with Scotch tape and staples. We had to have pads on the... by Dave McGowan | Nov 29, 2009 | Moondoggie
“During the flight of Gemini 7, the crew will remove their lightweight spacesuits and fly in their underwear.” – James V. Correale, Jr., the head of the Gemini Support Office “There’s no question in our minds; the only way to fire these things is without... by Dave McGowan | Dec 7, 2009 | Moondoggie
“The mission of Apollo 8, quite apart from its significant scientific meaning, stimulated an immense rejuvenation of the spirit of mankind, and that spirit needed rejuvenation. A year featured by two grim assassinations [MLK and RFK], by riots, by racial and social... by Dave McGowan | Dec 30, 2009 | Moondoggie
“To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold – brothers who know now they are truly brothers.”... by Dave McGowan | Feb 23, 2010 | Moondoggie
“As launch windows open and close, the next missions move forward. Two test flights of the lunar landing vehicle, and then the proposed landing on the Moon. And plans are in the making now which include fly-bys of other planets; visits to what Dr. Bunche calls...