Hardware tests

[BazBear]

In this list of artifacts left behind on the moon by Apollo 11, note items 50 and 51. Two large and two small urine collection device assemblies. I wonder who was the "bigger man", Neil or Buzz? 

Interesting one this

26. Medals Commemorating Two Dead Cosmonauts

One of these will be Vladimir Komorov who died in April 1967 when the parachute of his Soyuz 1 capsule failed after re-entrry. AFAIK no other cosmonauts were killed on missions before 1969, so I wonder who the second one was?

I believe it's for Gagarin, who as I'm sure you know, died in a plane crash (along with flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin) on 27 March 1968 during a routine training flight.

[smartcooky]

Thanks Baz, you must have posted while I was editing.

[Dr.Acula]

Yep, the infamous "Catholic condoms". Small, medium, and large became large, X-large, and XX-large.

In this list of artifacts left behind on the moon by Apollo 11, note items 50 and 51. Two large and two small urine collection device assemblies. I wonder who was the "bigger man", Neil or Buzz? 
[/quote]

I can't remember, where I've read it, but there was an article about those urine bags. When the astronauts dropped them, it was measured by the seismometers on the lunar surface. I think, it was one of the scientists who said, this was the first quake caused by urine of astronauts. 

[raven]

On a more serious note, if things weren't ready by Apollo 11 and additional testing needed to be done, why fake it? Apollo 12 also landed within Kennedy's vowed 'before this decade is out'.

[BazBear]

On a more serious note, if things weren't ready by Apollo 11 and additional testing needed to be done, why fake it? Apollo 12 also landed within Kennedy's vowed 'before this decade is out'.

From my experience with HBs (or CTists in general, really), had 12 been the first successful landing, the failure of 11 to land first for whatever reason, would become proof to a certain subset of the HBs of fakery. The same sort who say that Apollo 13 was staged dramatic fiction.

[raven]

From my experience with HBs (or CTists in general, really), had 12 been the first successful landing, the failure of 11 to land first for whatever reason, would become proof to a certain subset of the HBs of fakery. The same sort who say that Apollo 13 was staged dramatic fiction.

I don't necessarily mean a failure, but, rather, another non-landing test flight to suss out any remaining issues.

[AstroBrant]

On a more serious note, if things weren't ready by Apollo 11 and additional testing needed to be done, why fake it? Apollo 12 also landed within Kennedy's vowed 'before this decade is out'.

Back in the late 80's I was playing "Trivial Pursuit" and one of the questions was, "What is the date of the first day of the 21st century?" I thought, "Well, that's uncharacteristically easy. January 1st, 2000, of course." Confident that I had it right, I saw that the answer was January 1, 2001! "What the hell???" I blurted. Then I thought about it for a second and it dawned on me. Yes! Each century begins in the --01 year because there was no year zero. If you theoretically trace our calendar back, to BC, it will go directly from the end of 1BC to 1AD.

 I looked it up in three encyclopedias and they confirmed it. The year 2000 is entirely in the 20th century. Likewise, all decades will begin with the --1 year. So 1970 is part of the decade in which Kennedy set his goal.

And all of that hype about the new millennium beginning Jan. 1, 2000?... nope, they were wrong. And I never saw one commentator anywhere mentioning the error.

I have often wondered if we may have lost three astronauts because nobody at NASA ever gave this a thought. Well, why would they in the 1960's?

Clear skies,
Brant

[Peter B]

On a more serious note, if things weren't ready by Apollo 11 and additional testing needed to be done, why fake it? Apollo 12 also landed within Kennedy's vowed 'before this decade is out'.

Back in the late 80's I was playing "Trivial Pursuit" and one of the questions was, "What is the date of the first day of the 21st century?" I thought, "Well, that's uncharacteristically easy. January 1st, 2000, of course." Confident that I had it right, I saw that the answer was January 1, 2001! "What the hell???" I blurted. Then I thought about it for a second and it dawned on me. Yes! Each century begins in the --01 year because there was no year zero. If you theoretically trace our calendar back, to BC, it will go directly from the end of 1BC to 1AD.

 I looked it up in three encyclopedias and they confirmed it. The year 2000 is entirely in the 20th century. Likewise, all decades will begin with the --1 year. So 1970 is part of the decade in which Kennedy set his goal.

And all of that hype about the new millennium beginning Jan. 1, 2000?... nope, they were wrong. And I never saw one commentator anywhere mentioning the error.

I have often wondered if we may have lost three astronauts because nobody at NASA ever gave this a thought. Well, why would they in the 1960's?

Clear skies,
Brant

Losing three astronauts because of the desire to reach the Moon by the end of 1969?

I'm sure I've read somewhere that some people in NASA did indeed point out that the decade technically didn't end until the end of 1970. However, IIRC, they also accepted that most ordinary people would interpret "the end of the decade" as meaning the end of 1969, and trying to include 1970 would seem like nitpicking. (Consider, after all, your own reaction to being told your answer was incorrect!) It's also worth considering the Soviets wouldn't have been deflected by calendrical niceties either as they dished out the propaganda.

[Echnaton]

I have often wondered if we may have lost three astronauts because nobody at NASA ever gave this a thought. Well, why would they in the 1960's?

Kennedy adviser Ted Sorensen was involved in the policy discussions that led to the "end of the decade" speech and stated they were in effect keeping the difference between the implied common usage and the technical calender dating in their pocket.  He appears in the Nova program To the Moon.

[onebigmonkey]

I think the public reaction to a landing delayed to 1970 but claiming it was still technically the 1960s would be the same as the public reaction to people arguing that the new millennium actually started in 2001.

When did you have your new millennium party?

[Echnaton]

Kennedy and his advisers knew the administration would be long out of office by that point.  So they would be able to stand on technicalities on something that is ultimately so trivial.

[Echnaton]

When did you have your new millennium party?

Two years in a row, because I am just that kind of guy. 

[ka9q]

I can't remember, where I've read it, but there was an article about those urine bags. When the astronauts dropped them, it was measured by the seismometers on the lunar surface. I think, it was one of the scientists who said, this was the first quake caused by urine of astronauts. 

I am fond of citing the big misunderstanding about urine dumps during Apollo 13 to illustrate just how incredibly sensitive two-way Doppler range-rate tracking had already become.

[Dalhousie]

Interesting one this

26. Medals Commemorating Two Dead Cosmonauts

One of these will be Vladimir Komorov who died in April 1967 when the parachute of his Soyuz 1 capsule failed after re-entrry. AFAIK no other cosmonauts were killed on missions before 1969, so I wonder who the second one was?

It actually commemorates Pavel Belyayev.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Belyayev

EDIT: OK, I think it was probably Yuri Gagarin, killed not in a spaceflight but a flight training accident in 1968.

[Dalhousie]

Interesting one this

26. Medals Commemorating Two Dead Cosmonauts

One of these will be Vladimir Komorov who died in April 1967 when the parachute of his Soyuz 1 capsule failed after re-entrry. AFAIK no other cosmonauts were killed on missions before 1969, so I wonder who the second one was?

It actually commemorates Pavel Belyayev.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Belyayev