posted 11-07-2010 03:43 PM               

Last night we had Dave Scott at our dinner table and he couldn't have been nicer or more approachable (he was also very approachable at all of the events). He asked us if we wanted to hear any stories which we all responded YES!! I could not have made a better choice of astronaut guest to be seated with and look forward to seeing him again.

posted 11-07-2010 09:49 PM               

Met dozens of really cool fellow space enthusiasts, really nice meeting you all.

posted 11-08-2010 04:51 AM               

It was great to finally met Colin Burgess and I look forward to seeing him again, plus my friend Francis French, always great to see him. Plus getting to spend time with my favorite astronaut Hoot Gibson is always a pleasure! I even got to run into the elusive Robert Pearlman!

posted 11-08-2010 10:12 AM               

Had a wonderful time at the ASF show. I thought the staff did and excellent job with all the last minute changes.

posted 11-11-2010 07:04 PM               

Mentioned earlier, Dave Scott was very approachable. I sat across from Dave and Vance Brand at the Sunday champagne breakfast and we talked for 45 minutes from subjects ranging from medical, body parts, flying, the future of space, to Dave getting in a good shot at Jack Schmitt.

Scott Carpenter was "Mr. Cool" at the Saturday morning roundtable discussion with Scott, Buzz Aldrin and Charlie Duke.

I saw Charlie in the bar more than any other astronaut, and by the end of the evening on Saturday I can't recall what all we talked about, although there is a pic of me and Charlie that shows it must have been stimulating. Tom Stafford even made it to the bar for a while. As always Charlie had some great quotes; after the Apollo 11 capcom stint, he claimed "people from South Carolina called in and said this was the first time they could understand what was going on." When they thought they were going to scrub his Apollo 16 mission while in lunar orbit on how he felt; "if your heart can sink to the bottom of your boots in zero G."

It was fun listening to Hoot Gibson describe why he missed the million dollar question on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?", and the two things he prayed for after the taping was over.

I learned that Bill Pogue believes he has Neil Armstrong's jock strap.

Great discussion with Owen Garriott on space stations. The man has blue "Andre Agassi" eyes, they penetrate right through you.

Dinner with Jim and Marilyn Lovell was, what can I say, unbelievable. Started with a toast that I think Jim liked; "Gemini 7, 12, and Apollo 13 were spectacular accomplishments, but the first crew to break the gravitational pull of Earth and go to the moon is one for ages and history books." When told at the autograph event that a picture of the Apollo 13 launch had the moon photoshopped in, he got some mileage about photoshopping himself walking on the moon.

I heard a hotel employee introduce Al Worden to a couple of his friends in the bar, as Al Shepard. Classy as Al is, he said nothing, well until we later let him know that he did nothing to deny it either.

As for autographs, I completed my Skylab photo by getting Bill Pogue, and then I got an Apollo 17 Moonpans photo signed by all nine astronauts present who flew to the moon.

Plus met up with old friends and made some new ones. Francis French was in rare form at Colin Burgess' table where he was signing books. Dee O'Hara was as graceful as an ICON can be.

posted 11-12-2010 01:27 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MCroft04:
...because I recognized it was Jack Schmitt as he ran across the road.

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posted 11-12-2010 08:34 AM               

Staying at the Radisson, it was hard to not see an astronaut at the bar, which adjoins the dining and meeting rooms and lobby, so it's the place to be.

The STS-133 launch forced the cancellation of a planned Cape Tour with Carpenter and Aldrin. With the scrub this was impossible, so a discussion with said astronauts and Charlie Duke was assembled on the spot.

We were also given vehicle placards for the STS-133 launch. The ASF was trying hard dealing with having the possibility of the autograph show happening on a launch date. Not sure what the plan was, but the ASF did their best. No complaints here.

Friday night was VIP reception with the astronauts. Buzz Aldrin was only one I remember not in attendance, but it was more than made up for the other astronauts. All were approachable and posed for all who would wait. It was more relaxed then affairs at the Cape, meaning you could walk from the hotel, nice.

The Apollo Soyuz Test Project luncheon: Amazing presentation. Stafford may look a bit frail but he was full of smiles energy and stories that had the room laughing and gasping; especially when listing the planes he has tested since being an astronaut. B-2 was just one of a dozen he listed like groceries.

Saturday show at the Cape. Some confusion on where to enter the Debus Center (we entered a side gate instead of the main ticket booth). I was lucky enough to be second in line and in first, and off to Aldrin to get two things signed. I brought way too much stuff, I just simplified things and bought a nice Apollo 11 earthrise photo and had a moonwalker from each mission sign it. Turned out awesome.

Cool thing: Alan Bean saw this and explained to me how to lay out the signatures. I wanted it personalized, he said, "Don't get everyone to personalize that looks too busy, I'll sign it up top to you," and he does, and then he shows where to have the others sign. He really is an artist.

I asked Dave Scott about Gemini 8 and "the spin" and as I said "and you were out of contact" he interrupted, "That was a good thing!" I asked why and he said "They had no idea, so they wouldn't help, and they'd only have distracted us from figuring out what to do!"

Gene Cernan was really friendly, Edgar Mitchell, too, each took time to talk to you.

The Saturday night reception was amazing. Many/most had an astronaut at their table. I was at Aldrin's. Centerpiece at the table was a command module signed by Lovell and Haise, and others were available for sale.

posted 11-12-2010 12:34 PM               

My first indication that I was "not in Kansas anymore" was when I was checking into the hotel and Scott Carpenter walked by. I had to kind of wrap my head around that a bit, and while I was doing that I passed Charlie Duke on my way to my room.

