July 19, 2024
Apollo 11 landed on the moon 55 years ago tomorrow. “Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module, Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on the Moon’s surface six hours and 39 minutes later.” Source: Wikipedia
In 1963 I was a contract draftsman in Minneapolis. Minnesota Engineering sent me to Honeywell on Stinson Boulevard to report to a drafting department. I had just started on this career, and I was self-taught. The truth was, I was not very good at the task. It turned out that Honeywell was working on gyroscopes for the Apollo project. After a couple of days, the department head confronted me and told me that I was the worst draftsman that he had ever met.
He transferred me to the Polaris project in the next building. I reported to Nevin Jahns, and he took me on as an engineer aid. My job was to make changes to sepias of drawings. The simplest of tasks. I worked hard. I even managed to design a simple plastic part to eliminate the possibility of an electric short circuit. I managed to stay there until March of 1965 when I left to return to St. Cloud State College.
At my going away party they gave me a Polaris Submarine tie clasp and a briefcase for my books plus a compass set that belonged to the young fellow that had my job, but never returned to work after a long weekend. I never knew his name or what happened to him. He must have hated the job. My good fortune.
Nancy Atkinson lives near Upsala. She has written a new book, “Eight Years to the Moon, the History of the Apollo Missions”. She was in our studio five years ago, linked to a live broadcast on Maine Public Radio. She has uncovered a lot of details. The book is a great read.
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong
Category : General 