Number 27
As the 40th anniversary of the moon landing approaches, I’ve been pondering so many different things when thinking back on that great day: July 20, 1969. For me it was a day I so looked forward to as a kid growing up in the 60s, being as I was an eager space cadet who clung excitedly on every moment of the U.S. space program. It was a time when all things were “space” this or “space” that. It truly it was the Space Age.
 Never was U.S. optimism so great while at the same time still reeling from the loss of President Kennedy to an assassin’s bullet and being challenged by the growing discontent over the war in Vietnam. But those were worries for adults, not for us kids, for it was a time full of wonder and excitement at the marvels that awaited us in the exploration of space.
For me personally, the countdown to a proposed July 20th landing held more significance than for most since that would be my 12th birthday and what greater way to celebrate for a space cadet than to have his birthday share the date with the moon landing. All was right with the world for me! Or was it? Unfortunately, something transpired to sully that day as my parents chose that particular year to send me off to Boy Scout summer camp for the first time in my life. And what day did it start? Of course, July 20th! So instead of being with my family and watching arguably the greatest event in human history on TV, I spent it in a tent listening to a small, scratchy sounding radio, homesick already and cursing my parents for their cruel, evil ways. Still, I will never forget upon hearing on the radio “The Eagle has landed” the cheers that rang out up and down the hillsides of the campsite that night, all the other boys celebrating the great moment. To this day though, it is the only thing I have never forgiven my parents for and will likely carry to my grave. Very minor in the scheme of things, but still a sore point for me even after all of these years!
So what has happened since that day nearly 40 years ago after so much promise and accomplishment? Well after a few more trips to the moon the Apollo program ended in an early cancellation just like a television program would due to declining viewer interest. We still have no moon base which should have been there for nearly 30 years now if all had gone according to original plan. We did build a space station, but our main space vehicle has been really nothing more than a glorified space bus and truck to haul people and stuff back and forth from Earth orbit. Certainly nothing exploratory nor exciting about that. All in all the promise of space exploration has been put on hold until a time when man feels strongly drawn again to reach out and continue to fulfill his destiny of discovery.
So where does that leave someone like me? Well at least personally I got to meet many involved in the Apollo program when I worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. These people are still so proud of the work that they did and what was accomplished in so short a time. They are definitely some of the smartest people on the planet and were tirelessly dedicated to the task set before them. It was in no way an impossible task given the technology available and being developed at the time, but was certainly one that required steadfast dedication and supreme effort to get it done in the time required to fulfill President Kennedy’s declaration of landing a man on the moon by decade's end.
In each one of these people I met, I found persons of sterling character above reproach and it infuriates me to no end that there are still denizens of the lunatic fringe that insist that the moon landings were some sort of hoax. My next door neighbor was an Apollo engineer and I would challenge anyone to say that to his face, especially if they knew the type of man he was. No, he would never be involved in a hoax/cover up and yes, he would certainly know if one had been attempted considering where he was placed in the program. Tens of thousand of people were involved in this great effort and to think that anyone, especially a government organization, could engineer such a massive cover up involving so many people (many at critical levels with the highest ethics no less) and then maintain that secret for 40 years is naive on a cosmic level.
We should be honoring the many who worked so hard and sacrificed so much, including lives, to achieve one of, if not the greatest of all mankind's achievements. I plan on doing so by extolling the virtues of a television series and several theatrical movies.
HBO’s From the Earth to the Moon is a fascinating miniseries that delves deeply into the Apollo Program and chronicles what it took to take us to the moon. This Tom Hanks executive produced series follows the space program from Projects Mercury & Gemini all the way up through the end of project Apollo. Lavishly produced and brimming with fine actors and performances, this is must viewing for any space buff. The series was scored by Mark Isham, Mason Daring, Mark Mancina, James Newton Howard, Jeff Beal, Brad Fiedel, Marc Shaiman and Michael Kamen, who also provided the series main theme. A CD of the soundtrack was made available, but was filled with period songs and only contained Kamen’s opening title and end credits music. With that group of composers, a multi-disc CD set seems mandatory and long overdue.
 Ron Howard’s and Brian Grazer’s Apollo 13 was a superb telling of the near fatal disaster of the Apollo 13 mission. Everything was first class in this production, especially scenes shot on sets built in NASA’s “Vomit Comet” which simulated zero gravity. James Horner’s fine score perfectly captured the mystery of space, the emotional impact of the crisis on all involved as well as the patriotic American sound which is always so well depicted by solo trumpet. A decent release of the score remains in print although it does contain a lot of source music and some dialog interspersed. An academy promo was produced that contained more of the original score and was completely free of dialog and source music.
I must also mention The Right Stuff, which although not dealing directly with the Apollo program, was a brilliant and thoroughly entertaining look at the first U.S. manned space program: Project Mercury and Chuck Yeager’s quest to break the sound barrier and beyond. As we all know, Varese Sarabande has released Bill Conti’s original score this week and I can’t help but wonder whether it’s a coincidence or not!
Plus lest I forget, there's the glorious documentary For All Mankind. Al Reinert had unprecedented access to millions of feet of NASA footage and compiled a select 80 minutes of it into a stunning look at the Apollo program. The visuals are accompanied by audio commentary from numerous astronauts to illuminate the fantastic footage.
So come Monday, July 20, 2009, I won’t be celebrating my birthday as much as I’ll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of man’s first visit to another world and will ask the question I ask every year at this time and that has been asked by so many since, when will we be going back?
Epilogue
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