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Apollo 13: Survival Peter Middleton UK/USA, 2024 ★★★ Could do with a little less "porta-potty in space" philosophy but still interesting, riveting and electrifying.

See, the overview effect only works if you actually go to space.. and how many of us watching this on netflix will get to do that?

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Chicago meteorologist Tom Skilling, astronaut Jim Lovell (age 96!!) and Jim's daughter Sue. September 5, 2024 From Tom's facebook page:

I was honored Thursday to meet and interview famed NASA astronaut Captain James Lovell, who commanded a series of NASA Apollo missions to the moon, including the ill fated Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970--the mission memorialized in the heart-stopping Ron Howard movie Apollo 13 which cataloged the desperate efforts to bring Lovell and his crew back to Earth alive after a devastating and potentially deadly onboard explosion crippled the spacecraft. Tom Hanks played Captain Lovell in the movie.

Captain James Lovell--an icon of the American space program, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission and an American hero--is one of only 24 people on this planet who have flown to the moon. Lovell resides here in the Chicago area. He built rockets as a teenager and would visit Adler Planetarium on his visits to Chicago from Milwaukee to see his Aunt and pick up chemicals and supplies for his rockets. He kids saying had he traveled here to buy similar chemicals for his amateur rockets today, he'd probably be put on a terrorist watchlist.

The Apollo 13 mission, which was to have been the third to land on the moon, followed successful Apollo 11 and 12 missions to the moon. It got underway in a country torn by the Viet Nam War and with a population which had come to believe moon missions were routine and was paying less and less attention to our country's space launches--something which was to change with an explosion on Apollo 13.

Space missions were anything BUT routine and the lackadaisical attitude among members of the public was to give way to nationwide horror and concern when it was learned an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 had exploded as the spacecraft headed to the moon.

Millions across this country and the world were glued to television sets and newspapers to follow developments, profoundly worried about the safety and the lives of the Apollo 13's three crew members. The explosion had terribly damaged the spacecraft and literally put the lives of Capt Lovell and his crew on the line. So damaged was the spacecraft that plans for a third moon landing were immediately scrubbed and the Apollo 13 mission turned into one of the most riveting and frightening human survival stories ever.

Capt. Lovell and his fellow crew members Fred Haise and Jack Swigert went to work with engineers on the ground in what became a life and death struggle to bring the crew home safely.

In the wake of the explosion, Lovell reported looking out a window of the Apollo 13 spacecraft to the horrifying sight of gas venting out into space. It turned out it was the craft's life supporting oxygen supply. What's more, a red light came on in the cabin indicating the explosion had taken out two of the Apollo 13's three fuel cells---a terrifying development which threatened a complete electrical failure and a shutdown of water for the crew in the deadly absolute zero cold of space.

To say these developments were life threatening is an understatement. Capt Lovell said he felt the odds of he and his crew making back to Earth were only 50-50---if that!

The ill fated Apollo 13 flight was memorialized in the Ron Howard movie in which Tom Hanks played Capt Lovell. It is a riveting film which makes it clear why millions back here on Earth became riveted to their television sets for updates on the crew and its safety--a crew forced at one point to shut down all electronics to conserve electricity, shivering in the bitterly cold, terribly damaged spacecraft , as it struggled to make it back to Earth.

My full interview with Captain Lovell, now 96 years young, will be posted here in coming days. But I thought you'd be interested in seeing some early photos of Capt. Lovell during the interview. Joining us was his daughter Sue who, along with the Lovell family, has devoted years of support to the Adler Planetarium. Capt Lovell has turned virtually all his space artifacts over to Adler where they can be viewed by all who visit the Planetarium. The Apollo 13 NASA capsule can be see there as well--something which was also arranged by Capt. Lovell.

Also included below are several shots of my WGN crew, which included producer Katharin Czink and our amazing video journalists Steve Scheuer and Vince Tagle.

CHECK INTO THE JAMES A. LOVELL LEGACY FUND which supports the Adler Planetarium. Check out additional information here: https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/.../the-james-a-lovell.../

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HP Tau system, Hubble.

