1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Hi, this is newt twenty twenty is going to be 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: one of the most extraordinary election years of our lifetime. 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: I want to invite you to join my Inner Circle 4 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: as we discuss each twist and turn in the race 5 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: and my members only Inner Circle Club. You will receive 6 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: special flash briefings, online events, and members only audio reports 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: from me and my team. Here's a special offer to 8 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: my podcast listeners. If you joined the Inner Circle today 9 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: at newtcenter Circle dot com and sign up for a 10 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: one or two year membership, I'll send you a free 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: personally autographed copy of my book Jettisburg and a VIP 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: fast pass to my live events. Join my Inner Circle 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: today at newts Inner Circle dot com. Use the code 14 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,200 Speaker 1: free book at checkout. Sign up today at newts Inner 15 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 1: Circle dot com Code free Book. This offer ends January 16 00:00:51,640 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: thirty first. On this episode of Newts World, we choose 17 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: to go to the Move. We choose to go to 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: the move. We choose to go to the Moon and 19 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: dis decade and do the other things not because they 20 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: are easy, but because they are odd. From the time 21 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: President Kennedy gave that historic speech at Rice University Stadium 22 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: on September twelfth, nineteen sixty two. Americans imagined the day 23 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: on July sixteenth, nineteen sixty nine, when the Apollo eleven 24 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: Saturn five lifted off from Kennedy's Space Center Launch Complex 25 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: thirty nine eight on merrit Island, Florida. Minors an nine 26 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,119 Speaker 1: eight for main Engine Dark. We have main Engine Dark 27 00:01:44,480 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: four three two one. They're all pleasure aboard the flight 28 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: and leading the mission was Commander Neil Armstrong, Command module 29 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module pilot Edwin buzz Aldrin, Junior. 30 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: And estimated twenty percent of the world's population watched Neil 31 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Armstrong and buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon for the 32 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: first time. It was a global event. On July twentieth, 33 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, we'll celebrate fifty years of landing on the Moon. 34 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: I'm pleased to welcome as my guests doctor buzz Aldron 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: and NASA Chief Historian Bill Berry. When the night we 36 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 1: landed in the Moon, I was on the way to 37 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: Brussels with my family to work on my dissertation, and 38 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: we stopped at a friend's house for the night and 39 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,959 Speaker 1: happened to be there able with them watched the land 40 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: and it was a remarkable experience, and as somebody who'd 41 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,519 Speaker 1: been reading Missiles and Rockets magazine since nineteen fifty eight, 42 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: there was an astonishing sense of anything was possible. It 43 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: was an incredible time to be an American. One Dimple 44 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 1: Buzz Aldren has been a close personal friend of mine 45 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: for many years. He is an American icon and incidentally 46 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: the inspiration for Buzz light Year in the Toy Story movies. 47 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: I think you'll find his journey to becoming an astronaut 48 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: a fascinating one. And just a note about the audio quality. 49 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: I happened to be in a studio in Rome while 50 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: Buzz was on his cell phone and Strasburg. You may 51 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: at times have a hard time understanding Buzz, but listen closely. 52 00:03:53,760 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: It's worth it. As I understand that your father wanted 53 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: you to go to the Naval Academy, but you ended 54 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: up picking West Point. Why did you pick West Point? Well, 55 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: I told my father that I got C sick when 56 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: I was at Suffer Camp in Maine and went deep 57 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: C visions at age nine. And besides, I wanted to 58 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: fly airplanes. And why in the world when I wanted 59 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: to land an airplane on top of a bobbling short 60 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: roadway on the ship when I could land an airplane, 61 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,799 Speaker 1: and a nice long rugaway on the surface of the earth. 62 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: Once you graduated, you ended up flying in the last 63 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: six or seven months of the Korean War, and you 64 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: were flying F eighty six. What was your experience of 65 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: that combat? You had some mechanical challenges while you're in Korea, 66 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: which kind of helped prepare you for the mechanical failures 67 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: in Gemini twelve and a after my second maid shot down, 68 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 1: it was fifty sixty miles into Manchuria, and I was 69 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: climbing back south to the base all alone, and it 70 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 1: wasn't climbing as fast as I thought it would be, 71 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: and I realized that I still had my stool breaks out, 72 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: and of course that made me pretty vulnerable sin a 73 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: climbe that's not quite the best speed in case, some 74 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: made happiness in me heading south mechanical. Now, when I 75 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: came back, I instructed in going to reach at Las Vegas, 76 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: