What major historical events do you remember?
The moon landing!
Since it came out, I must have watched “Hidden Figures” at least a dozen times. I can tell every original grainy shot of actual footage and when computer mockups were used.
While I was there at the beginning of the American space program, I don’t remember any of it. But once the Apollo flights began, I remember. And living on Florida’s Atlantic coast, you could see once the rocket launched and watch it head into space.
I preferred to watch it on the TV and with everyone else outside, I had it all to myself!
Apollo Eleven’s landing on the moon was a great historic moment for America. Russia may have put a guy in orbit first but America left the confines of Earth space. Like the Norsemen of long ago who were not afraid to travel out of the sight of land to A Viking, American astronauts left the orbit of Earth to go A Viking in the vastness of space.
Watching the original “Star Trek” each week with my Dad sent my curiosity soaring as to what the astronauts may find once they ventured out in space.
I was very sad to see that America did not continue to explore space and bring to life some of the many fantastic ventures that sprang from Gene Roddenberry’s mind.
Many years later on a cold January day I turned on the radio at work to learn of the Challenger tragedy. My very first thoughts and words were, that it was too cold (below freezing) and they never should have launched.
I had no idea then just how right I would be…it was the cold that caused the O ring to break.
My next thought was how I was going to explain this tragedy to my very smart but very young son. He answered that question himself when he brought a book to me with the page open to a picture of the space shuttle and says that’s the ship that blew up!
What could I say after that???
Over the course of my lifetime there have been many events that will mark points of history for generations to come…the assassination of Izaak Rabin, the plane that almost took out the Capitol building, the events of September 11, monster fires and hurricanes, and wars in places many Americans never heard of or knew how to find on a map; but for me the exploration of space has always been a fascination and triggered awe inspiring moments when the imagination of fiction writers became a reality.