Apollo vet Sy Liebergot shows Ars how NASA got men safely to the moon and back.
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Going boldly: Behind the scenes at NASA's hallowed Mission Control Center
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"Once, we dared. Now, we simply reminisce."
Watching the landing of Curiosity in Mars was the closest I fear I'll ever get to watching a human land on the Moon, or Mars for that matter.
Watching the landing of Curiosity in Mars was the closest I fear I'll ever get to watching a human land on the Moon, or Mars for that matter.
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You're going to turn this article into a weekly series, right? Right?? I need my space-stuff fix! 
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Cathedral isn't an unreasonable comparison. If you were a child then, it could have been the most important thing you ever watched adults do. It was a welcome respite from things like riots, civil rights protests, the Viet Nam war, and price controls. The picture of the blue Earth rising over the grey horizon of the Moon might be the most significant photo ever taken. I'd probably burst into tears if I ever entered the MOCR.
Kennedy's speech at the Rice football stadium declares the Moon Shot in an almost cavalier manner. I don't think we're "unlikely to ever go again". If something crops up out there and we have to check it out, I'm sure new Sy Leibergots will be ready to help make it happen.
Look at the pic of the Super EECOM. Jersey Shore contestants and tone bending starlets would pass him by with a frown at most. But that pic will be seen in a hundred years and no one will know who the other people are.
Kennedy's speech at the Rice football stadium declares the Moon Shot in an almost cavalier manner. I don't think we're "unlikely to ever go again". If something crops up out there and we have to check it out, I'm sure new Sy Leibergots will be ready to help make it happen.
Look at the pic of the Super EECOM. Jersey Shore contestants and tone bending starlets would pass him by with a frown at most. But that pic will be seen in a hundred years and no one will know who the other people are.
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As a big time Apollo project and manned spaceflight junkie, I loved this article. Accurate and great depth. Seymour, if you're reading...thank you..for the interview and your time in the program. Well done Lee, keep it up Ars.
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You had every opportunity to make this article political. Thank you for not doing so. Beautifully well done story!
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Oh my gawd, you have no idea how many hours I've spent trying to glean all this info from around the web - and here it is in one perfect article. Brilliant! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I'm intrigued by the use of the voice loop system. It's such a simple but powerful method of group communication. Is there any one that still uses always-on voice channels that you can selectively monitor or transmit on in their jobs? It seems like it would be a simple thing to do with telephony, but I've never seen software for it. Instead, we have to muck about with conference bridges and station-to-station calls.
I'm intrigued by the use of the voice loop system. It's such a simple but powerful method of group communication. Is there any one that still uses always-on voice channels that you can selectively monitor or transmit on in their jobs? It seems like it would be a simple thing to do with telephony, but I've never seen software for it. Instead, we have to muck about with conference bridges and station-to-station calls.
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NASA still uses something similar today in the FCRs and the MER at JSC (and from other centers, too, from pictures I've seen). Today it's all digital, though. There are panels at every station called DVIS panels, for Digital Voice Intercommunications Subsystem, pronounced like "divas". Some more info here. I have some pics, too, from when I was last in the MER in 2007--front view, with DVIS at the edge of each desk, and back view, with signs reminding everyone to use their audio loops instead of yelling.pusher robot":34juyr6j said:
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What a wonderful article! This is the kind of thing that really sets Ars apart from the rest of the blogosphere. "Once we dreamed, now we reminisce" -- powerful stuff!
I wouldn't lose all hope. The Apollo era is over, but space still waits for us, patiently. We will be back, even if it's not America who does it.
I wouldn't lose all hope. The Apollo era is over, but space still waits for us, patiently. We will be back, even if it's not America who does it.
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I was 7 years old when Apollo 11 went to the moon, and while I don't remember much from when I was that young, I do remember them landing on the moon.
What an excellent article. Indeed, this is what sets Ars apart from the rest.
What an excellent article. Indeed, this is what sets Ars apart from the rest.
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I always wondered how they created the seemingly ahead of their time display readouts, and now I know!