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Neil Armstrong

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Today we remember Neil Armstrong’s death on 25th August 2012. Every time I see a full Moon, I wink at it for Neil.

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Neil Armstrong ❤️❤️

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Multi-wavelength Jupiter, Hubble.

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August 16, 1960: Joseph Kittinger set the decades-long world record for the longest free fall

The U.S. Air Force's Project Excelsior was a series of three high-altitude jumps that tested a new multi-stage parachute system. Meaning "ever upward", the project pioneered aviation safety and made breakthroughs in aerospace medicine that are still relevant more than sixty years later. Captain Joseph Kittinger set long-standing world records for the longest free-fall, the highest altitude jump, and the highest altitude traveled by a human in a balloon.

Read more about Project Excelsior here!

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55 years ago… Apollo 11 press briefing 1969, August 12 after spending 21 days in quarantine the Apollo 11 astronauts gave their first NASA post-flight press conference, narrating a 45 minutes film and answering questions. The Apollo 11 Moonwalkers stayed 21.5 hours on the lunar surface with their Moonwalk lasting 2 hours 31 minutes collecting 21 kilograms of Moonrocks. During lunar EVA, only Edwin Buzz Aldrin wore his NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster 105.012-65 (NASA n° 43) as Armstrong left his (NASA n° 46) onboard the lunar lander Eagle. While in quarantine, the astronauts still wore their Speedmaster on the long black velcro while here we see the Omega Speedmaster on a lightweight steel mesh Jacoby Bender Champion bracelet. This was probably the mission watch, but later crews received two NASA-issued Speedmaster chronographs, one for daily life & training while another was already allocated to their specific spaceflight mission. A day later, cross-country celebrations brought the astronauts to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Between 29 July and 6 November 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives travelled the world as their Goodwill tour visited 24 countries! (Photo: NASA/Mario De Biasi/Mondadori)

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Rather Gemini VIII coded...

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Space Shuttle Discovery launches off the pad during STS-85. August 7, 1997.

The prime payload of STS-85 was the Cyrogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere Shuttle Pallet Satellite 2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2), which had flown previously on STS-66 in 1994. CRISTA-SPAS-2 was deployed from Discovery's payload bay and measured trace gasses and the dynamics of Earth's middle atmosphere with its three telescopes and four spectrometers. The satellite was recovered by Discovery following a 9 day free-flight.

CHRISTA-SPAS-2 during its 9th and final day of free-flight, prior to capture by Discovery's Remote Manipulator Arm.

Additional payloads included the Manipulator Flight Demonstration sponsored by NASDA, the Japanese Space Agency (later known as JAXA). The demonstration tested a newly designed robotic arm that would later be installed on the Japanese Kibo module of the International Space Station.

The sun sets on day 8 of STS-85.

STS-85 crew on orbit. Top row, from left: Payload Specialist Bjarni Tryggvason (CSA), Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson, Mission Commander Curtis Brown. Bottom row, from left: Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam, Jr., Payload Commander N. Jan Davis, Pilot Kent Rominger.

Landing was originally schedule for August 18, but ground fog at the Kennedy Space Center pushed the landing date to August 19.

Discovery returns to Earth, successfully completing the 12-day STS-85 mission.

NASA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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neil being a whole mood on the geology outing (link is in my last post)

alsoooo i made my first gif 😭

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“As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life… For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.” - Statement from Neil Armstrong’s family after his passing

Happy birthday to the great Neil Armstrong, born on this day in 1930! 

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Happy birthday, Neil Armstrong (b. August 5, 1930)! In 1969, the support personnel in quarantine with the crew baked him this cake for his 39th birthday, days after he became the first human being to walk on the moon.

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We love you, Neil.

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Buzz, Mike, and Neil (and Deke’s reflection) during an Apollo 11 post-flight debriefing (at least I think so)

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The Apollo 11 crew in quarantine, 1969