))
Down and Nerdy: NASA memories
Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)
When?
This feed was archived on January 01, 2017 15:08 (
Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.
What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Manage episode 154373677 series 1122442
Content provided by 91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by 91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
I’m a Sputnik baby. Who knows – perhaps my birth in June of 1958 was the result of some Sputnik-induced frolic, since its launch would have been precisely nine months before.
As a kid, I was a total space geek. I wrote many letters to NASA – scrawled on grade-school writing tablet paper – filled with questions, space ship ideas and pictures. To their credit, NASA always responded – with thick, glossy brochures about Mercury, Gemini, and later, Apollo, which I still have today. I belonged to the club that sent a space-related scale model kit every month, and had the gold coin collection that commemorated every flight, as well as a model of the Saturn 5 that stood nearly four feet high. My dad and I built (and lost) LOTS of Estes model rockets, and the G.I. Joe astronaut and capsule was my favorite toy. My best childhood vacation was a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. I had it bad. Even then, I believe I realized just how much ingenuity and courage was required for success in space.
It seems that Americans demonstrate their need for immediate gratification on virtually every subject. It wasn’t long before moon landings, and later shuttle launches, became routine. (On a recent trip to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, my young son was most unimpressed with the moon dust that clung to a space suit on display.) Americans were bored with space.
Until tragedy reminded us of the astonishing difficulty and heroism of space travel.
Read the rest of Gray Smith’s essay here.
Audio MP3AudioPlayer.embed("f-html5audio-3", {soundFile: "http://archive.wfpk.org/Podcasts/20110729-nerdy.mp3"});
Audio MP3AudioPlayer.embed("f-html5audio-3", {soundFile: "http://archive.wfpk.org/Podcasts/20110729-nerdy.mp3"});
if (jQuery.browser.mozilla) {tempaud=document.getElementsByTagName("audio")[0]; jQuery(tempaud).remove(); jQuery("div.audio_wrap div").show()} else jQuery("div.audio_wrap div *").remove();
[nggallery id=2]
The post Down and Nerdy: NASA memories appeared first on 91.9 WFPK Independent Louisville.
15 episodes
Share
