OBIT: Neil Armstrong, 82 (One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind...)

[crainbebo]

The world has lost another legend today. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died. He was 82.

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/...lk-on-moon-dies-at-age-82?chromedomain=usnews

And here's some ABC coverage from that day in 1969, when Neil and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifts6zZw1JE&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxl7ndDJWgM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dTjUvu1hIU&feature=relmfu

-crainbebo

 

[RadioMan203]

I heard this afternoon CNN apparently stated it was "Neil Young" who had passed away instead of "Neil Armstrong." From the news report it was stated that CNN rectified the incorrect report in less than an hour.

 

[tvnut]

Re: OBIT: Neil Armstrong, 82 (One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind

I heard this afternoon CNN apparently stated it was "Neil Young" who had passed away instead of "Neil Armstrong." From the news report it was stated that CNN rectified the incorrect report in less than an hour.

That's incorrect. Actually, Bill, NBC News had it wrong on its website for a few minutes. You can probably find a screenshot on the web.

 

[OldNumber7]

One of the things about TV coverage of the moon landing that may be lost on the younger folks: WE DIDN'T SEE IT. The newsclips today show the final seconds of the moon landing from an onboard film camera -- footage that obviously wasn't processed until the astronauts returned. The only video camera was stowed on the exterior of the Lunar Module and not in a position where it could be opened and turned on until Armstrong began climbing down the ladder to start the moonwalk.
The landing itself on TV was an odd sort of drama. That afternoon, the big networks showed simple simulations and tried to make sense of the radio transmissions and jargon in the final tense minutes. The final phase went 30 seconds long (Armstrong had to take manual control), so the simulation on NBC showed the LM already on the ground before it actually was.
Despite the confusion, Armstrong's famous statement "Tranquility Base here; the Eagle has landed" made sense to the whole world. At the age of 9, it was for me one of the most memorable moments of my life.

 

[bpatrick]

Armstrong always insisted he said "one small step for a man,"
but that he didn't hear the "a" when it was played back for him. For forty-
plus years, whenever I've heard that replayed, I also hear "one small step
for man."

I can't think of Armstrong without thinking about the night in 1962 that his
parents appeared on "I've Got A Secret." After they were introduced as being
from Wapakoneta, Ohio, their secret was revealed: "Our son Neil was selected
for the space program earlier today." I don't know if the panel got it (Bill Cullen
may have, since he was interested in all things related to science and aviation),
but after the game, Garry Moore said, "Wouldn't it be something if your son was
the first man on the moon?" The rest is history.

 

[stevations]

How could NASA loose the original footage? Also, I heard one of the space missions had an astronaut say something odd and NASA cut off the feed. Something like, NASA, There is a Santa Clause... was said. Anyone know more about this?

 

[OldNumber7]

How could NASA loose the original footage?

What do you mean? By "original, " I suppose you are referring to the story a few years ago that a worker at the ground station made a high quality video recording (on reel to reel) of the feed from the moon before it was reprocessed for the TV networks. The tapes were supposedly stashed at the Goddard Space Center and may well still be there in a huge warehouse -- they just haven't been found.

Also, I heard one of the space missions had an astronaut say something odd and NASA cut off the feed. Something like, NASA, There is a Santa Clause... was said. Anyone know more about this?

Jim Lovell said that on Apollo 8 in the early hours of Christmas morning, 1968. It was his way of telling Houston that the service module engine successfully burned to send the ship back toward Earth. The feed was not cut off.