'60 minutes' screws up 'one small step' -- yet again....

'60 minutes' screws up 'one small step' -- yet again....


The otherwise very classy and insightful piece on Neil Armstrong last night
(Sunday, Nov 6)
on CBS '60 Minutes' fell into the same trap as numerous other TV
documentaries and programs,
when dealing with the 'small step' that Armstrong referred to when he first
put his foot onto
the lunar surface. The show was deceived in part by false memories from
incorrectly edited TV footage
(including Cronkite's increasingly reality-challenged recollections),
including incorrect scenes
found even in NASA-approved historical summaries (such as those shown at
'Space Center
Houston' next to the NASA center in Houston), that Armstrong's step OFF the
ladder was the
'small step'. Actually, he stepped (jumped down) from the ladder to the wide
footpad, and then
moved his left foot from the footpad onto the dirt, the 'small step' he
referred to.

But not according to '60 minutes':
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...88_page2.shtml
The ghostly image of man on the moon was beyond words. Armstrong paused on
the bottom rung
of the ladder and planted his left boot on the lunar dust. "That's one small
step for man,
one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said as he set foot on the moon.

(Sigh) I suppose this is also evidence that neither Ed Bradley nor the
producers nor any writers
or consultants for this otherwise-well-done segment ever really read the
book they were helping
Armstrong promote. Typical. Too bad the viewing public was again misinformed
about this
often erroneously-described historical moment.

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...


The ghostly image of man on the moon was beyond words. Armstrong paused on
the bottom rung
of the ladder and planted his left boot on the lunar dust. "That's one
small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said as he set foot on the moon.


Wasn't the actually words "That's one small step for 'a' man, one giant leap
for mankind"? I seem to remember hearing this in another documentary.
Because of the poor sound quality, the 'a' was lost in the transmission.

"JHNichols" wrote in message
...

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...


The ghostly image of man on the moon was beyond words. Armstrong paused
on
the bottom rung
of the ladder and planted his left boot on the lunar dust. "That's one
small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said as he set foot on the moon.


Wasn't the actually words "That's one small step for 'a' man, one giant
leap
for mankind"? I seem to remember hearing this in another documentary.
Because of the poor sound quality, the 'a' was lost in the transmission.


That's what NASA says, but it ain't so. Listen to it. There's no place for
the "static" to go. He flubbed his line a bit. I don't suppose anyone else
would have done better.

Flypaste Wingnut wrote:
"JHNichols" wrote in message
...

"Jim Oberg" wrote in message
...


The ghostly image of man on the moon was beyond words. Armstrong paused
on
the bottom rung
of the ladder and planted his left boot on the lunar dust. "That's one
small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said as he set foot on the moon.


Wasn't the actually words "That's one small step for 'a' man, one giant
leap
for mankind"? I seem to remember hearing this in another documentary.
Because of the poor sound quality, the 'a' was lost in the transmission.


That's what NASA says, but it ain't so. Listen to it. There's no place for
the "static" to go. He flubbed his line a bit. I don't suppose anyone else
would have done better.

My recollection is that Armstrong thought he said the "a" - that he
intended
to - but that he couldn't be sure if he flubbed it or if he said it and
the voice
activated mic didn't pick it up.

Irregardless, we all understood the intent of his statement.

That was good stuff. But for me, "Tranquility Base Here..." was the
more
dramatic line. No one had ever said anything about a "Tranquility
Base"
before. That line was a surprise - you could hear the excitement in
Neil's
voice as he said it - and it told a story in an instant that made you
catch
your breath. The United States, for that moment at least, had firmly
planted a human presence - a "base" - on the Sea of Tranquility on the
Moon!

- Ed Kyle

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 17:16:17 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Flypaste
Wingnut" made the phosphor on my monitor
glow in such a way as to indicate that:


That's what NASA says, but it ain't so. Listen to it. There's no place for
the "static" to go. He flubbed his line a bit. I don't suppose anyone else
would have done better.

There are probably many people who could have done better at saying
the line. There are few who could have done better at being in a
situation in which the line could appropriately be said.

In article t,
"Flypaste Wingnut" wrote:


Wasn't the actually words "That's one small step for 'a' man, one giant
leap
for mankind"? I seem to remember hearing this in another documentary.
Because of the poor sound quality, the 'a' was lost in the transmission.

That's what NASA says, but it ain't so. Listen to it. There's no place for
the "static" to go. He flubbed his line a bit. I don't suppose anyone else
would have done better.

Hm, I still think it's a dialect or "common speech" kind of thing. Do any
of us know anyone who discreetly pronounces the words "for a" as separate
words? I and most of the folks I know sort of run the words together into
a continuous string of syllables.

How many of us had our chops busted by our grade school teachers when we
pronounced "February" as "Febyouary"?

--
"All over, people changing their votes,
along with their overcoats;
if Adolf Hitler flew in today,
they'd send a limousine anyway!" --the clash.
__________________________________________________ _________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike Flugennock's Mikey'zine, dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org

Jim Oberg wrote:

age2.shtml
The ghostly image of man on the moon was beyond words. Armstrong paused on
the bottom rung
of the ladder and planted his left boot on the lunar dust. "That's one small
step for man,
one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said as he set foot on the moon.

(Sigh) I suppose this is also evidence that neither Ed Bradley nor the
producers nor any writers
or consultants for this otherwise-well-done segment ever really read the
book they were helping
Armstrong promote. Typical. Too bad the viewing public was again misinformed
about this
often erroneously-described historical moment.


I always thought he should have stepped out on the LM's "front porch"
and then leaped all the way down to the lunar surface in one huge bound.
That's how The Gray Lensman would have done it, and that's how he should
have done it also.
Alternately, Buzz could have hurled him onto the lunar surface and then
declared himself Admiral Of The Celestial Sea while standing on his
broken body.
That's how Columbus would have dealt with anyone trying to beat _him_ to
the shore of a new world. ;-)

Pat

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:38:20 GMT, h (Rand
Simberg) wrote:

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 17:16:17 GMT, in a place far, far away, "Flypaste
Wingnut" made the phosphor on my monitor
glow in such a way as to indicate that:


That's what NASA says, but it ain't so. Listen to it. There's no place for
the "static" to go. He flubbed his line a bit. I don't suppose anyone else
would have done better.

There are probably many people who could have done better at saying
the line. There are few who could have done better at being in a
situation in which the line could appropriately be said.


There are also people that could have done a better job of PR for NASA
and manned spaceflight, in the years since the moon landing. Armstrong
became a semi-recluse instead.

In the years since the moon landing, Buzz Aldrin has proved that he
should have been the first to step on the moon.

-Rusty

JHNichols wrote:

Wasn't the actually words "That's one small step for 'a' man, one giant leap
for mankind"? I seem to remember hearing this in another documentary.
Because of the poor sound quality, the 'a' was lost in the transmission.



IIRC, Armstrong finally fessed up that he botched the line....he was
probably a bit excited at the time. :-)

Pat

Ed Kyle wrote:


That was good stuff. But for me, "Tranquility Base Here..." was the
more
dramatic line. No one had ever said anything about a "Tranquility
Base"
before.


They said it took a second for everyone at MC to realize just what he'd
said, and the import of it.
I'll sure remember where I was when he said that for the rest of my life.
What I didn't gathered the full meaning of (due to the rate that it was
all happening at) was the critical fuel situation on the LM as it
approached landing.

Pat