Quiz!

[Glom]

I'll start off with an easy one.

Which astronauts went to the Moon twice?

[Echnaton]

Cernan Lovell Young

I've always wondered why Stafford didn't get a moon landing mission?

[ka9q]

Cernan Lovell Young

Of course, none landed twice. Only Cernan and Young orbited on two missions; Lovell only orbited on one since Apollo 13 was a lunar fly-by.

I've always wondered why Stafford didn't get a moon landing mission?

Good question. Probably a personal choice. I think he's the highest-ranked military US astronaut, so perhaps military promotions meant more to him than additional flights. He certainly wasn't too old for a lunar flight; he's the same age as Pete Conrad and John Young, and while he's older than Gene Cernan and Dave Scott he's younger than Jim Lovell. Alan Shepard, 7 years older than Stafford and Young, was criticized for being too old for his lunar flight but Apollo 14 was an unusually strenuous lunar mission (long EVA hikes without a rover).

Stafford seems to have gone into NASA management as of 1971, presumably removing him from active flight consideration for the near term. But of all the US astronauts of that era he seems to have had the strongest personal interest in the Soviet manned space program, so that made him the natural to come out of retirement and command ASTP in 1975.  I can't imagine the physical training for ASTP was anything like that for an Apollo lunar mission or even Skylab. I'm sure ASTP was mostly about learning the Russian language and an entirely different set of pilots, hardware, procedures, cultures and institutional politics. I bet he spent far more time on international travel than any other US astronaut of his time.

Still, considering his very quick and cool-headed reaction to the N₂O₄ emergency during the ASTP entry, he was as capable an Apollo commander as anyone. He quite likely saved his crew's lives by getting them onto emergency O₂ under extremely difficult conditions. One (Brand) had already passed out, and without help he could well have died.

[Rob260259]

Here's another one:
One of the FIDO flight controllers 'invented' the nickname "Captain REFSMMAT". What was his name? And what was the name of the 'enemy' of the Captain?

[Chew]

I've always wondered why Stafford didn't get a moon landing mission?

I thought he was offered one but turned it down so he could concentrate on ASTP.

[gwiz]

Here's another one:
One of the FIDO flight controllers 'invented' the nickname "Captain REFSMMAT". What was his name? And what was the name of the 'enemy' of the Captain?

Google makes this too easy.  All your answers in one link:
http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2006/05/steely-eyed-missile-man-capt-refsmmat.html

[Echnaton]

I've always wondered why Stafford didn't get a moon landing mission?

I thought he was offered one but turned it down so he could concentrate on ASTP.

As unfathomable as turning down a all expenses paid trip to the moon is to me, Cernan also turned down an assignment as LMP, telling Slayton he would only go as mission commander.  The gamble paid off for him giving him the greatest time on the surface among all astronauts and becoming the last man on the moon.

[Rob260259]

Here's another one:
One of the FIDO flight controllers 'invented' the nickname "Captain REFSMMAT". What was his name? And what was the name of the 'enemy' of the Captain?

Google makes this too easy.  All your answers in one link:
http://airspeedonline.blogspot.com/2006/05/steely-eyed-missile-man-capt-refsmmat.html

You're right. I wonder what is not being answered by any of the search engines...

[Glom]

I've always wondered why Stafford didn't get a moon landing mission?

I thought he was offered one but turned it down so he could concentrate on ASTP.

As unfathomable as turning down a all expenses paid trip to the moon is to me, Cernan also turned down an assignment as LMP, telling Slayton he would only go as mission commander.  The gamble paid off for him giving him the greatest time on the surface among all astronauts and becoming the last man on the moon.

But he did crash his helicopter into a lake, which taught him a little humility.

[ka9q]

Didn't that helicopter incident come close to getting him yanked from Apollo 17? I think McDivitt was especially keen on doing that.

[Glom]

If it did, I don't know if Geno knew about it.  He was interrogated by Deke, effectively was offered the chance to lie his way out of it, but he refused and confessed to pilot error.  That was his account of it in his book.  He actually said he thought the integrity was a big factor in him keeping him assignment.

I just remember it being played for laughs with his humiliation in front of Al Shepard and his fruit loops.

[DataCable]

...becoming the last man on the moon.

Schmitt was the last man on the moon.  Cernan was the man last on the moon.

Where was Eagle located when its RCS blast deflectors were installed?

[Echnaton]

...becoming the last man on the moon.

Schmitt was the last man on the moon.  Cernan was the man last on the moon.

Where was Eagle located when its RCS blast deflectors were installed?

I disagree.  I would also say to a group of men in a room, " will the last man to leave turn off the lights, not the "man last to leave."  Cernan also uses the phrase "Last Man on the Moon" as the title of his book.


The Eagle was tucked snugly inside the Saturn Five when the deflectors were installed.  What I don't know for sure is whether it was in the VAB or on the pad.  I suspect it was in the VAB.

[Bob B.]

...becoming the last man on the moon.

Schmitt was the last man on the moon.  Cernan was the man last on the moon.

I disagree.  I would also say to a group of men in a room, " will the last man to leave turn off the lights, not the "man last to leave."  Cernan also uses the phrase "Last Man on the Moon" as the title of his book.

The meaning, I think, depends on the context.  For instance, if we're all sitting in a room waiting for a meeting to start and I ask "who was last in the room", I think we would all take that to mean "who was last to enter the room."  On the other hand, if we're all standing around in the hallway after the meeting and I were to ask the same question, surely everyone would interpret that to mean "who was last to exit the room."  Same question, different meaning depending on context.  If my latter question was intended to mean something other than "who was last to exit the room", I would have to take care to establish the context so my meaning is clear.  For instance, I might ask "who was last to arrive at the meeting this morning."

Extending this logic to the moon, one could say that while the astronauts were walking around on the surface, the last man on the moon was Schmitt because he was last to step outside.  But now that they've left the moon, the last man on the moon was Cernan because he was last to leave the surface.  In normal circumstances, I don't think Schmitt is a reasonable answer to the question "who was the last man on the moon."  If the questioner's intent is to mean Schmitt rather than Cernan, I think the question must be phrased in a way that establishes the context, such as, "who was the last man to step outside the LM and make his first footprints on the moon."

[Echnaton]

...becoming the last man on the moon.

Schmitt was the last man on the moon.  Cernan was the man last on the moon.

I disagree.  I would also say to a group of men in a room, " will the last man to leave turn off the lights, not the "man last to leave."  Cernan also uses the phrase "Last Man on the Moon" as the title of his book.

The meaning, I think, depends on the context.  For instance, if we're all sitting in a room waiting for a meeting to start and I ask "who was last in the room", I think we would all take that to mean "who was last to enter the room."  On the other hand, if we're all standing around in the hallway after the meeting and I were to ask the same question, surely everyone would interpret that to mean "who was last to exit the room."  Same question, different meaning depending on context.  If my latter question was intended to mean something other than "who was last to exit the room", I would have to take care to establish the context so my meaning is clear.  For instance, I might ask "who was last to arrive at the meeting this morning."

Extending this logic to the moon, one could say that while the astronauts were walking around on the surface, the last man on the moon was Schmitt because he was last to step outside.  But now that they've left the moon, the last man on the moon was Cernan because he was last to leave the surface.  In normal circumstances, I don't think Schmitt is a reasonable answer to the question "who was the last man on the moon."  If the questioner's intent is to mean Schmitt rather than Cernan, I think the question must be phrased in a way that establishes the context, such as, "who was the last man to step outside the LM and make his first footprints on the moon."

Right.  The word "last" refers to the most recent event to which it is relevant.  That is the common American usage.