Moondust
I do not intend to keep you all informed about every book I read but this one needs a mention. It is ‘Moon Dust’ by Andrew Smith. And it has once again made me want to become an astronaut. Which, given the authors sceptical approach to his investigations into Apollo is perhaps surprising. The book sets the Apollo program in the context of the betrayed hope of the Sixties and this makes it far more interesting read than a straight account of technical achievements. He puts space where it should be, in the public’s eye and not tucked away in some obscure technical text. The book is like a set of mini-biographies of the Moon walkers, only nine of whom remain, strung together by the personal voyage of the author who is critically testing the realities of the Apollo program against his boyhood fantasies. The author is British but spent his childhood in America before returning and this gives him a great perspective on US culture and allows him to see the ironies that totally escape the natives of that former super power. The book includes many interesting snippets, about which I was unaware, the pick of the bunch are as follows:The man behind Apollo was a German by the name of Wernher von Braun, a Nazi rocket engineer who employed thousands of slave labourers in underground bunkers towards the end of the war building his V2 rockets to bring death to the people of London. Operation Paperclip picked him up and hurried him back to America. And it was this Nazi that would take America to the Moon.
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posted by Benjamin Nakizo @ 2:21 pm
3 Comments:
NASA’s initial focus was on using ‘space planes’ to get into orbit and they had a hugely successful X-15 plane that could do just that and were developing the X-20 when President Kennedy, having been embarrassed by the Soviets once already announced to the world that NASA had only until the end of the 60’s to beat the Soviets to the Moon. This sudden urgency left them little choice but to scrap the X-20 and turn to the military for assistance. The American military, seeing in the Apollo program the perfect showcase for its missile technology, happily agreed. And a potentially revolutionary technology was lost. When the Shuttle program came up for discussion NASA hoped to pick up where it had left off with the X-20 but political decisions from above meant that they were obliged to use the same staff and technical base that had been developed for Apollo. This meant more rockets and once again the possibilities of a ‘space plane’ were lost.
The surviving Moonwalkers themselves seem to have been an interesting bunch. Though the author found many of them disappointing when it came to describing their experiences, and he puts this down to the nature of personal NASA were looking for. They wanted cold and technically minded men that would do their job and get back with no mess-ups. Art students that would poetically recount their journeys were not top of the list. Yet all seemed to have been changed by their unique experience. And not all for the good, at least not initially. Upon their return to Earth many simply fell apart under the media pressures and uncertainty as to what they could do next that might possibly compare to that experience. From here many ‘found God’ as a means of combating their depression. They seem to also split down the centre between those who passionately advocate future space flight and those that are indifferent to it, despite their experiences. What almost all agree on however is that the space program has simply nose-dived since Apollo and nothing NASA has done since has been of any consequence. Almost all look negatively on the International Space Station.
One, Alan Bean – became an artist.
I know this is quite a straightforward summary. But then I am in quite a straightforward mood. But I still want to be an astronaut. And I dare any sceptic to watch the footage of the Apollo 11 moon landings without getting a lump in their throat.
We need the imagination and determination to go back - and back again until we crack this space flight thing. Until ultimately, man can live and work in space permanently. We cannot let the size of the task deter us.
Looking back at the Earth from the Moon one does not see nations or races - one only sees mankind. And that fundamental shift in human perception is certainly worth fighting for.
Hey! I wanted you to know that I really enjoyed your last post about place, though you seem to have removed it. I have faith that you will find your place. You're a smart guy with a lot of talent, and a lot of people love you. You will find answers, and I think you'll even find the right ones, given enough time. That's more than I can say for a lot of people. :) Hope you're doing all right. Keep writing! I love to read it!
Hey, thanks. I deleted it cos it sounded a lot more drastic than I ever meant it to be. Hope all is well.
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