And one time I was testing aircraft effort. It had 77 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: aganathy chage, so I took it up to altitude and 78 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: then turning the heat up increases the pressure, and all 79 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: of a sudden there was a big explosion, and I 80 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: looked at the fire warning light. Everything appeared normal, but 81 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: the canopy had completely blowed off due to the pressure, 82 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: but the ceiling somehow had not been secure. I was 83 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: made to General Zimmerman. The theme at the Air Force 84 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 1: Academy when I when the first class came in and 85 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: I would buy him around and I did the kind 86 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: of a bumping understorm was that it up the wings 87 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: and the tail and we were landing and went runway 88 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: and I had to open the canopy, had to slow down. 89 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: He still he saw the runway and quite it deep. 90 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: But that was really very fortunate. Beast Night can recall 91 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: in terms of this with aircraft. So when you get 92 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: back home, you go to Germany briefly as a flight commander, 93 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: but then you go to MIT. And I got the 94 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: sense by then you you're already looking at space in 95 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: the moon. I mean, you're doctor othesis line of sight 96 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: guidance techniques for manned orbal rendezvous. How could it be 97 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: better considering what you wanted to end up doing well? 98 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: When I arrived from the Air Force Academy, were was 99 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: my last assignment for going to Germany supply supersonic et 100 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: one hundreds. But I got over there, I saw a 101 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: good friend of mine and White, who was in a squadron. 102 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: He was a year behind me at West Boy, and 103 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: he said, you've got to get into this very spirited 104 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: squadron party second squad. So I did, and after a 105 00:07:54,520 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: while he rotated back. And when fifty seven, we had 106 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: been patrolling the border, but then we became tack fights 107 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: because of the Russian enough tag scording in the Budapest 108 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: so attack writers now on alert with a nuclear weapon. 109 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: So this happened in mid nineteen fifty seven. So when 110 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: that little thing went over in the sky, but Nick, 111 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: it really didn't make that much of an impression on me. 112 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,559 Speaker 1: There are other things that kind of occupied my mind. 113 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: Maybe several months later, Life magazine came out. So when 114 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:49,280 Speaker 1: I went to MT there was no real assurance at all. 115 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,839 Speaker 1: I was in a two year masters program. So when 116 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: I began to look into things that might study, another 117 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: fighter pilot had extended to your career another year and 118 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: a half or so. I decided I do the same thing, 119 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: and then began looking around, and I figured, well, airplanes 120 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: after intercept each other and train for combat by intercepting 121 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: a toe target so if you could get on a 122 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:29,199 Speaker 1: standard intercept and do the best training, that that's the 123 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: way we ought to make fund to do by creating 124 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: a situation where you can then get on a standardized intercept, 125 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,719 Speaker 1: and concentric orbits allowed you to do that. So I 126 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: began to develop a rendezvous philosophy, and it just so 127 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 1: happened when I turned to my pisis near the end 128 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: of sixty two. That was just about the same time 129 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: that a selection was made between heavy lifts and big spacecraft, 130 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: the Warner Ron Browns and the more sophisticated techniques of 131 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: John Hoopold proposing rooter or rundezvous where two spacecraft would 132 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: be taken to the Moon, but the crew crew too 133 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,839 Speaker 1: again in the ladder explore then come back up the 134 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: brandezvous or their return back to Earth. A lot of 135 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: people judge that you may be a little bit risky. 136 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,719 Speaker 1: So before I left the for my assignment back in 137 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: the Air Force, I decided, well, let me take my computer, 138 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: rugs punch cards and change the gravity field of the Earth, 139 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 1: of the gravity of the Moon, and the londezvous want 140 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: to very very nicely, very easy. So the point I'm 141 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: making there's my concentric orbit condezvous kind of dove failed 142 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: into the decision for lunar orbit Rondezvoup. So then the 143 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 1: rendezvous missions on Gemity program continue to emphasize that, and 144 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:22,199 Speaker 1: then during the follow we used orb rendezvous with essentially 145 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:27,719 Speaker 1: the concentric orbit techniques that I had developed. Let me 146 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: ask you for a second, because I've noticed that your 147 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:38,439 Speaker 1: work at MT was so groundbreaking and the doctorate that 148 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 1: you had made you so different from most of the 149 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: asknats that I understand that a bunch of them called 150 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: you doctor Rendezvous. Was that true? Well, for the not 151 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:56,319 Speaker 1: exactly adoring terminology coming from a Navy Charrier landing test 152 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: pilot to an egghead from MT, that's not always an 153 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:07,679 Speaker 1: enduring term. It's back of a little jealousy and whatever, 154 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: all in good or. Of course, as I understanded, your 155 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:18,319 Speaker 1: specialty back in Apollo was mission planning, trajectory analysis, and 156 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,719 Speaker 1: flight planes. So in a way you have sort of 157 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: the perfect experience for the kind of thinking you're talking about. 