I hope in my children's lifetime...

[LeftyStrat]

they get to see something as special as Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. It inspired us all. It was the pinnacle for the American Nation. We had done the impossible.

For Neil,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hKSYgOGtos

[ampmike]

I was a kid in Cape May NJ and my grandma took the newspaper that day and put it in a plastic bag and I still have it.I think they even put a color picture of it on the front page.Great day in History!!!!!!

[M Fowler]

I was somewhere between 12-13 when this happened and I forever was interested in space travel.

I watched with such awe on our TV and we discussed at school, such memories.

Mark

[Bob S]

Do you remember the whistle/beep at the end of every sentence when the astronauts were talking to the command center.
We talked like that for weeks afterwards.
The impossible was possible & we watched it happen live on tv.
An awesome achievement!

[Structo]

Yes, I saw that Neil had passed on yesterday.

I watched the moon landing as well on our black and white TV.

He was a quiet man, never boasting of his achievements.

Can you imagine being able to say you were the first person to set foot on the moon?

RIP Neil, you led a remarkable life.

[vibratoking]

Can you imagine being able to say you were the first person to set foot on the moon?

Can you imagine having to talk about it with every single person you meet for the rest of your life? I know he tired of it...ALOT.

His words when he set foot were/are magical. Too bad the giant leap never really occured for the space program. That was a magical time for sure. It gave us all so much pride in our country and hope about what might come of space travel. And then almost nothing...too bad the space program became a political football.

[Structo]

Yes, I still can't believe that they shut down the Space Shuttle program with nothing to replace it with.
Other than the private sector which isn't near up to speed.

I just don't get it.

I know Neil Armstrong made a point to tell the higher ups that they were making a big mistake by shutting down the Shuttle Program prematurely.

Think about how many people are without a job now due to this shutdown.
All the sub contractors and logistic providers.

Really a shame to have to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket to get to the space station.
Lord knows they don't have the best track record for safety.

[chief mushroom cloud]

Yes, I still can't believe that they shut down the Space Shuttle program with nothing to replace it with.
Other than the private sector which isn't near up to speed.

I just don't get it.

I know Neil Armstrong made a point to tell the higher ups that they were making a big mistake by shutting down the Shuttle Program prematurely.

Think about how many people are without a job now due to this shutdown.
All the sub contractors and logistic providers.

Really a shame to have to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket to get to the space station.
Lord knows they don't have the best track record for safety.

But we have SpaceX....don't underestimate them....if we land a crew on Mars...it will on SpaceX hardware. There's a LOT of ex NASA guys working there now. A lot of those old guys (incl Neil) have vested investments in the ol 'military/industrial complex'....
He is great because he is humble and unassuming. Real hero.

[Structo]

Yes I know, but how long will it take them to get up to where the space shuttle was?

We need a reusable orbiter that can come back to earth and land not a one shot rocket.

[brentm]

I think the NASA Curiosity rover is pretty freaking cool. Granted, it's unmanned, but now that we've sent a couple robots to Mars, it's only a matter of time before we put a human on that planet and bring him/her back.

I agree, it was a huge disappointment to see the shuttle program retire. It sounds like two different directions from two different presidents left us without a plan or a program. SpaceX is it... and I think they'll do it! Did anyone catch the 60 minutes episode on SpaceX and the shuttle retirement?

Neil Armstrong has earned a place in nearly every red-blooded American heart. he will be missed.

[LeftyStrat]

I hope this statement doesn't turn into a political storm, but if we spent as much on NASA as we spent on out military, we'd already have colonies on the moon and Mars.

[Structo]

Agreed

[vibratoking]

I hope this statement doesn't turn into a political storm, but if we spent as much on NASA as we spent on out military, we'd already have colonies on the moon and Mars.

Yea, but look at all the good we've done in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[ToneMerc]

I agree, it was a huge disappointment to see the shuttle program retire. It sounds like two different directions from two different presidents left us without a plan or a program.

Which two different Presidents? The former one cancelled the shuttle program in 2004 and the current one extended it for an additional two more flights?

TM

[brentm]

I agree, it was a huge disappointment to see the shuttle program retire. It sounds like two different directions from two different presidents left us without a plan or a program.

Which two different Presidents? The former one cancelled the shuttle program in 2004 and the current one extended it for an additional two more flights?

TM

W and Obama. When Bush announced the end of the Shuttle program in 2010, he started a new program to return to the Moon and eventually Mars.

http://articles.cnn.com/2004-01-14/tech ... _s=PM:TECH

Obama cancelled this program. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/02nasa.html