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Author
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Topic: 7/24: Apollo 15 40th at Kennedy Space Center
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-13-2011 02:00 PM
   
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex announcement 40th Anniversary of Apollo 15: An Introspective Journey
Sunday, July 24, 2011 Celebrate 40 years of Apollo 15 with an up-close and personal voyage captained by Al Worden and David Scott, along with fellow astronauts Richard Gordon, Jr. and Harrison Schmitt. They'll share vivid details and experiences encountered during their historic 12-day mission to the moon and guide you firsthand through tours of Launch Pad 34and 39A - both which played critical roles in the Apollo program. Tickets for this exclusive event are just $95 and include park admission, the Apollo Astronaut Escorted Tour, Apollo 15 panel discussion and a 40-Year Anniversary gift bag. Participating Apollo Astronauts: - Richard Gordon, Jr.
Walked in space on Gemini 11 and orbited the moon on Apollo 12. - Harrison Schmitt
As Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 17, the final Apollo moon mission, Harrison H. Schmitt was the only geologist to explore the lunar surface. - David Scott
David Scott flew three space missions: Gemini 8, the first docking in space; Apollo 9, the first test flight of all spacecraft and flight operations for the Apollo lunar mission (except landing), and Apollo 15, for which, as Commander, he received NASA's highest award "For leading the most complex and carefully planned scientific expedition in the history of exploration...". - Al Worden
Al Worden served as Command Module pilot on the 1971 Apollo 15 moon mission, during which he orbited the moon and took a space walk 200,000 miles from Earth.
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DCCollector
Member Posts: 227
From: Washington, DC USA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 07-13-2011 09:58 PM
I wonder how this event will impact the ASF anniversary event that evening, as some of the schedules appear to overlap... |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 07-14-2011 08:56 AM
Do you think that there's any chance Schmitt would sign even one item for tour participants? If there was, I would go in a heartbeat! As it is, the schedule looks too tight unless you caught him while everyone was getting on the bus. |
ASF1984
Member Posts: 167
From: Titusville, Florida USA
Registered: Sep 2009
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posted 07-14-2011 01:34 PM
We are still working on final details of the Apollo 15 Anniversary Celebration, but rest assured that the ASF guests will be receiving more than originally promised. New agendas will be sent to ASF ticket holders very soon. We would also like to point out that the Astronauts hosting the KSCVC tours will not be signing any autographs.
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ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 07-14-2011 01:53 PM
Ah well, that's what I expected. I would gladly make a $500 donation to ASF if you could persuade the Senator to sign one item! |
DCCollector
Member Posts: 227
From: Washington, DC USA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 07-14-2011 03:33 PM
Will there be time to do both events? |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 07-14-2011 04:38 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ilbasso:
I would gladly make a $500 donation to ASF if you could persuade the Senator to sign one item!
As a foreigner who is a friend and admirer of the United States, could I ask for clarification about an issue of U.S. political etiquette? Is it correct to refer to someone who has not been a member of the U.S. Senate for almost 20 years as "the Senator"? Should it not be "former Senator"? I realise that George W. Bush may still be referred to as "President Bush" and Jimmy Carter as "President Carter" but it would surely be wrong to refer to either as "the President" because there is only one incumbent president. When I met Harrison Schmitt in 2003 I addressed him as "Dr Schmitt." Should I have addressed him as "Senator Schmitt" even though he no longer sat in the Senate? Although I have never had the privilege of meeting John Glenn, the same questions must apply. What are the rights and wrongs of this? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-14-2011 04:53 PM
Strictly speaking, former senators are forever styled Senator whereas members of the House of Representatives lose all title (but perhaps in writing "The Honorable") upon leaving office. The President of the United States is supposed to surrender his title upon leaving office. In practice though, former presidents are still referred to as President (unless in the company of the sitting president) and representatives have adopted "Congressman" or "Congresswoman," which technically would be applicable to senators as well (they are members of Congress, after all). But you didn't commit a social faux pax with Senator Schmitt/Dr. Schmitt, given his dual titles. It sometimes depends on the company and role the individual is in — unless you met Schmitt at a political event, then "Dr." was entirely appropriate. |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 07-14-2011 05:22 PM
John Glenn will ALWAYS be "Colonel Glenn" to me.Seriously, I believe it is proper etiquette to refer to a former senator as "Senator" regardless of when they left office. |
Rob Joyner
Member Posts: 1308
From: GA, USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 07-14-2011 05:53 PM
I look at it this way... Harrison Schmitt is currently not a senator, but he is a doctor. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 07-14-2011 09:19 PM
quote:
Originally posted by DCCollector:
Will there be time to do both events?
Can someone please answer this question? |
MikeSpace
unregistered
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posted 07-15-2011 07:35 AM
I'm also attending the ASF Apollo 15 40th event.But this Apollo 15 Cape tour is a dream come true for people like me who havent been inside the VAB. I'm sure the ASF will work something out, I would also love to attend both of these. Perhaps there's a solution in that scenario somewhere. I can hope. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 07-15-2011 12:30 PM
Thanks for the replies. That's much clearer. Not 100%, but close enough! |
ASF1984
Member Posts: 167
From: Titusville, Florida USA
Registered: Sep 2009
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posted 07-15-2011 04:51 PM
All ASF Apollo 15 40th Anniversary Celebration guests have been sent a revised agenda for the event. We know you will be very pleased with the new additions! |
David Carey
Member Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 07-15-2011 05:01 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MikeSpace:
I'm sure the ASF will work something out
As promised, and to quote from the ASF message, it "just got better". They sure do a great job responding to change; looking forward to the day/evening. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-15-2011 05:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MikeSpace:
But this Apollo 15 Cape tour is a dream come true for people like me who haven't been inside the VAB.