158 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: That learned that. Yeah, we went to the mood from 159 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: the Earth. We wanted to have an assurance that if 160 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: anything went wrong, we would come back to Earth, and 161 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: it was called a free returned exactly. We never had 162 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: to use that, but I wondered years later what would 163 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: happened if we came back from the Moon and then 164 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: swung by the Earth again and went back out, but 165 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: the Moon wouldn't be there. So we have a couple 166 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: of holding patterns until the moon came around again. And 167 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 1: that became the essence in nineteen eighty five of a 168 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 1: cycling or how I knew at that time. Yes, thatstor 169 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: that louder or Beck Brandey Brew was clearly the best 170 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: way to get people and things on the Earth through 171 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: the selcas of the boom. When we come back, we'll 172 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: talk about a launch day July sixteenth, nineteen sixty nine, 173 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: and the valve leak on the Saturn five that had 174 00:13:38,760 --> 00:14:07,959 Speaker 1: millions in suspense about the mission. I don't ask a 175 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: couple of questions of what actually happened. I was told 176 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: that literally when you were on the way to the 177 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: launch pad, that launch control discovered there's a hydrogen leak 178 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: in the valve on the Saturn five, and the technicians 179 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: were literally tightening the bolts about two hours and forty 180 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: three minutes before your launch, literally as your transport van 181 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: is pulling up. I mean, did you know about the 182 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: leak as you were coming up to the launch pad. Frankly, 183 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: it was a detail that we may have heard something 184 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: about there working on a problem and they think it 185 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: can work it out. But I think all of the 186 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: crews have either observed or had a slip late in 187 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: the countdown or the day before launch, and it just 188 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: really nurses. You have to go back and start all 189 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: over again. So it's something you'd really like to avoid 190 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: if at all possible, And of course the crow doesn't 191 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: have control over that, but it's very we're leaving to 192 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: hear the count pound the when he gets stamped to zero. 193 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: There's no real noise that reaches up to the command module, 194 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: but we hear somebody on the ground say lift off. 195 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: You can't feel anything, but the instruments began to move, 196 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: and all three of us remarked at the words that 197 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: just had the feeling that we were no longer connected 198 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: to the ground, but we were beginning to move, and 199 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: this move gradual acceleration, as you can see to the 200 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: films that are taken sideways and Saturday lifting golf. When 201 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: you start talking about feel I was reminded, if I 202 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 1: got this downright, that the fuel was really low on 203 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: the descent during the Apollo eleven permission. Were you ever 204 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: concerned about fuel in that whole experience. We are always 205 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: concerned about fuel. But that's the question of fuel consumption, 206 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 1: the rated descent. How far away is the is the 207 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: lending site. But if you want the truth of the matter, 208 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: LAMB five, on our flight, coming off the production line 209 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: a year and a half two years earlier, was overweight 210 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: for a landing. LAMB six was the first lander that 211 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: was quite enough, and if that had been the first landing, 212 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: it had been the middle of October. But the program 213 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: manager for LAMB five wanted his lander to land, so 214 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: he felt he could colt on some reserves from this 215 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 1: that of five to some other reductions. So he went 216 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: to see George Lowe and he said, George, if I 217 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: could reduce the weight on left five, will you guarantee 218 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: that it'll be a lander? And George says, well, yeah, 219 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: of course, we want to a google or a month 220 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: to be able to get to the boat some When 221 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: the crew assignments came out and Apollo eleven had commanded 222 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: bach On one four and Lant five, it was going 223 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: to be the first landing. Now I didn't learn that 224 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: until a couple of years afterwards. So as I understand you, 225 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:51,160 Speaker 1: you actually landed with an earlier, heavier lander which had 226 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: worse