"Jeff Findley" wrote in message
...
In article , says...
Hg wrote:
Stepping out of the spotlight... I'm not sure the reasons for that,
I think he expected he'd be okay with the fame but when it actually
happened he disliked it worse than Lindberg had. Some situations can be
imagined and mentally simulated before they happen. Some can't. When
your'e good at running such mental simulations, as all test pilots must
be, you'll figure you can pull it off in other fields. But when he was
actually a celebrity he clearly didn't like it. So he stayed private.
He earned it as far as I'm concerned. He didn't step on the Moon by
winning a lottery. He earned it the hard way.
He served his country well, he just didn't want to do it "in the
spotlight". He was always a very private man.
Look at how Buzz has done. He's (or was) a jet setting celebrity
doing all sorts of beneficial tasks. The world's a better place
for how Buzz uses (used) the celebrity he ended up enjoying.
Buzz has a personality which actively seeks out the spotlight, which is
about all I have to say about him in this thread.
though he did return to the spotlight whenever he was needed, being
part of the investigation panels for Apollo 13 and Challenger, for
example.
Exactly. When his celebrity could make a large difference in the space
program, he used it that way very deliberately for what he thought was
the good of the program.
I'd say that he used his experience as a test pilot, astronaut, and
engineer to serve his country in that capacity, despite the fact that it
put him temporarily back in the spotlight (something he did not desire).
I'd call that quite admirable.
Plus, it's not like he ever completely stopped contributing to society.
He was a professor at University of Cincinnati, served on both the
Apollo 13 and Challenger accident investigation boards, and served on
the boards of directors of several companies (Wikipedia says Marathon
Oil, Learjet, Cinergy (Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company), Taft
Broadcasting, United Airlines, Eaton Corporation, AIL Systems and
Thiokol).
If you look at what he accomplished before becoming an astronaut, his
life would still be quite impressive. He was an Eagle Scout, earned a
B.S. in Aerospace engineering from Purdue University, was a Navy pilot
who flew combat missions during the Korean War, and was a test pilot
flying historic vehicles including the X-1B and X-15. He was also
selected as one of six pilot-engineers who would have flown the X-20
Dyna-Soar, had it not been canceled. Despite the Dyna-Soar program
being canceled, he did fly the F5D Skylancer, NASA 802, simulating abort
procedures for Dyna-Soar.
Jeff
I think thread sums it up pretty well. It also touches upon a realization I
had somewhere between childhood and adulthood.
These men were test pilots and engineers. Yes, there were big egos and
adrenaline junkies. And I don't doubt every single one of them at some
point thought, "Holy ****, I'm walking on the freaking MOON!" (or "I'm
ORBITING ....")
But, when push comes to shove, they were doing a job. It was a LOT of work.
It wasn't just kick the tires, fire it up and fly off into wild blue sky.
There was 1000s of hours of prep work. And as much as they enjoyed their
job (and it's clear to me Neil enjoyed being a test pilot), it was a job.
If Neil had been told, "Ok, you're flying Apollo 10 and NOT landing on the
Moon" he would have done just as well.
I think you could have put anyone in Neil's boots, including Buzz, and they
would have done the job pretty much the same (though I do think Neil was
among the best of the Apollo era astronauts in many regards).
Yes, AFTERWARDS some may have reacted differently. Hell, they all did.
Buzz.... well Jeff said. I will add, he unfortunately for awhile did NOT
handle the fame well.
Alan Bean paints now.
Conrad rode motorcycles and flew the DC-X.
And for those that think if Neil had only been more vocal we'd be on Mars by
now, reality check. The Apollo program was already being cut back by the
time Apollo 11 landed and the Vietnam War was raging and other things were
eclipsing Apollo.
The only thing that would have gotten humans to Mars by now is if the
Soviets had tried to up the ante.
--
Greg D. Moore
http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/
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