WEBVTT - How Does Buzz Aldrin Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Louren

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum Here. Buzz Aldrin may forever be remembered as the

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<v Speaker 1>second human being two step foot on the Moon during

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<v Speaker 1>the Apollo eleven mission in nineteen sixty nine, but to

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss Aldren as history's most famous second place finisher is

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<v Speaker 1>to ignore his genius, his bravery, and his tireless advocacy

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<v Speaker 1>for crude space exploration. For the article of this episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on How Stuffworks. Spoke with space historian and

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<v Speaker 1>author Rod Pyle, who's met and interviewed Aldren a number

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<v Speaker 1>of times and never ceases to be amazed by the

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<v Speaker 1>former astronaut's active engagement with the future of spaceflight, especially

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<v Speaker 1>as he's now ninety three years old. Pyle said, he

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<v Speaker 1>stands Ramrod straight, and he's full of energy and ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>Buzz thinks more clearly about the stuff than people my

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<v Speaker 1>age times three. Born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Junior in Montclair,

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<v Speaker 1>New Jersey, in January of nine, teen thirty, Aldren earned

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<v Speaker 1>his famous nickname from his little sister Feyanne, who called

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<v Speaker 1>him Buzzer instead of brother. He legally changed it to

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<v Speaker 1>Buzz in the early nineteen eighties. In a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>poetic foreshadowing, Aldren's mother's maiden name was Marion Moon. Aldrin

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<v Speaker 1>was a stellar athlete and a straight A student, graduating

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<v Speaker 1>one year early from high school. His father, a colonel

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<v Speaker 1>in the Air Force and himself an aviation pioneer, had

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<v Speaker 1>high expectations for Buzz and secured him a spot at

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<v Speaker 1>the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. But Aldren wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>go to West Point, says Pyle, because that's where the

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<v Speaker 1>flying was happening. After graduating third in his class from

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<v Speaker 1>West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering, Aldren enlisted

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<v Speaker 1>in the Air Force and shipped off to the Korean War,

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<v Speaker 1>where he flew sixty six combat missions and earned the

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<v Speaker 1>Distinguished Flying Cross. Aldren learned about the fledgling astronaut program

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<v Speaker 1>from Ed White, who he met during a tour of

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<v Speaker 1>duty flying F one hundreds in Germany. A Buzz wanted in,

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<v Speaker 1>but NASA was excluded recruiting test pilots, not combat pilots,

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<v Speaker 1>and the space organization rejected Aldron's first application. Not to

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<v Speaker 1>be deterred, Aldron figured out another way. In he knew

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<v Speaker 1>that one of the biggest engineering unknowns of spaceflight was

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<v Speaker 1>how to dock with another vehicle in orbit, so he

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<v Speaker 1>decided to become an expert in that. He earned a

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<v Speaker 1>PhD from MIT in astronautics with a thesis titled A

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<v Speaker 1>Line of Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous. When

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<v Speaker 1>he applied to NASA a second time in nineteen sixty three,

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<v Speaker 1>Aldrin won a spot and became the first astronaut with

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<v Speaker 1>a doctoral degree. His fellow astronauts called him Doctor Rendezvous.

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<v Speaker 1>At NASA, Aldron lived up to his nickname, taking command

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<v Speaker 1>of the rendezvous and docking preparations for the Gemini missions.

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<v Speaker 1>His first spaceflight was Gemini twelve, the very last Gemini

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<v Speaker 1>mission before the launch of the Apollo program. He and

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<v Speaker 1>James Lovell rocketed into orbit on November eleventh of nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>six with two critical missions, docked with the Agena spacecraft

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<v Speaker 1>and conduct the longest spacewalk to date. That first task

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<v Speaker 1>might have been a failure if not for Aldrin's speedy

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<v Speaker 1>math skills. The astronauts were approaching the Agena about seventy

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<v Speaker 1>five miles or two hundred kilometers out and closing fast

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<v Speaker 1>when their computerized tracking system went down. Luckily for NASA,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the men on the Gemni twelve crew had

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<v Speaker 1>spent the last six years calculating orbital trajectories. Pile said,

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of people that would have been a

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<v Speaker 1>mission ender, but Buzz pulled out a sextant, a pencil,

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<v Speaker 1>a pad of paper, and a slide rule and calculated

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<v Speaker 1>the trajectory by hand. They rendez food and docked with

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<v Speaker 1>the Agena, using less fuel than anybody had previously using computers.

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<v Speaker 1>Then came the spacewalk A, known in NASA parlance as

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<v Speaker 1>extra vehicular activity or EVA A. Pile says that previous

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<v Speaker 1>spacewalks hadn't gone as planned. Astronaut Gene Cernan almost didn't

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<v Speaker 1>make it back from his Gemini nine eva A, suffering

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<v Speaker 1>from poor visibility through a fogged adviser, no handholds on

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<v Speaker 1>the ship's exterior, and dangerous levels of exhaustion. A Gemini

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<v Speaker 1>twelve was NASA's last chance before Apollo to prove its

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<v Speaker 1>astronauts could make critical repairs in orbit, but Aldrin didn't

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<v Speaker 1>think the top brass was taking it seriously enough to

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<v Speaker 1>prepare for his EVA. Aldrin was one of the first

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<v Speaker 1>astronauts to use underwater training extensively. Pile says that NASA

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have its own neutral buoyancy pool yet, so they

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<v Speaker 1>sunk pieces of the Gemini trainer in the deep end

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<v Speaker 1>of a pool at a private boys' school in Maryland.

