Ad astra per aspera (To the stars through difficulty)

“If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.”

These words were spoken by Virgil Grissom shortly before the Apollo 1 mission that took the lives of himself and two other astronauts during a “plugs out” test in January of 1967. The fact that we have not heeded his words and have, for so many years, continued in the same monotony of low earth orbit and useless space stations should ruffle more feathers than it, seemingly, has. In an effort to spark some interest among those three people who read my blog, I have decided to begin a series (of undetermined length) about the American space program. From the simple ping of Sputnik to the splashdown of Apollo 17 I will seek to examine the brave men and the amazing missions that captivated the hearts and minds of Americans (and those around the world) for the tumultuous years of the 60’s and 70’s.

 

I realize that I am a total nerd and that this may not interest anyone but if you take the time to read I hope you will find, at least, something of interest in this age where men “waved goodbye and ’slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”

~ by michaelterryjr on July 1, 2007.