Extraordinary pictures that make you go WTAF and want to know more.

It really was an incredible achievement.

Or was it? <di di do do di di do do>

Love the NASA woven memory!

I think they called it “rope memory”?  Though I may be, ahem, misremembering.

It was absolutely audacious that they thought there was the slightest chance of getting men to the moon and back without a catastrophic failure.

Oh, believe you me, catastrophic failure was well planned for.  JFK had a “we’ve ****ed it” speech pre-written.  NASA routinely has missiles armed to shoot shit out of the sky if it looks like something is going to go cato over a populated area.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of this stuff first-hand at KSC and a couple of museums, the one overriding take-away I took away was just how astonishing it was that none of the astronauts took one look at it and went “**** that.”

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of this stuff first-hand at KSC and a couple of museums

I went to Johnson Space Center a decade or so back. They have the Apollo rocket laying on its side in sections. The 2 things that got me where the utter enormity of it and the absolutely agricultural looking plumbing smothering the area above the engine nozzles. It looked incredibly shonky. Got the job done though!

the one overriding take-away I took away was just how astonishing it was that none of the astronauts took one look at it and went “**** that.”

They really did have the right stuff… and balls of steel.

Got the job done though!

They have the Apollo rocket laying on its side in sections. The 2 things that got me where the utter enormity of it

Oh, it’s a monster alright.

Anyone who seriously thinks the moon landings were faked could do to visit KSC, as hoaxes go it’d be a doozy.  You go around outside and there’s the rocket garden, then they have (IIRC) the Saturn IIB which is so big they had to lie it down.  Then you go to the Apollo exhibit and oh my god, the IIB is a firework.

the one overriding take-away I took away was just how astonishing it was that none of the astronauts took one look at it and went “**** that.”

There is a great YouTube video describing the moon landing and how they kept having to restart the computer during the landing while trying both to land and work out what was wrong with it with only one shot at it.  Fantastic hard as nails and sooooo calm stuff.  Not for your average human

I went to Johnson Space Center a decade or so back. They have the Apollo rocket laying on its side in sections. The 2 things that got me where the utter enormity of it and the absolutely agricultural looking plumbing smothering the area above the engine nozzles.

One of the most interesting YouTube videos I’ve ever seen…

If you have a sense of how risky it was for the astronauts on NASA’s space programme, you MUST read Beyond by Stephen Walker and get some insight into Gagarin’s flight. Excellent book, makes Apollo 11 look incredibly over-engineered and risk-free – I remember reading that their hard-bitten flight director was in tears the night before he chose who was flying, because he was convinced he was sending them to their doom.

Love the NASA woven memory!

It was absolutely audacious that they thought there was the slightest chance of getting men to the moon and back

But did they? Makes you think.

If we’re talking about fake pics, I’m suspicious about that first subwoofer photo above. Firstly the size of the cone looks much bigger than the pics of it in the case. The cone is meant to be 160cm (5’3″) diameter. Secondly that thing weighs well north of 400kg and they’re just rolling it down those steps like a piece of furniture. Eh, who knows, maybe they’re really short men and it doesn’t have the coil attached?

https://audio-database.com/MITSUBISHI-DIATONE/diatonesp/d-160-e.html

Anyway, I want one :-)

going back to the Chicgo San Francisco picture- the majority of the damage was due to fires rather than the quake as house owners couldn’t insure against quake damage. As a result they set the houses alight. Some were even stated by the fire department (!) to create fire breaks

The guy on the right is Andre the Giant.

Link between Andre the Giant and Barack Obama?

Andre the Giant has a posse was a street art campaign by Shepard Fairey – https://www.deodato.art/en/blog/post/a-closer-look-andre-the-giant-by-shepard-fairey-1989 – who years later repurposed the style into the HOPE campaign propelling Obama into the White House.

JFK had a “we’ve ****ed it” speech pre-written.

Wasn’t there a quote from one astronaut who complained that they were essentially sitting on top a mass of components made by thousands of different manufacturers all working to lowest-bid contracts.

There was a thread on here 10 or more years ago with a photo of  lion as a passenger on the Wall-of Death.  So many questions!

Have a moving picture

Would you really trust this to go to the moon in?

There was also a British Wall of Death Lion called ‘Briton’ who rode in a sidecar with ‘Tornado Smith’

https://www.boxfordsuffolk.com/images/tornado-britonBike.jpg

Would you really trust this to go to the moon in?

