Some blurbs about today (20 July) being the 49th anniversary of the moon landing of Apollo 11 caught my eye today. Since Jerry was well-versed in space travel, I decided to poke around in the archives for his thoughts on that subject. And I cam across this letter in the Tuesday July 14 2009 post (here; scroll down a bit) . Links in these extracts may not be valid. -Editor
Subject: Apollo 11
Dr. Pournelle,
In your post of Saturday July 11, 2009 you talked about the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. There is a back-story that very few people know about the return of the Apollo 11 capsule which I thought you might find interesting. In researching my fathers work in the Air Force, I discovered the following story:
There was a little known group based out of Hickam AFB in Hawaii in the 1960s and 1970s that had a major hand in making the Apollo 11 return a success. This group and its mission was classified until the mid 1990s. The only reason I knew about it before then was that my father was a pilot and the commander there in the mid 1960s.
The group was the 6594th Test Group and their mission was to “catch” camera satellite capsules returning from orbit. Yes, they “caught” them with a C-119 or a C-130 dragging hooks out the back. They snagged the parachute with these hooks and dragged the capsule into the aircraft. If they missed, the package hit the water and very quickly sank to avoid discovery by the Soviet Union. They supported the Corona satellite reconnaissance program, which President Clinton declassified in 1995.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123011338
<http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/
sci.space.history/2005-08/msg01277.html>My father had (my mother still has) a hook and a plate with a capsule parachute embedded in it from my fathers time there. Almost no one knew about it then and very few know about it now. Even when it was declassified, there was little talk about it and evidently it didn’t make enough of a stir for anyone to really notice.
I had thought that a documentary or a show on Discovery channel or some other media outlet would have been made by now but that seems to not be the case. Well, here’s a story that involves that elite group of people. It’s about a weather forecaster in the Air Force who had access to the pictures from those capsules, although he didn’t have clearance for the actual project, and how he helped make sure Apollo 11 made it safely back to earth.
http://libertyyes.homestead.com/Hank-Brandli-25.html
The Apollo 11 astronauts probably would have died had this young Air Force Captain not endangered his career by going out on a limb with information only he knew and that had been secured by men like my father. My father wasn’t involved with this particular mission as he was stationed there quite some time before this occurred, but he paved the way for those who were involved.
I’ve posted this story in other places because I think it’s a fascinating story and one that should be told. I hope you find it interesting as well.
A devoted fan and one time correspondent, Eric F
Early reconnaissance satellites took physical film images. They were de-orbited and parachuted to a water drop; and nearly every one of them — perhaps all, for all I know — was recovered. This program was discussed in the Open Space and Peace Symposium hosted by Edward Teller and Stefan Possony at the Hoover Institution sometime in the early 1960’s. I gave a paper at that unclassified conference. I also invited Poul Anderson to come to the conference with me, and stayed at his house that week. Teller proposed “Open Space” reconnaissance, which eventually came to pass.
I had not known about this incident. Thanks!
And then there is this, on the same page:
An engineer reminisces about Apollo:
Jerry,
I think you’ll find these interesting: an interview (from the 30th anniversary) and a recent article from Jack Crenshaw, a former NASA engineer who helped design the lunar trajectories: <http://www.resonancepub.com/interview3.htm> and <http://www.embedded.com/218401508>.
—Joel Salomon
Plus this (that web site mentioned is still active, but Flash is required):
The Apollo 11 moon mission is being reincarnated as a website:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/13/wechoosethemoon_website_launch/
“Forty years after Neil Armstrong made his historic first steps on the moon, Apollo 11 is beginning the same trip to the lunar surface this week via the internet.
The website WeChooseTheMoon.org was launched today, sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum to recreate the lunar mission minute-by-minute as it happened back on July 20, 1969.
Using archival audio, video, photographs, and computer-generated animation, the site will let space fans experience the four-day trip to the moon’s surface beginning with the anniversary of Apollo 11’s launch this Thursday. The site will also feature “real-time” transmissions between the astronauts and NASA flight controllers that can be followed both on the site and through Twitter.”
Ed
I suspect that Jerry is having a fine time talking to some of the astronauts and others involved. Comments are welcomed below. – Editor
