What the Second Landing Proved
Apollo 12 proved something beyond the fact that we can go to the Moon: we can aim.
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Tag: pete-conrad
Apollo 12 Home — We’re Getting Good at This
Apollo 12 splashed down safely yesterday. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean walked the Moon twice, visited Surveyor 3, and brought home 75 pounds of samples. Dick Gordon flew solo in orbit. Six men have now walked on the Moon. I keep saying this to myself: six men have walked on…
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Pete Conrad’s First Words on the Moon
I promised earlier that I'd revisit Pete Conrad's first words on the Moon. He won a bet. His exact words deserve to be in this notebook.
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Whoopee — Pete Conrad Steps on the Moon
Pete Conrad landed the LM within 200 meters of Surveyor 3 — a precision landing NASA could barely believe. Then he stepped onto the Moon and said exactly what he'd bet a journalist he would say. "Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but it's a…
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Lightning Hit the Rocket
Apollo 12 launched today into a stormy sky. Thirty-six seconds after liftoff, lightning struck the Saturn V. Twice. The spacecraft lost power to most of its systems. Mission Control nearly called an abort. One flight controller — twenty-six-year-old John Aaron — knew exactly which switch to throw. They continued to…
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Before Pete Conrad Lands — A Note
Apollo 12 launches today with Pete Conrad, Al Bean, and Dick Gordon. We're going back to the Moon. That still sounds unbelievable.
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Gemini 11 — Highest Orbit
Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon flew Gemini 11 to 853 miles altitude — the highest any American has ever been, except for the Apollo 8 crew going to the Moon. They could see the curve of the Earth clearly.
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