I spent the fortieth anniversary of the moon landing sleeping underneath a Saturn V rocket at the Kennedy Space Center with my daughter, Blaine, and my friend Lucienne Diver and her family. As the center reenacted the landing for us and described to us how very nearly the astronauts missed it after their onboard computer malfunctioned and their equipment failed to guide them properly (they had to ignore the rocky landing site their computer suggested, fly off on their own, and landed with just 15 seconds of fuel to spare), I couldn’t help but marvel that we managed this feat with the technology of the 1960s. I’m not sure how much computing power those astronauts had available to them for the landing, but I’m willing to bet that I have more in my iPhone.
If you were told today that you could go to the moon but would have to use the same technology those first astronauts did, would you take the offer? I don’t think I would, and it gives me a newfound appreciation for those first adventurers.
4 Responses to “Lunar Landing Anniversary”
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I'm a freelance copyeditor specializing in fantasy and science fiction. SF/F novels I have copyedited have been finalists for (and have sometimes won) the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, Endeavour, Golden Spur, John W. Campbell Memorial, Quill, Locus, Philip K. Dick, British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy awards. In 2007 I became the first and only copyeditor ever short-listed for a World Fantasy Award.
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The Kennedy Space Center is a great place to visit! As I watched the footage of the landing yesterday I remembered sitting in the theater there, tensely waiting to see if the Eagle would touch down safely! And the control room launch simulator is always remarkable!
I definitely would not go up with that technology! Too scared!
I remember watching a documentary that said John Glenn went up in a rocket that had NOT yet been successfully launched!! It had exploded every time, including a test launch (with no people) where they brought in his family to witness it!
What a great way to celebrate! Did you watch the landing when you were a kid? I know you have way more computer power than they had.
Deanna, my late husband helped develop the computers used for the lunar landing and often spoke of this. The average scientific calculator today has more computing power than a ’60s computer the size of a four-drawer file cabinet.