Comrades:

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of manned spaceflight with Yuri's Night, Monday, April 12, and Big Al's Cinco de Mayo (I made that one up) on Wednesday, May 5. Now that the parks are open again, I have an outside chance of launching around those times. I got out my Vostok to go through it and ballast the new nose cone Gordy made for me a couple of years back. My K-41 Mercury-Redstone is ready also.

So dust off your R-7 or MR-7. We've got a few weeks.

__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

I thought you were talking about Big Al's in Peoria, IL.
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April 12 will also be the 40th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight with Young and Crippen in 1981.

I recall back during that first shuttle mission, several mentions that it was the 20th anniversary of Yuri’s flight on that day in 1981 and thinking that was soooo long ago, as that stretched back a year before I was born. Now, we’ve clicked off another FORTY years since THAT day!

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Monday morning at 7:00am will mark 40 years since the first space shuttle launch. That day forty years ago was a Sunday morning. The first launch attempt had been made that prior Friday, but it had been scrubbed (I forget the exact cause) and rescheduled for Sunday.

I remember getting up early that morning to watch the coverage and launch. The shuttle was such a different configuration compared to our previous manned vehicles and I was just not sure how this thing was gonna go. I remember being pretty nervous as the countdown clicked off those final seconds before launch.

I was watching ABC News coverage of the launch with he late Frank Reynolds (he was their main anchor back then). Beside him for color commentary was the late Gene Cernan. Also providing some color commentary was the late Jules Bergman.

Here is a link to the coverage, as it happened: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MjNWwy99Lss

I really, really, really cannot believe that has been forty years ago. And 60 years since Yuri’s first manned flight.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

I slept on the hood of a car parked along the Banana River the night before that first shuttle launch. A couple of college classmates and I had driven down for the first launch attempt and decided to stay for the next. We had little money and no change of clothes. We stayed in a house trailer belonging to the grandmother of one of the guys. She was away so there was no electricity in the trailer. Then, Saturday, we drove back to the coast and paid someone to allow us to park by the river.

We had a terrific view of the launch the next morning. I recall being able to see the sound approaching us as it formed ripples across the water.

I lived in Naples Fl. at that time, A friend of ours was a retired Air Force Captain, he had planed to
attend the Friday launch. When that was scrubbed the people that were to attend with him could not make the Sunday Launch. So my brother and I were the fill ins and what a great time.
Mr. C, flew us from Naples to Titusville and there was a car waiting that took us to the viewing
area, and although we were like 5 miles away man did the ground rumble and shake when they
lit the candle.

__________________
Neal Miller
Master Blaster NAR# 58296