thebattalion ● monday,
july 20, 2009
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2009 student media
Where were you when Apollo 11 landed? Not born yet.
It’s been 40 years since man stepped on the moon
One small step for man Apollo 11 (Columbia and Eagle) July 1624, 1969 Launch vehicle: Saturn V Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. Duration: 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes. In lunar orbit 59.5 hours, with 30 orbits. Landing site: Sea of Tranquility (0.71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees East). Milestones: First manned lunar landing mission and lunar surface EVA. “HOUSTON, TRANQUILITY BASE HERE. THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.” One EVA of 2 hours, 31 minutes. Flag and instruments deployed; Unveiled plaque on the LM descent stage with inscription: “Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For All Mankind.” Lunar surface stay time 21.6 hours.
NASA
In this July 21, 1969, file photo, mission control personnel watch the moon walk by Apollo 11 astronauts, in Houston.
Aggie had hands on mission control Julie Rambin
NASA
Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is walking near the lunar module during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity.
Still giant leap for mankind Seth Borenstein Associated Press Science Writer WASHINGTON — The measure of what humanity can accomplish is a size 9 1/2 bootprint. It belongs to Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. It will stay on the moon for millions of years with nothing to wipe it away, serving as an almost eternal testament to a can-do mankind.
Apollo 11 is the glimmering success that failures of society are contrasted against: “If we can send a man to the moon, why can’t we ...” What put man on the moon 40 years ago was an audacious and public effort that the world hasn’t seen before or since. It required rocketry that hadn’t been built, or even designed, when President John F. Kennedy See Moon on page 6
The Battalion Forty years ago today, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. The space race against the U.S.S.R. had ended, and President John F. Kennedy’s 1960 declaration that the United States would land a man on the moon had proved true. “He put the challenge in front of us and set us to do it,” said Gerald Griffin, Apollo 11 flight director and 1956 Texas A&M University graduGriffin ate. “It was a great day.” Apollo 11 was not an isolated event, but the final step in a series of missions leading up to the moon landing. “Apollo 11 did not just happen,” said Aaron Cohen, Apollo 11 systems engineer and 1952 Texas A&M graduate. “What I was doing then was not as impor-
tant as what led up to Apollo 11.” What led up to Apollo 11 was a carefully structured series of programs and missions, each Garriott designed to build upon the previous one, Griffin said. “Apollo 11 was the culmination of two other programs and Apollo. It was Mercury, Gemini and Apollo,” Griffin said. “Mercury was a one-man capsule, Gemini was two people, but those two programs really allowed us to do Apollo.” Previous Apollo missions had shown that NASA’s Command/ Service Module and Lunar Module could enter lunar orbit, but they had not yet landed on the lunar surface. “Apollo 8 was one of the most fantastic missions we ever flew
WASHINGTON — Most Americans have never known a world where man hasn’t been to the moon. It used to be a given that people knew where they were when man first walked on the moon on July 20, 1969, watching the black-andwhite images on television. But now most Americans don’t know where they were because the majority of Americans hadn’t been born yet. The median age of Americans, as of last year, was 36.8, meaning more than half of U.S. residents are younger than 40, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. No figures have been calculated for this year yet. Five years ago, when NASA celebrated the 35th anniversary of the moon landing, the median age of Americans was 36.1, so most residents were at least alive when Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind. That changed sometime between July 2005 and July 2006, according to the Census Bureau. Six current astronauts were not alive when Armstrong walked on the moon. Associated Press
See Apollo on page 4
thebattalionasks in 1969
Regents form search committee ■ Fifteenmember team looks for next Texas A&M president
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Meagan O’Toole-Pitts The Battalion The search committee to select the next Texas A&M University president, to replace Elsa Murano who resigned June 15, has been formed. The committee is slated to recommend a finalist to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in February 2010. The search committee, chosen
by the Board of Regents, consists of 15 members: three regents, five faculty members, two student members and five other members representing various stakeholders from Texas A&M, the University system and the area. “I truly believe the committee will be successful in bringing forth great candidates because there is See Search on page 4
Bryan police chief search narrows to two
BUSKE
Buske and Whitmire are the remaining candidates. No photo available of Whitmire.
The City of Bryan has narrowed its search for a new police chief down to two candidates: Omaha, Neb. police chief Eric Buske and Bryan interim police chief Bobby Whitmire. The third candidate, Mount Pleasant, Texas police chief Jay Burch, withdrew last week. Bryan city manager David Watkins has been holding the interviews. “I want someone with chief experience. I want someone who has been proven and has experience elsewhere,” Watkins said. Buske was
a finalist in the search for the Bryan police chief in 2007. Whitmire has served as Waxahachie, Texas police chief, Midlothian, Texas police chief, Bryan interim police chief and College Station interim police chief. Whitmire and Buske were interviewed by the community panel on Tuesday. Watkins plans to visit Buske in Omaha today. “Two questions we ask ourselves are: do they fit in the department and do they fit in the community,” Watkins said. Alex Worsham, staff writer
7/19/09 9:07 PM