From NASA: From 1968 to 1972, NASA's Apollo astronauts tested out new spacecraft and journeyed to uncharted destinations.
Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and took "one small step" in the Sea of Tranquility, calling it "a giant leap for mankind."
Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- went on to land on the moon, studying soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind. Apollos 7 and 9 tested spacecraft in Earth orbit; Apollo 10 orbited the moon as the dress rehearsal for the first landing. An oxygen tank explosion forced Apollo 13 to scrub its landing, but the "can-do" problem solving of the crew and mission control turned the mission into a "successful failure."
A blast from the past. Husband recently came home with season one. I'm hooked. Good stories and fascinating characters and aliens. I remember why I loved this space opera.
In episode one there is this conversation between Jeffrey Sinclair [Michael O'Hare] and G'kar that still makes me burst out laughing. Sinclair says to G'kar, "You want me ..." then there is a long pause before he finishes the sentence. Long enough that I asked my husband, "Did he just tell that guy ..."
I've really been struck by how relevant many of the plots are to what's going on today. Almost 20 years later and the state of things have not changed really.
So any thoughts on Apollo or Babylon 5? Both of these are huge sources of inspiration for me. What are yours?
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