fuel requirements, so that that particular member of the 227 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,880 Speaker 1: team could have his lander on the first moon landing. Well, 228 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: the weight did meet the limits as prescribed, but they 229 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: were not for the over abundance of margin. So other 230 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: situations came up in the terrible plays, which dictated that 231 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: we extend the landing a little further down range, and 232 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 1: that's of course themselves for fuel. We've known each other 233 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: a long time and I've never actually asked you this, 234 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: but when you look back at this magic moment, which 235 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: in the entire history of the human race, you know, 236 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: you and Deal Armstrong will always be at a magic 237 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: inflection point when things were never the same again afterwards, 238 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: I mean, how does it feel to be that historic 239 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: a figure and you're recognized all over the world, and 240 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,159 Speaker 1: you know, and you've continued to be an active advocate 241 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: for space travel and for scientific advancement. I'm distrassed about 242 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: how you deal with being buzz altern and being a 243 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: historic thing year and you know you're permanently as long 244 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: as human beings are around, you're going to be a 245 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: figure that's there because you were part of the beginning 246 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: of the next phase of the human race. Well we 247 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: didn't realize that, of course, when when Apole twelve the 248 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,640 Speaker 1: golf would be comrad and Alan being and they made 249 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: such a great precision landing, and then Paul thirteen had 250 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: difficulties with the oxygen tank and the ground team did 251 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: what is expected from them, and it was not a 252 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: miracle they were brought back. It was that the ground 253 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: people at mission control did what they were expected to 254 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: be able to do. And the phrase failure is not 255 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: an option, maybe a cute phrase, but if you believe 256 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,200 Speaker 1: that means you don't think something that can appail, so 257 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: you don't trade for it, because failure is an option. Now, 258 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: once you have a failure and you want to tell 259 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: the people working on it, but they've got to bring 260 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: them back safe lature and at that point failure of 261 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: people responsible is not an option. But I think that's 262 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: a term that is just overused and it bypasses how 263 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: much effort has to be put into every possible thing 264 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: that can go wrong and the best you can do 265 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: have prevented or pro trade for how you deal with it, 266 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: it does happen. What is your favorite memory from that 267 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: whole experience fifty years ago, when, of course we got 268 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: back in after the industry on the outside, I close 269 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: the hatch. We connected up to the inside oxygen electrical supply, 270 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: and then we were disconnected from the backpacks. So we 271 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: keep pressure eyed again and through the backpacks out of 272 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: the hatch. Now when they hit the ground the sized 273 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: bombitter that I had deployed, they could hear them hit 274 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: the ground back in Houston. We close the hatch, we 275 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: pressure eyed again, and having expanded oxygen into the cabin twice, 276 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: I began to get rather chili in there. So I 277 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: have used the childhood term the neel. I take dibbs 278 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 1: on the floor. That was the only smooth place you 279 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 1: could lie down. So I lay down on the floor 280 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: with my head on the co pilot side, and Neil 281 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: sat back on the engine cover and rigged just beat 282 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: up somewhere, so it was fairly comfortable. So I looked 283 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: over at the dust that we had tracked in, and 284 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,880 Speaker 1: there was something that didn't look like it belonged there. 285 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: A little through their examination established that it was a 286 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: broken circuit breaker. So it was on my side of 287 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 1: the cabin. So I decided to get up and look 288 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,399 Speaker 1: at the rows of circuit breakers, of which are out 289 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: and some of which are in, depending on the needs 290 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: for that time of pomission. And certainly there was one 291 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: that was not in and not out. It was the 292 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: engine arm circuit breaker. That's the one when you get 293 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: ready to light the decent engine, you push it in. 294 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: After you land, you pull it out. When you get 295 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: ready to come back home with the sent engine, you 296 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:17,239 Speaker 1: push it in and you come back home. Well, if 297 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: you can't push it in, you may not get back home. 298 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: So what did you do? That wasn't an malfunction checklist? 