Here are some story excerpts from a few people that I interviewed for my book, Reaching for the Moon and the Stars, The Legacy and Influence of the Apollo Generation. Let me know what you think!

“I was there and I remember everything. We made history. We changed the world. I screamed, I cried and jumped up and down. I had been a small part of this entire project…I am still celebrating today.” –Sara Howard, one of two women Aerospace Engineers who worked on the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket.

“The true heroes of Apollo 11 are the folks who worked behind the scenes. The people in mission control, the back-up people, etc. Talk to the docents who built the Lunar Module at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, NY. Those are the unsung heroes. Without them, it never would have happened. The MOCR guys – the engineers who sat in the trenches in Houston whose average age was 26 – they did the whole thing on slide rules. Steve Bales, who at 26, had to make the decision if they should land or not when alarms were going off. Gene Kranz, who was the “old man” at 35, was in charge of the whole thing” –Tracy Kornfeld, Apollo and space enthusiast, Owner, www.WowieWebDesign.com

“My father worked on the lunar module at Grumman Aerospace as second job beyond his teaching job (he was a high school metal shop teacher). He was a metalworker, trying to figure out how to make the lunar module as light as possible. He and his buddies in the metal shop had an idea to drill holes in all the metal surfaces. The engineers were like ‘Yeah, but I don’t think that’s going to make much difference’. They went ahead, drilled out some sample pieces and the damn things were 1/3 lighter, yet still tested out strength-wise. So that’s how the astronauts were able to leave the moon.” -Tom D’Alimonte, Apollo and space enthusiast and educator, Owner, www.Missing-Pieces.com

NASA Photo S69-39525, Liftoff of Apollo 11 July 16, 1969
http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/39525.jpg

“It was July 21 (1969) in India and I remember I was listening to the Voice of America commentary from early morning about Eagle’s descent towards the moon. There was no TV in India at that time. Then at 8:26 a.m. (IST) I remember clinging to the transistor (radio) as Neil Armstrong stepped on the surface of the moon and uttered his famous words: ‘One Small Step for Man. One Giant Leap for Mankind’.” –Srinivas Laxman, Special Correspondent, The Times of India

“My parents had this big console TV that was a giant piece of furniture in the living room that had the record player and the AM/FM radio in it. And I literally sat in front of the television with my hand on the knob switching around to the three networks… I know it drove my parents nuts, this 8 year old kid monopolizing the TV set – surrounded by all my space goodies – flipping the channels around. “ –Bob Jacobs, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, NASA

[Influence as a youth] “In middle school and high school, I began to develop a love for space. This drove me to learn more about the exploration of space, and thus the Apollo and unmanned exploration programs. The images and information sent back by Apollo and such probes as the Voyagers and Pioneers really inspired me, and I think at that point I knew I wanted to work for NASA. [In current role] “I have been doing work on Separation Analysis for NASA’s next rocket, the Ares 1. I hope to see men walking on the moon in the 2020’s and hopefully walking on Mars in the late 2030’s or early 2040’s. That would be simply amazing for me, and I will be able help make that happen!” –Logan Kennedy, Age 22, Aerospace Engineer, NASA/MSFC