Category Archives: History

Mission Control

The Guardian: Apollo 13: celebrating the unsung heroes of mission control. “Ahead of a new documentary about Nasa’s ground crews, astronaut Jim Lovell talks about the team that saved his life during 1970’s ill-fated moon mission”.

“It is unlikely there is anyone who has more appreciation for the work of Nasa’s mission control than Captain Jim Lovell. His Apollo 13 mission was nearly destroyed when an oxygen tank in its main command module exploded. His spaceship was crippled and only narrowly coaxed to a safe return to Earth thanks to his crew’s heroic efforts – and the crucial aid of mission control.

Lovell was commander of Apollo 13 but was forced to abandon his mission’s planned lunar landing when the blast, which occurred 200,000 miles from Earth and two days into its journey in April 1970, triggered a major loss of power. Cabin heating stopped working, the water supply was disrupted and carbon dioxide began to build up. Lovell and crewmen Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were facing death.”

The movie is available here on demand.

Link via Garret.

What do you do after surviving your own lynching?

Buzzfeed: On August 7, 1930, three black teenagers were lynched in Marion, Indiana. James Cameron was one of them. He lived. By Syreeta McFadden.

“The photo of the lynching of two Indiana teenagers would never grace the pages of the local paper. But the image is everywhere.
[…]
“Did you know that there was a third boy they tried to lynch that night?“ our museum guide, a tall but frail older man, asked us, his voice warm and gravelly. We didn’t. Our guide went on to explain that there were actually three ropes strung up on the maple tree in Marion on August 7, 1930. A third teenager had been dragged from his jail cell to the courthouse square. His name was James Cameron and he was the only known person to have ever survived a lynching in America.
We were standing in front of him.”

Link via MetaFilter.

Last man to walk on the moon

The Two-Way: Gene Cernan, Last Man To Walk On The Moon, Dies At 82.

“The last person to leave footprints on the moon has died. NASA reported that Gene Cernan died Monday at the age of 82, surrounded by his family.

Gene Cernan flew in space three times, including twice to the moon. Cernan was big, brash and gregarious. And if he hadn’t been lucky, he could have missed his chance to walk on the moon.”

See also MetaFilter: The Last Man on the Moon for more links.