Word: houston
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...excitement. He could not, of course, have known about the gentle admonition made by his wife Janet as she watched the mission on TV: "Be descriptive now, Neil." Yet suddenly he began to bubble over with detailed descriptions and snap pictures with all the enthusiasm of the archetypal tourist. Houston had to remind him four times to quit clicking and get on with a task of higher priority: gathering a small "contingency" sample of lunar soil that would guarantee the return of at least some moon material if the mission had to be suddenly aborted...
Fifty-three minutes after Armstrong first set foot on the moon, Houston urged him and Aldrin to move within camera range. "The President of the United States would like to say a few words to you," Mission Control advised. The President has been eager all along to associate himself with the mission. Now, as both astronauts stood stiffly at attention near the flag, Nixon told them: "This certainly has to be the most historic phone call ever made. . . . All the people on this earth are truly one in their pride of what you have done, and one in their prayers...
Less than twelve minutes after liftoff, a brief boost from the S-4B third stage placed Apollo into a circular 119-mile orbit at a velocity of 17,427 m.p.h. Over the Pacific for the second time, just 2½ hrs. after launch, the spacecraft was cleared by Houston for "translunar insertion" (TLI). Firing for five minutes, the reliable S-4B engine accelerated the ship to 24,245 m.p.h., fast enough to tear it loose from the earth's gravitational embrace and send it toward the moon. At a point 43,495 miles from the moon, lunar gravity exerted a force...
...astronauts compensated for the uninspiring conversations with Houston during several performances in front of their color television camera?something that apparently can bring out the ham in any man. At one point, Collins said: "O.K., world. Hang onto your hat. I'm going to turn you upside down." As Collins rotated his camera, keeping it pointed toward the earth, the blue and white planet took an erratic 180° turn on earth-based TV screens. "I'm making myself seasick," Collins called to Houston. "I'm going to put you right side up." The earth promptly performed another lazy turn...
...affable, relaxed Air Force lieutenant colonel, would get. Before the trip, he complained good-humoredly that because he would be piloting Columbia during the moon walk, he would be "about the only person in the world who won't get to see the thing on television." He asked Houston to save a videotape for him. At least, said Collins, "I'm going...