299 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 1: And there wasn't this good diver to undo the pwel 300 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: and expose all of electricity behind it. So here is 301 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:41,160 Speaker 1: where we missed one of the classic terms. Space, Houston, 302 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: you've got a problem. So anyway, we told them what 303 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: it was, and they said, well, yeah, all right, we're 304 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: going to get a bunch of people to look into 305 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: all the circuits to see if we can figure out 306 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: some way. So while we're doing that, we'll tell you 307 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 1: about it. But you guys up there just go to sleep. 308 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,120 Speaker 1: Were you able to go to sleep. What the hell 309 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:12,640 Speaker 1: else can we do? I looked at Deil to see 310 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,359 Speaker 1: if he was smiling, and he wasn't smiling. When you 311 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: got awake, did they solve it? They said, we couldn't 312 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: find any way around us, So we're going to change 313 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:29,439 Speaker 1: the procedure. And instead of and fifteen seconds before lipt 314 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: off where you would daughtally pushed the circuit breaker in, 315 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 1: we're going to try and do something. Two hours ahead 316 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: was electricity, but I got a ball point pen. But 317 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,159 Speaker 1: that's metal. Maybe that's not too good either. So I 318 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: had my favorite was a boat at pen that I 319 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 1: used to write the numbers down for the backup procedures 320 00:24:55,880 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: and stood out a whole lot more than thank So 321 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: I use it, felt Jef Benn and push it in 322 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: and Houston says, yeah, we got we got power. Oh 323 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,640 Speaker 1: we got to the countdown. That's top and we came out. 324 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: You had to spend twenty one days in isolation. When 325 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: you got back, what did you think about for three weeks? Well, 326 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: we did a lot of deep briefings during that time. 327 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 1: If you're in quarantine, were they debriefing you by telephone 328 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: or were they coming in? There's a glass window, and 329 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: the first deep briefing was to executive advantagement, so we 330 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: start of started with nipped off. Apollo was in some 331 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: ways the most famous thing you've done. The truth is 332 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:52,200 Speaker 1: you've been a leader on getting humans out into space 333 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: for your entire lifetime, and you've had an astonishing and 334 00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 1: very long career. How would you like to be remembered? 335 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 1: What's the core of buzz Aldren that you wish people 336 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: a hundred years from now knew about. I really hope 337 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: that the contributions of John Hoopol that succeeded in designing 338 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: the basic philosophy of carrying out Apollo. I hope that 339 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: the expansion of that which corrects the philosophy of gateway 340 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: and way stations, and is able to use some of 341 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: those early items to give us either laboratories in Earth 342 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:48,159 Speaker 1: orbit or to accelerate getting back to the Moon and 343 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:54,440 Speaker 1: allowing us to not be hung up on the Sos 344 00:26:55,119 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: and o'rian. Because I absolutely few a number of people, 345 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: as we demonstrate it cold join Meal on the crew 346 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: of the first landing, but very very few could have 347 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: done what I think I've been very fortunate to have 348 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: been able to do. But it took an education, a 349 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: curiosity of her mind and an experience and a career, 350 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: and the need to make alterations and collections as politically 351 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,879 Speaker 1: unpopular as I'm quite sure they are going to be. 352 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: I'm very grateful that you agreed to do this. I 353 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,360 Speaker 1: hope you'll really feel like we did justice to your 354 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: remarkable life. Absolutely, thanks so much. Coming up, NASA Chief 355 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: Historian Bill Berry reminds us of the historical importance of 356 00:27:51,840 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: the Apollo Love admission. I'm pleased to be joined by 357 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:22,160 Speaker 1: NASA Chief Historian Bill Berry. Bill, as NASA's chief historian, 358 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 1: what do you think really set the Apollo eleven mission 359 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 1: to the Moon apart? What historical impact did the mission have? Well, 360 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: I think four things that considered the legacy of the 361 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 1: Apolic program. One is that it achieved the primary political goal, 362 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: beating the Soviet unions of the Moon. It was so 363 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: successful in doing that that we don't even think about 364 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: that as kind of the primary objective anymore. You know, 365 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: people don't even think about the race of the Moon. 366 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: In fact, there really was a race of the Moon. Ultimately, 367 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: the Soviet government depended heavily on space accomplishments as a 368 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: means of legitimacy both inside the Soviet Union and outside, 369 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: and being beaten to the moon by the United States. 370 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: It was a really big blow to them in terms 371 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: of legitimacy of their government. The undermining of the legitimacy 372 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: of the Soviet government by bedion of the Moon had 373 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: corrosive effects on the body politics and the Soviet Union, 374 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 1: and I think contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. 