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Author
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Topic: The First Apollo 17 Commander?
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Backyardonaut
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posted 09-28-2006 08:46 PM
   
First let me say this is not fiction. Without going into the whole story and to compress time, I was tied to the Apollo program in a very unusual way.It was the summer of 1969, I was 14 and I had an idea. Build a space capsule. I was the designated Commander since it was my idea. There were of course three of us, perfect for an Apollo crew. We built that capsule and got in it with the intention of being part of the Apollo 11 launch. We entered before a few days before launch. It soon became the talk of the town, news reporters, the paper and radio covered it. We even had a block party and parade downtown with the mayor after the event. The chamber of Commerce even awarded us with a luncheon and gifts. Well, here is the surprise connection to the Apollo program. We went to Houston Space Center as VIP's after the neighborhood kids raised money for us to go. Saw the Space Center on a personal tour and then the offices where the Astronauts work out of. It was Sunday, I believe and our chances were slim to see any Astronauts. But luck would have it, Alan Sheppard showed up, got his autograph on our capsule and book I had with me. Now here is the strange connection. Across the hall were two other Astronauts in a LEM class. Their names were Joe Engle and Eugene Cernan from Apollo 10. They came over and wanted to sign our pictures and sign the book, but I was not really impressed like I was with Sheppard. I said to Cernan, "Oh you can sign too" don't know why I said that. Remember, it was the summer of 1969, August to be exact. The mission number of our Apollo capsule was representative of the number of days we stayed in our Capsule without ever leaving until landing. Apollo 17 was the number of our mission. And now you know the rest of the story! ------------------
MSgt Phillip H. Davis
USAF Retired |
zee_aladdin
Member Posts: 781
From: California
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 09-28-2006 11:33 PM
Hey Philip:That is a very cool story. Do you have any pictures of your capsule or any news paper articles to verify your story? - Zee 
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User997
Member Posts: 59
From:
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 09-29-2006 11:20 AM
Very interesting. Would love to see some pictures of the capsule if you have any. Tell us more about this capsule - was it full size, how realistic was the panel, what material did you make it out of, etc? |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 09-29-2006 12:30 PM
The closest I came was lying on my back in an office chair for the final countdown and launch - with my 17" b/w TV perched precariously on the each of the desk (so I could watch).Great story Phillip. Would love to see pictures. Tim |
KC Stoever
Member Posts: 1012
From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 09-29-2006 01:09 PM
You'll get tired of me flogging Tom Mallon's lovely AURORA 7 coming-of-age novel about a space-crazy kid growing up on Long Island in the 1960s.But Mallon does write one of the funniest and most poignant accounts of this kind of backyard make-pretend play about spaceflight. |
Backyardonaut
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posted 09-30-2006 08:10 AM
I will need a little time to dig for what items I have left (two weeks maybe). News articles I have after going through news archives at the state. I think I have a pic of the capsule. Some items were stolen and lost. quote:
Originally posted by zee_aladdin:
Hey Philip:That is a very cool story. Do you have any pictures of your capsule or any news paper articles to verify your story? - Zee
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