10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…BLAST OFF!
In the late sixties and early seventies, young children didn’t have to be taught to count backwards. We did it along with the TV, and as soon as the astronauts blasted off, we did, too, careening around the room like ping pong balls.
Kids could wear their enthusiasm right out in the open, but even adults were excited about our astronauts. They were the coolest of the cool, true blue Americans, ready to go places humans could only dream of going before. Names like John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin… these men meant far more to us than any movie star or even the Beatles. Smiling kids, many with model rockets in hand, spoke confidently of going to space when they grew up. And okay, it was a long shot, but for the first time it was actually possible.
We had put a man on the moon. We could do anything.
That one event unified us in a way that nothing else has during my lifetime. We were doing something daring, grand, and glorious—and we were doing it together.
Lunar missions are on the calendar again, although they’re called something else now. Instead of Apollo, the program is fittingly named Artemis, after the Greek goddess of the moon. And it’s a more well-thought-out production. Instead of sending up a single rocket that only does one trip there and back, like we used to do, first we’re setting up a whole space station in lunar orbit. Called Gateway, it will receive many missions and also later serve as a stopping point on the way to Mars.
It’s the way the moon missions should have been run from the beginning, but if you weren’t there, the thing you need to understand about the space race is that it was a deadly serious competition. We gave it our all. There was no way we were going to spend any extra time putting together the best possible system and then watch the Russians get there first. Not when quick and dirty would win the race. Granted, we were left with nothing but moon rocks afterward, but dang it, we’d proved that Americans were the best of the best. Our gallant knights had swept the tournament, and we all hoped the Russians stayed up at night gnashing their teeth over it.
I wouldn’t trade anything for those early memories, but I’m also glad we’re doing it more intelligently these days. I’d love to see a new generation learn to count backwards to the exciting roar of rocket launches. And I’ll be watching, too, cheering our brave astronauts on.
If you want to view the original moon launch, you can do that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9tIX5-dq3E. Even today, watching it still makes me a bit misty-eyed.
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Avid writer and reader of Faerie tales and noblebright fantasy.
Cathleen Townsend 
I’ve become an Elon Musk fan, thanks to his rocket to the ISS. Hoo boy he is amazing! I watched that entire launch and trip from Earth to the ISS.
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Good for you! That’s the sort of thing I need to do more often. : )
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This is definitely something to be interested in and proud about, Cathleen. I have tried not to focus on the lockdown and virus and have been writing, working and baking.
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Yeah, you can only focus on the bad news so much. And go you on the productivity front. : )
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Good news! Yep, just what we all need to focus on, Cathleen. ❤ Thanks for inspiring us to look up. xo
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Here’s another reason to look up–the annual Perseid meteor showers are coming. I checked the date, and this year it’s August 9-13, peaking August 11-12.
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Positive news these days are so rare, it’s nice to see something good. I didn’t know about the Gateway station.
I used to be pretty good in keeping negative news at bay – I stopped watching the news over a decade ago. Alas, the pandemic and all the violence worldwide broke my rule, and I’m checking the news every hour now.
Thanks for sharing this, it’s a great post.
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I know–it’s like ignoring the news is a privilege we can’t exercise right now. It used to be you could think, “Well, if it’s really important, someone will say something.” But now, with self-isolating, that won’t work. Still, I’m trying to cut my news consumption back again. : )
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Thanks for the video link. Gateway is pretty cool.
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Glad you liked it. I thought it was pretty nifty, too. : )
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Wonderful post, Cathleen! Good news is everywhere, and this is some of the best. There is way too much bad news, and TV seems to show it all. So, thanks for sharing this. I think the name Gateway is really cool!
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Maybe we’ll get more lunar launches soon, and your students can learn to count backwards to the launch. It would be nice to see history repeat itself with something good. : )
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Exactly!
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I’m trying to limit my television viewing too, Cathleen. It’s too distressing, day after day. Thanks for the 5-minute link. This space station is exciting and something to celebrate while so much of “normal” life crashes and burns. Thanks for the good news. 🙂
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Yeah, I’m trying not to watch the news too much, and I’m failing miserably. It’s like I’m caught. I’m struggling to get free, but it’s much more of a struggle than it used to be. There’s just so much bad news, and it all seems important to know.
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At least now there’s some hope!
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I really like the video link as it provided a lot of info. Thank you for putting together this post.
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I liked the video, too. It was my pleasure. : )
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