Live From Cape Canaveral : Covering the Space Race, From Sputnik to Today

by Jay Barbree

  And once that lunar outpost is built, humans will remain on our only natural satellite. Planners are already looking at the moon’s south pole for a colony candidate, where NASA expects to find large concentrations of hydrogen in the form of water ice and an abundance of sunlight to provide power.

  These plans give NASA a head start on getting to Mars. A lunar outpost just three days away from Earth will give space travelers needed practice of “living off the land” before starting out on the long road to the fourth planet from the sun.

  Arguably the best mind on our planet today, famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes “Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as global warming, a genetically-engineered virus or other dangers.” Hawking says flatly, “I think the human race has no future if it doesn’t go into space.”

  The good news is NASA has a devoted and strong man at its helm in Dr. Michael Griffin. He told my NBC colleague Tom Costello, “The space station is on the footpath towards becoming a space-faring nation. If we’re going to go to Mars, if we’re going to go beyond to live on other planetary surfaces and use what we find there and bend it to our will just as the pilgrims did, we must take all these steps to become a space-faring nation. I want that for the American people—I want that for my grandchildren.”

  I find myself chomping at the bit to go. It’s the excitement of Columbus’s voyage, of the wagon trains west. The crossing of the space ocean to younger, more promising planets is the future of humankind if our species is to survive. The only foundation that will not sink beneath our feet is knowledge.

  After fifty years on the job, I find myself satisfied and grateful and pleased with a life well spent. Life is indeed good, and we should all cherish it. Knowing that my days are numbered, I find myself missing all those good friends and loved ones that have gone on before. You have found their stories in these pages and in a way, I’m looking forward to following, meeting up with them again. But I am sad that I won’t be shouting into an NBC microphone about the building of a lunar colony or the start of a months-long journey to Mars.

  God, what exciting times they will be!

  What a future for those who will live it—those who will be going and those who will be staying as the flotilla sails for the fourth planet. How I would like to be there!

  And don’t count me out just yet! Astronauts are to return to the moon in this century’s second decade. If my flesh makes it, I will be in my eighties. If not, my spirit won’t be far away.

  Searchable Terms

  Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA)

  Aldrin, Buzz

  Apollo 11 mission. See Apollo 11

  celebrating Apollo 13 return

  Gemini 12 mission

  mastering spacewalking

  moonwalk

  notified of lunar mission

  photograph

  Anders, Bill

  Anderson, Mike

  Angotti, Joe

  Antares

  Apollo 1 countdown

  fire inside

  Frank Sinatra and

  funerals after

  futile attempts to save men

  hatch problem

  incompetence leading to disaster

  investigation after

  Lovell prayer thanking crew of

  Apollo 7

  Apollo 8

  Christmas message

  communication blackout and return

  crew

  descriptions of moon/Earth from

  first orbit around moon

  onboard television coverage

  reading from Genesis (Bible)

  reason for launch time

  return to Earth orbit

  splashdown

  transcript anecdote

  Apollo 9

  Apollo 10

  Apollo 11 countdown

  crew advised of lunar landing mission

  forces on crew

  if prerequisites

  Jimmy Stewart watching

  linking Eagle and Columbia

  minute following liftoff

  Apollo 11 (cont). moon landing

  orbiting Earth

  prelaunch preparations

  public frenzy before

  splashdown parties

  thunderous liftoff

  trans-lunar injection

  See also moonwalk (first)

  Apollo 12

  Apollo 13

  in circumlunar orbit

  cold and lonely astronauts

  Deke Slayton managing problems

  diagnosing problems

  explosion aboard

  fuel cell problem

  Lovell’s perspective

  lunar module lifeboat

  as NASA’s finest hour

  Nixon’s celebratory visit after

  prayers and support for

  predicament of

  preparation for reentry

  re-engineering carbon dioxide scrubbers

  reentry

  return contingency

  return to command module

  shutting down systems

  sleep for crew

  splashdown

  Apollo 14

  Alan Shepard leading

  Cone Crater excursion

  docking/return of

  leaving moon

  lunar rickshaw of

  moon samples

  moonwalks

  Nixon endorsing flight of

  views of Earth

  Apollo 15

  Apollo 16

  Apollo 17

  Apollo program. See Project Apollo; specific Apollo missions

  Apollo-Soyuz birth of

  building equipment for

  Deke Slayton and

  docking in space

  engendering U.S./Soviet trust

  importance of

  launch of

  meals on

  shaking hands

  Aquarius

  See also Apollo 13

  Armstrong, Neil Bob Button pilot error and

  celebrating Apollo 13 return

  controlling reentry problem

  as first civilian astronaut

  Gemini 8 mission

  as leading candidate for first moon landing

  moon landing

  moonwalk

  NASA hiring

  notified of lunar mission

  See also Apollo 11

  AstroChimp. See chimpanzees in space

  astronauts early challenges

  first civilian. See Armstrong, Neil

  qualifications and screening

  selection

  women and, stories

  See also Gemini Nine; Mercury Seven;

  specific astronauts

  Atlantis

  Atlas 10B (Project Score)