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In researching the technology, that was the part that shocked me the most. Everything else was reasonable--big mainframes, no software controlled panels, all hard wiring, that kind of thing. But the display stuff threw me. I had to read and re-read that section of PHO-FAM001 over and over again to make sure I was understanding it right, and even after that I sought out some corroborative info. Sy's descriptions clinched it. It really was that crazy--slides and CRTs, filmed by a video camera. Totally wild.Bad Monkey!":38wmy1kq said:
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Excellent article, thank you! As another Apollo (and other missions/programs) junkie, this is a major fix
This will definitely be bookmarked for re-reading.
This will definitely be bookmarked for re-reading.
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Fantastic article - really gave the impression of coming with you on this awesome tour of the facilities and the technical background is fascinating.
Another dramatisation, but I recommend if you have not see it look at "The Dish" about the role of a radio telescope in relaying some of the Apollo 11 pictures and telemetry back to earth. Shows the importance of the era and the human side of people involved. The DVD is good with lots of archive footage of the mission: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/
Another dramatisation, but I recommend if you have not see it look at "The Dish" about the role of a radio telescope in relaying some of the Apollo 11 pictures and telemetry back to earth. Shows the importance of the era and the human side of people involved. The DVD is good with lots of archive footage of the mission: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/
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JustAdComics
Ars Praetorian
Thank you for an utterly engrossing and fascinating article. Every time I think that the achievements of the people and machines of the Space Program can't get any more impressive, I read something like this that just amazes me. What was accomplished with such rudimentary and archaic (to our current eyes) is just flat-out astonishing.
The descriptions of the display technology and the pneumatic tube system for delivering hard copies struck me as an insanely wild steam punk system. I half-expected to find that the Flight Director was seated at a massive pipe organ, orchestrating the mission!
Fantastic article and photos. Thank you for writing such a wonderful and informative piece of work.
The descriptions of the display technology and the pneumatic tube system for delivering hard copies struck me as an insanely wild steam punk system. I half-expected to find that the Flight Director was seated at a massive pipe organ, orchestrating the mission!
Fantastic article and photos. Thank you for writing such a wonderful and informative piece of work.
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OMG... these are 2 truly awesome articles. It's going to take me a while to read them in full
Just seeing the photos made me reminiss too, here are some of my photos from JSC to keep the photo fest moving:
Just seeing the photos made me reminiss too, here are some of my photos from JSC to keep the photo fest moving:
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Sometimes I think about the moon landing and the technology they used to do it, and it just blows my mind. If they attempted it today, it would still be a wildly risky operation. It was, I think, the greatest adventure ever undertaken. The only thing that comes close in my mind is Magellan's voyage around the world. Just an utter leap into the dark.
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Fantastic article!
Ars has produced a lot of really great articles lately, keep up the good work!
Ars has produced a lot of really great articles lately, keep up the good work!
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Lee, thank you for the fantastic article! It's amazing what those guys achieved with the tools they had. My father worked on the Surveyor probes, and loved to tell stories from that time. I wish he were still around, because I'd love to hear those stories again.
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Thank you so much for this wonderful article. Watching the moon landing on a black & white tv before I was two is probably my earliest memory, and set me on course for a life in science and engineering. Thank you Sy and the other controllers, you changed so many lives.
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Loved the article, made my day. Reminded me of all the space lego I had in the late 70s.
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Last time I was at the MCC, they had us sit in those chairs and then they played the Apollo 1 recording from that fatal accident. I don't know if that's a regular feature of the tour (or if your guide did the same for you), but it really impressed on me the gravity of human spaceflight. No pun intended.
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Another kid here who grew up glued to the TV set during the launches. Thanks for an excellent article!
Those guys were Real Engineers. Slide rules and IBM 360s.
small correction: PABX is Private *Automatic* Branch Exchange, not "Area". The "Automatic refers to the fact that calls are completed "automatically", without the need for a switchboard operator.
Those guys were Real Engineers. Slide rules and IBM 360s.
small correction: PABX is Private *Automatic* Branch Exchange, not "Area". The "Automatic refers to the fact that calls are completed "automatically", without the need for a switchboard operator.
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SuinusLatinus
Ars Tribunus Militum
AER":t37rejw1 said:
++
It makes me so sad that we have almost given up on Space.
I know that Space exploration is, for now, better done with robotic missions but, in the long term, we must follow our amazing robots!
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boydwaters":2fnzbcv8 said:
When did operations go non-smoking? That had to be a rough time.
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