375 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: So that's one the legacy, I think A simpler one 376 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 1: perhaps is we completely change our understanding of the origin 377 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: and history of the Moon and therefore the Solar system 378 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: and a lot about the world around us. So that 379 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: samples from the Moon proved that the Moon and the 380 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: Earth were formed out of collision of two big bodies 381 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: that recoalesced into the current Earth Moon system. That's some 382 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: interesting impacts on what we do things, what we think 383 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: about the world in the universe today. The third thing 384 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: is that PAULA was a huge technological boost the economy 385 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: across the broad front. This played out in lots of 386 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: different ways, but in part because it was done as 387 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: an open public program and done with those twenty thousand 388 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: different companies across the United States. The technology that was 389 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: developed through the Apollo program immediately proliferated out into the 390 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: public sphere. That's had huge impact money, economy. The legacy 391 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: Apollo is that the program is provided in inspiration to 392 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: an entire generation, maybe a couple of generations of people 393 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: who went into engineering and science fields and much greater numbers. 394 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: I'm one of those people. There was a threefold increase 395 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: in the number of science and the gerry phdse United 396 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: States between the mid sixties and the mid seventies. And 397 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: even people who didn't go into science and a gerring 398 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: career fields that came out of the Polar experience with 399 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: a belief that great things can be accomplished. A phrase 400 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: if we could put a person on moving, certainly we 401 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: can do fill in the blank. I think that the 402 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 1: Apolo program had a huge impact on the mindset of 403 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: America and the world. The Apollo eleven mission was fueled 404 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: by the American Soviet space race, but it was American 405 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: ingenuity and determination that got us there. Neil Armstrong and 406 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: buzz Aldren are the human symbols of a mission that 407 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: proved we as Americans can do anything we set our 408 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,120 Speaker 1: minds to and decide to invest in space Race is 409 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: it over? A Trump administration under Vice President Pence and 410 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein's leadership is looking at the future 411 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: of space travel with a NASA program called the Moon 412 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: to Mars. Working with US companies and international partners, NASA 413 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,400 Speaker 1: will push the boundaries of human exploration forward to the 414 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: Moon and on to Mars. NASA is working to establish 415 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: a permanent human presence on the Moon within the next 416 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: decade to uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation 417 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: for private companies to build a lunar economy. Will it 418 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: be achievable? It's a great question, one we will explore 419 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 1: in an upcoming podcast episode about the incredible next phase 420 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 1: of space exploration. Thank you to my guest doctor Buzz 421 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,239 Speaker 1: Aldrin and NASA Chief Historian Bill Berry. I also want 422 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: to thank NASA for the use of the historic audio 423 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: featured in this episode. You can read more about the 424 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: Apollo Love admission and hear Bill Berry's entire interview about 425 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,000 Speaker 1: the history of the space Race and landing on the 426 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,760 Speaker 1: Moon on our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld 427 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: is produced by Westwood One. Our executive producer is Debbie Myers, 428 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: and our producer is Garnsey Slow, our editor is Robert Boroski, 429 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: and our researcher is Rachel Peterson. Our guest booker is 430 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 1: Grace Davis. The artwork for the show was created by 431 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: Steve Pendley. The music was composed by Joey Salvia. Special 432 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 1: thanks to the team at GINGWIS three sixty and Westwood Ones, 433 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 1: John Wardock and Robert Mathers. Please email me with their 434 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: comments at newt at newtsworld dot com. If you've been 435 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,400 Speaker 1: enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and 436 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,080 Speaker 1: both rate us with five stars and give us a 437 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: review so others can learn what it's all about. On 438 00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:08,880 Speaker 1: the next episode of Newswork, He's been called one of 439 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:12,840 Speaker 1: the greatest American spy novelist ever. Number one New York 440 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: Times bestselling author Daniel Silva joins me to talk about 441 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: his latest novel, The New Girl. Had a couple hundred 442 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:25,240 Speaker 1: pages of this story see this little news item that 443 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 1: a contributing columnist for the Washington Posts had gone missing. 444 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: Within a couple of days, it was clear what had happened, 445 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,920 Speaker 1: and I had to take that entire manuscript and throw 446 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 1: it out and start over. I'm Newt Kingwig. This is Newsworp, 447 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: the Westwood one podcast network,