My understanding is that the tour never leaves the bus and it will only drive by the Vehicle Assembly Building. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 07-15-2011 08:02 PM
Following the tour just added events are supposed to proceed as originally planned. But I'm unsure if that means the tribute to Jim Irwin, originally planned at the hotel and to be attended by family members, will still happen. |
MikeSpace
unregistered
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posted 07-15-2011 09:27 PM
Robert, I understand the usual tour just drives past the VAB. This from the KSC website on the event: Apollo - A Look Back Behind the Scenes Tour. View areas previously unavailable to the general public. Join astronauts James Lovell, Richard Gordon, Jr., Charles Duke and Harrison Schmitt for a guided tour of Launch Pad 34, Launch Pad 39A, the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the Apollo Saturn/V Center (ASVC). Sounds like more than driving by, at least to me. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 07-15-2011 11:10 PM
According to the KSC website's schedule, once you board your bus, you drive out to LC 34 to meet the astronauts. The entire tour from that point forward is 1 hr 15 minutes, which includes LC 34, LC 39A, and the VAB. That's not a lot of time in any one location, since you also have drive times to factor in. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-15-2011 11:29 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MikeSpace:
Sounds like more than driving by, at least to me.
I realize, but what I was told was that guests will not be leaving the buses. |
MikeSpace
unregistered
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posted 07-16-2011 12:23 AM
And you would be correct Robert, I was just told that too.I love NASA, but to have the phrases 'guided tour' and 'behind the scenes' in that description sure leads guys like me to think we actually might me doing some extra-vehicular activity, to use an apt if horrific pun. Mea culpa. I've never been inside the VAB, so I was drooling when I read the description. A bit misleading, or not, apparently I read a bit too much into it. |
ScottJ
Member Posts: 14
From: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 07-16-2011 02:22 AM
I've been down to KSC for the launch of STS 110, 111, 116 and Ares I-X, and just returned from the launch of 135. I've taken every tour that KSC offers, some multiple times. I've walked around LC 34 and been driven by 39A and B. I've walked around outside the VAB.I've also met all of the astronauts participating in this tour, with the exception of Dave Scott. However, I've never been up close to pad 39A or inside the VAB. As a result, I jumped at the opportunity to buy one of these $100.00 tickets a few days ago when they first went on sale, even though it would involve me driving 1300 miles roundtrip when I just got back from the same drive a few days ago. Now I see this thread and discover that we will never get off the bus? If this is correct, the tour description has to be one of the most misleading things I've read in a while, and I'm an attorney and read misleading things quite often. To whom do I need to speak to verify this for myself? A number for the "Inside Sales Office" was provided in the purchase verification email. My guess is that they're not open until Monday. If it turns out that we will not be getting off the bus (and I don't really doubt the info provided above, I just like to verify), I'm going to attempt to get a refund on the ticket purchase. Not sure how that will turn out, and I'm probably stuck with a nonrefundable hotel room (Travelocity) for two nights in Titusville. This really hacks me off! It honestly never crossed my mind that this tour would all be "drive-by". What did everyone else think when you read the tour description? |
MikeSpace
unregistered
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posted 07-16-2011 10:24 AM
I was told last night the tour is a 'drive-by' tour and people will not be getting off the buses.For those of us traveling from 1,300 miles away for the ASF Apollo 15 event, that has been modified because of this, and even if I wanted to see this, it overlaps with the ASF schedule. The description is, in my opinion, terribly misleading. I bought a ticket as soon as I heard. I'll be calling KSC Monday for my refund. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-16-2011 10:30 AM
Not to defend Delaware North (which is this tour's operator, not NASA), but no where in the description does it say that the tour will be going into to the Vehicle Assembly Building, let alone that participants will be getting off the bus.The only claim is "View areas previously unavailable to the general public." And that is still possible, given where the bus might drive. For example (and I have no knowledge if this is the case) the bus could drive the inner perimeter of Pad 39A, which up until now has been unavailable to the general public. Or the bus could drive around the Vehicle Assembly Building, taking you by the crawler and recently-built mobile launch platform and tower, again areas previously unavailable to the general public. For what its worth, those driving tours are ones sometimes offered to the press and are well appreciated by the media that participates. |
ScottJ
Member Posts: 14
From: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 07-16-2011 02:54 PM
I agree that nowhere in the tour description does it specifically state that persons on the tour will be taken inside the VAB. However, it is my opinion that the tour description is highly misleading.The tour description states that the tour participants will be given a guided tour of the VAB, a building. What percentage of people reading this description would expect that a guided tour of a building would not actually go inside the building? This is the equivalent of me telling someone I'm going to give them a guided tour of my house and then driving them down the street in front of my house and telling them what's inside. Delaware North had to know the expectations they were creating when they wrote the tour description and could have prevented these expectations by including a paranthetical such as "(while remaining on the tour bus)." |
MikeSpace
unregistered
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posted 07-16-2011 03:59 PM
Again Robert you are 100% correct, it just seems to me that, as others have said, they use phrases that seem to suggest something that is not there. Again, my opinion. And going through my head as I'm reading; 'Won't a Shuttle be in the VAB at that time?!' I think I got drool on the keyboard thinking of seeing that sight. I really had no idea how 'difficult' access to the inside of the VAB is for the general public. Apparently it's a bit more difficult than I had thought, for good reason. I'll get into that VAB someday somehow! |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 07-16-2011 06:14 PM
Don't worry, Mike, they'll be renting out rooms there before long!  |
Leon Ford
Member Posts: 309
From: Shreveport, LA, United States
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-16-2011 08:05 PM
For $95 I think you are getting a heck of a deal. I paid $1000 for my ticket. |
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