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<v Speaker 1>A Pile said, Buzz was a scuba enthusiast, so he

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<v Speaker 1>just poured himself into the training and was there all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. He was really aggressive about it. All that

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<v Speaker 1>preparation paid off. Aldron spent more than five hours conducting

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<v Speaker 1>spacewalks on the Gemini twelve mission. He moved around the

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<v Speaker 1>ship effortlessly thanks to special handholds and foot restraints that

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<v Speaker 1>Aldrin himself had designed. He performed tes maneuvers with tools,

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<v Speaker 1>and even cleaned the windows for fun. Buzz was so

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<v Speaker 1>relaxed outside the capsule that he even snapped the very

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<v Speaker 1>first space selfie. He brought his clunky camera out during

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<v Speaker 1>the first EVA and pointed it at Earth, joking to

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<v Speaker 1>mission control, Okay, tell everyone down there to smile. Then

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<v Speaker 1>he balanced the camera on the edge of his hatch

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<v Speaker 1>and aimed it at himself. Now let me raise my

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<v Speaker 1>visor and all smile, said Aldron. Posing for these slightly

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<v Speaker 1>awkward but historic selfie. After Gemini twelve, Aldrin was slotted

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<v Speaker 1>for Apollo eleven, along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

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<v Speaker 1>Pile explains that Dieke Slayton, who was in charge of

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<v Speaker 1>scheduling astronauts NASA at the time, swore that it was

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<v Speaker 1>simply the bluck of the draw that Aldrin and Armstrong

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<v Speaker 1>were picked for Apollo eleven, and that Armstrong was the

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<v Speaker 1>first step foot on the lunar soil. Pile said those

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<v Speaker 1>guys were both uniquely qualified. A Buzz was the orbital

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<v Speaker 1>dynamics guy who figured out the EVA. Neil was the

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<v Speaker 1>incredible X fifteen pilot who was known for extreme flying

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<v Speaker 1>skills if you read between the lines, though, and Neil

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<v Speaker 1>is the guy with almost no ego and best suited

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<v Speaker 1>to be the first on the Moon. There was pushing

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<v Speaker 1>and pulling up until the last few months about who

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<v Speaker 1>was going to be out first. Aldrin's father really wanted

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<v Speaker 1>his son to be the first human on the moon,

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<v Speaker 1>and Buzz lobbied hard for the honor, arguing that his

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<v Speaker 1>position in the lunar module offered easier access to the hatch.

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<v Speaker 1>But once NASA shows Neil Pile says Buzz swallowed his

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<v Speaker 1>pride and dutifully executed the mission. While Armstrong's one small

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<v Speaker 1>step for Man quote has been immortalized, Aldren's description as

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<v Speaker 1>he took his own first steps on the Moon was poetic.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, beautiful, beautiful, magnificent desolation. Returning home, Aldron and

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<v Speaker 1>the Apollo eleven crew were celebrated as global heroes. A

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<v Speaker 1>Pile explained that of the three, while Buzz eventually ridged

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<v Speaker 1>his fame the most, he wasn't prepared for the rebound effect.

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<v Speaker 1>After such an intense emotional high. How do you follow that?

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<v Speaker 1>Pyle said, he descended into a deep depression. Buzz talks

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<v Speaker 1>openly about this in his memoir Returned to Earth. His

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<v Speaker 1>first marriage failed, he had a drinking problem. Money was tight.

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<v Speaker 1>At one point he was actually selling used cars to

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<v Speaker 1>make ends meet, but then Aldron found sobriety and his

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<v Speaker 1>post NASA calling. He spent every day of the past

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<v Speaker 1>four decades promoting the future of crude spaceflight. And who

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<v Speaker 1>better than Buzz Aldrin Apollo eleven hero to make the

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<v Speaker 1>case for humankind's return to the Moon and beyond. Aldron

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just a rocket booster if you'll forgive the pun,

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<v Speaker 1>he's very much still an engineer and adventurer at heart.

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<v Speaker 1>In the nineteen nineties, Buzz developed an ingenious scheme for

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<v Speaker 1>transporting astronauts to Mars called the Aldron Mars Cycler. The

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<v Speaker 1>cycler is a hypothetical cross between a space station and

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<v Speaker 1>a space craft continuously orbit the Sun in a path

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<v Speaker 1>that periodically intersects with each the Earth and Mars. Astronauts

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<v Speaker 1>could shuttle to and from the cycler without burning too

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<v Speaker 1>much fuel. Buzz also launched the Aldron Family Foundation with

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<v Speaker 1>his son Andrew to help inspire and prepare the next

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<v Speaker 1>generation of astronauts through steam education that is, science, technology, engineering, arts,

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<v Speaker 1>and mathematics. He was also a twenty ten contestant on

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<v Speaker 1>Dancing with the Stars at age eighty and recorded a

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<v Speaker 1>semi satirical rap called Rocket Experience with Snoop Dogg around

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<v Speaker 1>the same time, and of course, he lent his name

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<v Speaker 1>to Buzz light Year. In the Toy Story series, A

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<v Speaker 1>Pile described a phone conversation with Aldrin as the equivalent

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<v Speaker 1>of sitting in on a graduate level course in aerospace engineering.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, Buzz has a plan for everything. You do.

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<v Speaker 1>Get the sense that there's three or four brilliant minds

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<v Speaker 1>in there, all competing for the same mount and that's

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<v Speaker 1>just how smart he is and how driven he is.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article second to None.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the Buzz on buzz Aldrin on HowStuffWorks dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Dave Ruse. The brain Stuff is production by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com. It

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