There i got into flight training. I became a naval aviator, and low and behold in 1958 nasa was formed and they were looking for astronauts. So i was one of the original 110 people selected to go for interviews. Lets go back to your Naval Academy days, you almost didnt go, is that right . That is right. I had two years at wisconsin. I informs a Naval Aviation program after world war ii. Have been the most important project in this century. I became the first alternate that usually doesnt make it, are and i got orders for the physical to be inducted into the academy if you so desired. And then i said should i go to the academy, they said dont do that, you two years of college, you have Naval Aviation, if you go back you have to start all over again, you might not get back in aviation, but there was an old captain there and he said if you want to make the navy your career, get yourself to the academy, that is what hatppened. I term paper, my first term paper, i wrote on the development o
Explosion on board. The interview is from the Oral History Program at the Johnson Space center. This is the Johnson Space Center Original history project, may 25th, 1999, at the Johnson Space center. When you were a little kid, you saw a rocket go off and you said i want to do that . Is it that simple or that complex . You know, i was interested in rockets and astronomy long before the glenns and the shepherds of the world could spell rocket. I was interested in it way back in high school. I went to try and build some rockets. I wanted to be a rocket engineer, as a matter of fact. I wrote to the American Rocket Society at that time which is now the aaia or Something Like that, and i said i want to be a rocket engineer, and they wrote back and said you need to go to i. T. Or cal tech, and i couldnt afford either so i got an rotc appointment to wisconsin and then from there i went to the Navel Academy and then i got the flight training. I became a naval aviator, and low and behold in 195
Archivist of the United States and a pleasure to welcome you here to the william g. Mcgowan theater at the National Iraq ives. Whether in the room or participating through facebook or youtuben a special welcome to our cspan audience. Im pleased you could join us for tonights Program Small steps pan giant leaps how apollo 11 shaped our understanding of earth and beyond. Tonights program is presented in partnership with the American Geophysical union, swrating its 100th anniversary this year and made possible in part by the National Archives foundation through the generous support of the boeing company. We thank them for support. Starting tonight a and the next four days we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic flight of apollo 11 and the first moon landing. Tomorrow night, july 18th well screen the recently recent celebrated documentary, apollo 11, crafted from newly discovered video and audio recording here at the National Archives. Following the film, the nasa chief histori
Have a special welcome to our cspan audience. Thank you for joining us for tonights program. Tonights program is presented in partnership with the physical ruling which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. We thank them for their support. For the next four days we are commemorating apollo 11 and the first moon landing. We will screen a celebrated documentary of apollo 11 from newly discovered video at the national archives. Its very moderate with todd douglas miller. Friday, july 19 we will show two films in the afternoon that started in july 20. Upstairs in the gallery be sure to see our documents through details that were necessary for success of the apollo 11 mission. The plan for the hour that they landed on the moon, pages of the new transcript and the itinerary. Those documents will be on display through august 7. To keep informed about the events another way to get more involved is to become a member of the arkansas foundation. Supports all of our education and outrea
My name is john charles. I will be your moderator. I retired from nasa a year and a half ago. I have been living at my childhood families, playing here with the artifacts. It gives me the opportunity to sit on the stage with heroes of the apollo era. People who did the work i only dreamed of doing. We have with those two individuals who worked during the Lunar Service service exploration activities. That was the work done on the moon. Its the reason for the apollo moon missions. Not just to have a big rocket or their landing. The objective was to get to the moon and to the moon and do something useful. Arthur schmidt, who goes by larry, who was involved in the operations activities. Laterally on the missions, helping navigate the lunar rover. When dell mandel. He is an icon of lunar science as far as the early days. He came out here in 1963 and it was here for the lunar landings. Mendell has been responsible for understanding the lunar landings and rewriting the test books about what t