5 ms·

There are feats of engineering in orbit that make the Apollo program look like a bunch of rocks in slingshots. One of them has had humans on board for close to

There are feats of engineering in orbit that make the Apollo program look like a bunch of rocks in slingshots. One of them has had humans on board for close to 20 years. I like to think people who've set foot on the moon are able to see all we've done in space, all we're doing, all we're about to do, and see the moon landings as just one small but significant thing in context of the beadth of human achievement.

ColinWright 9y ago
The ones I've spoken to lament the fact that no one has gone beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. They yearn to go out, and to learn on longer missions the things that are currently being learned on the #ISS, and more. The ones I've spoken to think it's wrong that so much is being done within 400 km of the Earth's surface, when they went so much further. The ones I've spoken to acknowledge that the #ISS is a wonderful thing, and that excellent work is being done. But it's clear that they think there's more to do, and we're not doing it.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Who are the ones you've spoken to?
  - ColinWright 9y ago
    Moon-walkers: Alan Bean and Charlie Duke. Other Moon orbiters: Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford, Fred Haise, Al Worden, and Ken (TK) Mattingly. Of those, I've had an extensive conversation with TK, moderate conversation with Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, some conversation with Alan Bean, and listened to talks and Q'n'A sessions with all of them. Most were pretty moderate in the words they used, but in most cases you could hear between the spoken lines the frustration, and the yearning to see flights beyond LEO. In the longer, more personal conversations their feelings were obvious when the topic came up, supporting the impression obtained from the more moderate, public statements.
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      Wow, that's some esteemed company you're keeping.
MachinShinn- 9y ago
How is the ISS at all impressive? Low Earth Orbit, relative to the distance of the moon is a joke. LEO might as well be part of our atmosphere...

ColinWright 9y ago

The ones I've spoken to lament the fact that no one has gone beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. They yearn to go out, and to learn on longer missions the things that are currently being learned on the #ISS, and more. The ones I've spoken to think it's wrong that so much is being done within 400 km of the Earth's surface, when they went so much further. The ones I've spoken to acknowledge that the #ISS is a wonderful thing, and that excellent work is being done. But it's clear that they think there's more to do, and we're not doing it.

jacquesm 9y ago
Who are the ones you've spoken to?
- ColinWright 9y ago
  Moon-walkers: Alan Bean and Charlie Duke. Other Moon orbiters: Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford, Fred Haise, Al Worden, and Ken (TK) Mattingly. Of those, I've had an extensive conversation with TK, moderate conversation with Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, some conversation with Alan Bean, and listened to talks and Q'n'A sessions with all of them. Most were pretty moderate in the words they used, but in most cases you could hear between the spoken lines the frustration, and the yearning to see flights beyond LEO. In the longer, more personal conversations their feelings were obvious when the topic came up, supporting the impression obtained from the more moderate, public statements.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    Wow, that's some esteemed company you're keeping.

MachinShinn- 9y ago

How is the ISS at all impressive? Low Earth Orbit, relative to the distance of the moon is a joke. LEO might as well be part of our atmosphere...