  Aurora Seven

  Bailey, Terry

  Bales, Steve

  Barbree, Jay breaking Challenger story

  Christmas Eve with John Glenn

  enduring test chambers

  family taking more attention

  flying Messerschmitt plane

  future vision

  Jimmy Carter and

  losing son

  love of flying

  military background

  move to Merritt Island

  photographs

  radio broadcasting

  reflections on career and space program

  sudden death experience. See sudden death, of author telling whoppers

  Barbree, Jo Reisinger

  handling moon-launch crank callers

  losing son

  meeting/marrying author

  photograph

  responding to sudden death

  watching Challenger disaster

  Bean, Alan

  Beatty, Morgan

  Beckman, Dan

  Bedard, Chris

  Beddingfield, Sam

  Benedict, Howard

  Bloom, David

  Bluford, Guion

  Borman, Frank />
  Apollo 8 mission

  on Apollo 12 fate

  Gemini 7 mission

  investigating Apollo 1 fire

  NASA hiring

  Brand, Vance

  Brinkley, David

  . See also Huntley-Brinkley Report

  Broad, Bill

  Brokaw, Tom

  Challenger disaster coverage

  Columbia disaster coverage

  Hubble repair coverage

  John Glenn return coverage

  Brown, Curt

  Brown, Dave

  Browne, Don

  Bubb, Mary

  Button, Bob

  Bykovsky, Valery F.

  Caidin, Martin coauthoring Titov book

  flying with author

  N–1 information

  novel inspiring space rescue

  photograph

  as reference for author

  Russian sources

  secret space book

  Yuri Gagarin sharing memories with

  Cain, LeRoy

  Cape Canaveral history/ecological makeup

  naming of

  Capra, Frank

  Carpenter, (Malcolm) Scott

  Carr, Jerry

  Carter, Jimmy

  Caskey, Martha

  Casper

  Cavanaugh, Brian

  Cernan, Jim

  Chaffee, Roger

  Challenger debut

  Challenger disaster

  author experience

  black smoke indicator

  breaking story of

  breakup statistics

  Christa McAuliffe and

  countdown

  countdown delay

  crew photograph

  crew surviving blast

  crew unaware of problem

  death of crew, unknown cause

  flames and destruction

  liftoff

  O-ring seal problem

  premonitions of

  press reports

  reactions to

  recovering remains

  weather conditions

  Chancellor, John

  Charlie Brown

  Chawla, Kalpana

  chimpanzees in space

  Christmas mission. See Apollo

  Civil Rights Act of 1964

  Clark, Laurel

  Clemons, Ed

  Cocoa, Florida, early days

  Coledan, Stefano

  Collins, Eileen

  Collins, Mike

  Apollo 11 mission

  Gemini 10 mission

  on Presidential Goodwill Tour

  Columbia (Apollo 11 command ship)

  Columbia (Shuttle) first mission

  last mission

  See also Columbia(Shuttle) disaster pre-launch security breaches

  rollout of

  second mission

  Columbia (Shuttle) disaster

  countdown/liftoff

  flight safety risk assessment

  investigation after

  Israeli on board

  known foam risks

  losing foam

  ominous signs

  planned mission

  reentry and disintegration

  search-and-recovery for

  what-ifs

  Conrad, Charles “Pete”

  Apollo 12 mission

  celebrating Apollo 13 return

  Gemini 5 mission

  “honoring” Mercury Seven

  NASA hiring

  Cooper, (Leroy) Gordon

  accolades to

  “buzzing” incident

  cheating death

  cleared for Mercury flight

  Deke Slayton and

  drag races

  filling pool with fish

  in Gemini

  image and qualifications

  Mercury flight

  photographs

  practical jokes

  saving Mercury mission

  traffic-cop incident

  corned beef sandwich prank

  Costello, Tom

  Couric, Katie

  Covey, Dick

  Crippen, Robert “Crip,”

  Cronkite, Walter

  Destiny Laboratory

  disasters and near-disasters Apollo 1

  Aurora Seven

  Friendship Seven

  Gemini 8 reentry

  Mercury-Redstone rocket

  Mir fire and docking problem

  Polaris launch

  Soviet Voshkod

  Vanguard

  See also Apollo 13; Challenger disaster;

  Columbia (Shuttle) disaster

  Discoverer spy ship

  Discovery flying after Challenger disaster

  flying after Columbia disaster

  John Glenn returning to space on

  releasing Hubble