Even born after it happened you have to be amazed at the first moon landing 50 years ago.
1969 was a very different world than today. Computing capabilities were in their infancy compared to today, and Your iPhone could handle 120 million moon missions at once according to reports.
But it wasn’t just the systems that were amazing – it was how they got the pictures back to earth that is also fascinating.
Even with the best laid plans of nice and men and hundreds of NASA scientists, things change and the moon walk took place earlier than scheduled. This meant that rather than the US being in direct line of sight of the moon – it was on the back of the earth.
Definition of line of sight. 1 : a line from an observer’s eye to a distant point. 2 : the line between two points specifically : the straight path between a transmitting antenna (as for radio or television signals) and a receiving antenna when unobstructed by the horizon.
As a small child you learn about line of sight quickly – you can’t get your target with your pop-gun unless you can see them.
So the pictures were sent from the moon and captured on earth in Australia (and only just according to some reports) as the horizon was fast approaching.
In 2001 an Australian file, The Dish, was released – giving a gentle and amusing account of events at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales – making Parks, located in the Australian outback famous… But it wasn’t alone – getting help in the early stages.
An interesting article setting the story straight:
0 Comments