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Perhaps they're chosen for their ability to cuss like a sailor in the cockpit? (John Young and Gene Cernan both served in the navy) https://history.nasa.gov/af

Perhaps they're chosen for their ability to cuss like a sailor in the cockpit? (John Young and Gene Cernan both served in the navy) https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit-rev1.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day1-pt2-earthorbit... Thomas Stafford drops plenty of F-bombs in the Apollo–Soyuz mission transcripts too, which are faithfully recorded in the NASA archives for posterity.

bumby 5y ago
I like these stories, but I think this is more a hallmark of a bygone era. If I remember correctly, the average age of NASA during Apollo was mid-twenties. Now (at least in certain orgs within the agency) it’s nearly double that
- lupire 5y ago
  During Apollo, twenty somethings used far less crude language in public than peoplw due now.
kbenson 5y ago
Not a lot you can do once they're already in space, yeah? I bet you there was some PR person at NASA cussing them out when they heard/saw those too. As for being faithfully archived, well we already have enough moon landing conspiracists without giving them more "evidence" of stuff being hidden during space missions.
toomanybeersies 5y ago
The Apollo 10 transcripts are an absolute gem. During lunar orbit, they discovered a rogue poop floating in the cabin [1]: > Stafford: Who did it? (Laughter) > Cernan: Where did that come from? > Stafford: Give me a napkin quick, there's a turd floating through the air. > Young: I didn't do it. It ain't one of mine. > Cernan: I don't think it's one of mine. > Stafford: Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away. > Young: God almighty. > Stafford: What do you see? > Young: Nothing, that's enough for me. > Cernan: Yes. > Young: Nice going there. > Cernan: No more turds are going to fit in there. > Stafford: Is that waste compartment full? > Young: No, hell; there's nothing in there. > Cernan: It goes all the way down to the... > Cernan: Hell, when I got in there, I had to stick my hand in there and [garble] - He put it in the bag, didn't he? You guys been trying to stick it through there with your fingers? A few more choice quotes [2]: > Stafford: [Garble] about that ascent stage. You know that? [Garble] son of a bitch [garble] screwed, you know? But that son of a bitch - John? > Young: [Garble] burn [garble] God. What the hell is this shit? What? What is that crap those things [garble]? [Garble] putting my [garble]. > Young: Oh, what a life, being a spaceman. Wish I could have been a professor or something. John Young was also the star of another great moment in NASA history, when he smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard Gemini III [3]: > Grissom: What is that? > Young: Corn beef sandwich > Grissom: Where did that come from? > Young: I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it? > Grissom: Yes, it's breaking up. I'm going to stick it in my pocket. > Young: Is it? It was a thought, anyway. > Grissom: Yep > Young: Not a very good one. > Grissom: Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together. [1] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html [2] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html [3] https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/GT03_TEC.PDF https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/hist... (page 45)
- effingwewt 5y ago
  Oh my God I'm crying! I had no idea these even existed, thanks for the reading material.

bumby 5y ago

I like these stories, but I think this is more a hallmark of a bygone era. If I remember correctly, the average age of NASA during Apollo was mid-twenties. Now (at least in certain orgs within the agency) it’s nearly double that

lupire 5y ago
During Apollo, twenty somethings used far less crude language in public than peoplw due now.

kbenson 5y ago

Not a lot you can do once they're already in space, yeah? I bet you there was some PR person at NASA cussing them out when they heard/saw those too. As for being faithfully archived, well we already have enough moon landing conspiracists without giving them more "evidence" of stuff being hidden during space missions.

toomanybeersies 5y ago

The Apollo 10 transcripts are an absolute gem. During lunar orbit, they discovered a rogue poop floating in the cabin [1]: > Stafford: Who did it? (Laughter) > Cernan: Where did that come from? > Stafford: Give me a napkin quick, there's a turd floating through the air. > Young: I didn't do it. It ain't one of mine. > Cernan: I don't think it's one of mine. > Stafford: Mine was a little more sticky than that. Throw that away. > Young: God almighty. > Stafford: What do you see? > Young: Nothing, that's enough for me. > Cernan: Yes. > Young: Nice going there. > Cernan: No more turds are going to fit in there. > Stafford: Is that waste compartment full? > Young: No, hell; there's nothing in there. > Cernan: It goes all the way down to the... > Cernan: Hell, when I got in there, I had to stick my hand in there and [garble] - He put it in the bag, didn't he? You guys been trying to stick it through there with your fingers? A few more choice quotes [2]: > Stafford: [Garble] about that ascent stage. You know that? [Garble] son of a bitch [garble] screwed, you know? But that son of a bitch - John? > Young: [Garble] burn [garble] God. What the hell is this shit? What? What is that crap those things [garble]? [Garble] putting my [garble]. > Young: Oh, what a life, being a spaceman. Wish I could have been a professor or something. John Young was also the star of another great moment in NASA history, when he smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard Gemini III [3]: > Grissom: What is that? > Young: Corn beef sandwich > Grissom: Where did that come from? > Young: I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it? > Grissom: Yes, it's breaking up. I'm going to stick it in my pocket. > Young: Is it? It was a thought, anyway. > Grissom: Yep > Young: Not a very good one. > Grissom: Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together. [1] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt28.html [2] https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day6-pt27.html [3] https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/GT03_TEC.PDF https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/hist... (page 45)

effingwewt 5y ago
Oh my God I'm crying! I had no idea these even existed, thanks for the reading material.