It didn’t, that’s a Mercury capsule I think.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of this stuff first-hand at KSC and a couple of museums, the one overriding take-away I took away was just how astonishing it was that none of the astronauts took one look at it and went “**** that.”

You’ve got to remember, though, that at the time that all looked massively hi-tech and futuristic. We have the same disconnect when we look at a Spitfire (for example) – it’s a vintage plane, beautiful but old-fashioned. But back in 1940 it was cutting-edge technology, and the pilots of the day would have had a very different opinion of it.

Think I’ve found the original for the Lightning crash picture:-

@nickc – that quote is from Armageddon I think, Steve Buscemi said it ?

The bear made Corporal in the Army during WW2

The bear made Corporal in the Army during WW2

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-34748795

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/soldier-bear-statue

That’s insane. Lived on until 1963.

The bear made Corporal in the Army during WW2
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-34748795

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/soldier-bear-statue

That’s insane. Lived on until 1963.

What a wonderful story.

The bear made Corporal in the Army during WW2

Following a sustained misinformation campaign mounted by allied intelligence services to convince the German military that cats were allergic to pollen this member of Kitten Commando Corp was able to infiltrate enemy lines, overcome their floral defences and deliver a hand grenade, taking out 3 SS solders during their crossword break.

It didn’t, that’s a Mercury capsule I think.

Indeed it is. My Action Man had one.

The bear made Corporal in the Army during WW2

Ticks all the boxes for a mortar crew to be fair to him

Looking at that moon rocket stuff makes me think I might try one once I have finished the car. What could possibly go wrong?

Looking at that moon rocket stuff makes me think I might try one once I have finished the car. What could possibly go wrong?

You have amazing energy and an ability to get stuff done. I’m sure at least part of you will make it into space.

It didn’t, that’s a Mercury capsule I think.

I’ll bet that made all the difference as they rattled around the upper atmosphere at a few thousand miles and hour in something that looks like it was made of Meccano in someone’s shed.

that quote is from Armageddon I think, Steve Buscemi said it ?

That being the case, whilst I genuinely enjoy Armageddon, it’s a front runner for the “worst science ever in a Hollywood movie” award and there’s stiff competition.

Indeed it is. My Action Man had one.

I wasn’t sure whether it was Mercury or Gemini (hence “I think”), they’re very similar.  But the lettering gives it away, Mercury had “United States” on the side, Gemini read “U.S. Air Force.”

In the flesh it would be obvious, Gemini is considerably larger (because it was a 2-man tent rather than a 1-man) but that’s difficult to gauge from a photo.  Needs a banana for scale. (-:

Yes @sharkattack this has always made me wonder, how did Fingermouse learn to swim?

Seeing the pile of code, I was thinking how lucky they were that I was not on the team. I used to mung up Sperry 494 code regularly in a past life.  It was fun having manuals dated 1959 and being very creative with using minute quantities of memory.

Tractor man has amazing reflexes if he’s responded to the sound of the ejector seat…

It’s a good picture, no one else cares about your nitpicking.

I wasn’t sure whether it was Mercury or Gemini (hence “I think”), they’re very similar.

Yes, I had forgotten that they were both made from the same corrugated iron roofing sheets.

.

If you’re a fan of the Apollo 11 stuff, I can absolutely recommend “13 Minutes to the Moon”, a BBC series on BBC Sounds:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2

Series 1 is about Apollo 11 and its conception and development, explaining bit by bit the recording of the radio transmissions between the Eagle lander, the orbiter and Mission Control. It’s spine-tingling, amazing listening.

Series 2 is about Apollo 13 and the exceptional problem, and problem-solving, involved in the mission and how incredible it was to get the astronauts safely back to earth.

Assuming any of it is real, of course… ;)

It looked incredibly shonky.

I did some Ariane 4 and 5 component level stuff in the 90’s, it was still shonky as hell then. (Ditto for a lot of the DoD stuff!)

so thats how they stopped the Daleks,! tipped them on their side!

I had to double-check there that your username wasn’t Adric.

phillipe petit tightrope walking between the twin towers.

Another shot

If you do want to know more I can recommend both the documentary Man on Wire (2008) and movie The Walk (2015) by Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis that never got the exposure it deserved – it’s like a heist flick but without a robbery, great fun.

Agreed, Man on Wire is excellent.

Surprised he made it wearing flares that wide

I remember looking at the lunar lander and moon buggy at KSC.

It didn’t seem believable that they could do the job.