The Friday lecture was great, and while I completely understand the situation I was still a bit disappointed about the cancellation of the historic cape tour with Aldrin and Carpenter. But what can you do? It was a highly fluid situation, and I commend the ASF for rolling with it. Afterward as Mike mentioned Jack Schmitt was in the lobby and Scott Carpenter graciously greeted folks and posed for photos.

The Friday reception was awesome. Again, I had to try to wrap my head around what was going on at first. I'd look towards the door and in would walk Gene Cernan, or Jim Lovell would be standing next to me as I looked at the auction items. Once I got over that I was very pleased to have been able to talk to Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, Bruce McCandless and a number of others. All the astronauts seemed to be in good spirits and were very chatty and friendly. I'm also glad I got to meet and speak with Robert at the reception as well, and add him to the list of 'space luminaries' that I've met.

The Saturday show was great, as well as the time to look around KSC which was much less crowded than it had been the day before. Before heading over to KSC that morning I had breakfast at the Radisson, and I had Buzz sitting behind me, Dave Scott and Scott Carpenter at the table next to him, Walt Cunningham at the next table and Gene Cernan two tables over. All those folks plus quite a few other astronauts were waiting in the lobby to be shuttled to KSC when I left, and I wondered if the people who were also in the lobby waiting for the shuttle buses to their cruise ships knew who they were sharing that room with.

The highlight for me would have to be Saturday night's dinner. The photo op with the Gemini astronauts started things off. You move so fast it's like that scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie and his brother go to see Santa at the department store. Not a complaint, it was just pretty amusing. I had the great privilege of being seated next to Alan Bean for the dinner, and it is an experience I will treasure. It was a real pleasure to speak with him about any number of topics from his art, to the current space program to Pete Conrad and any many other topics. He has such and easygoing way about him that it's very easy to talk to him. But if you've met him I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. The evening was topped off by a second photo op with all the living members of every Skylab crew which was amazing as well.

I was able to stay for breakfast Sunday which was very enjoyable. The astronauts seemed to be enjoying themselves. The show was a bit more subdued than on Saturday but still well attended.

posted 11-12-2010 01:10 PM               

I asked Al Worden about coming down on two chutes, he said the difference in rate of descent was less than 4 feet per second. He also told me the problem few knew about was when he purged the hypergolic fuel from the RCS system after the parachutes reefed, the weather was so calm the fuel wafted up into the chutes... and started melting the material.

Weird, and a little embarrassing to walk past shuttle astronauts with nothing to do while you wait for that moonwalker, but they were totally cool, just talking to each other.

posted 11-12-2010 04:05 PM               

It made a BIG difference (I think) being a Platinum Plus or Platinum pass holder. I did not buy one this time because there was a good chance I would not make it to the event at all. Fortunately, I was able to attend, but of course I was not able to attend the Friday reception or the Sunday morning brunch.

At the dinner, I was at Table 28, the table next to us had both Jon McBride and Kathy Thornton, but we had just us. None of the 33 guests at the show was seated at our table.

Jon McBride was kind enough to stop by our table toward the end of the evening and greet everyone, which was nice. Before the dinner began, I was visiting with a friend and it turns out he was at Dave Scott's table, so I was able to visit with him and his lovely wife for a short while before the dinner began.

It was good to catch up with friends again, that's actually one of the best parts of these events.

posted 11-12-2010 09:55 PM               

The ASF was fantastic on my arrival day in making sure I had access to Kennedy Space Center for the launch and the ASTP lunch. Too bad Discovery didn't go but that was a bonus anyhow. I was actually kind of relieved as I'm sure the traffic would have been a nightmare by the time I got over from Orlando.

The ASTP lunch was very entertaining, and having Jack Lousma join the discussion was a nice touch. He's a great speaker and gave some revealing insight to the unsung role of the back-up crewmembers. The Saturday autograph show was busy, but not so busy that you couldn't talk to everyone you wanted to and get photos.

Every astronaut was very approachable and eager to talk, especially to the kids. I found Dave Scott to be quite engaging, even curious, about aspects of his flight that he hadn't thought about in years.

Dinner was a great time, with plenty of opportunities to mingle with the guests and talk. I would agree that without one of those Platinum passes, there are times during the weekend when I wish I had bought one!

Anyway, it was great seeing all of the early space program guys and some of the "first timers" from the shuttle era. I had the chance to make a number of new acquaintances and meet up with old friends.

It was really cool seeing Mel Croft, Colin Burgess, and Robert Pearlman for a first gathering of "Footprints in the Dust" authors. Good talking with Francis French too, as he contributed in subtle, yet invaluable ways to the success of the project. I know we sold a fair number of books there at the show to benefit the ASF and shared some awkward moments when folks asked us to sign their copies. Who me? Wow. (Below photo: Mel, Colin and me.)

posted 11-14-2010 08:46 AM               

What a great weekend it was though. I spent the week following the show sitting on a beach trying reflect a little on the conversations I had and everything that happened.

The cocktail party is always the highlight for me, because of the face to face talk time with the astronauts. I had great conversations with Bill Pogue, Jerry Carr, Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma, and Bruce McCandless amongst others.

The most pleasant surprise for me was Dave Scott. My first encounter with him two years ago was a slightly disappointing.

But this year I must say I have seen him with a new light. He was open, friendly outgoing and willing to discuss a variety of topics from his favourite airplane (F86 Sabre which he was part of the unofficial Mach Buster club) to more personal subjects like his reflections of Jim Irwin who he thought so so highly of. He also talked about the geology training and the battle that was fought during the selection of the Apollo 15 landing site. I had a really great conversation. Dave Scott was a real pleasure to talk with and one of the highlights of the weekend for me.

Gene Cernan was also in fine form as always though I was slightly disappointed when he charged an extra 50 dollars above his normal signing fee for longer inscriptions.

I was seated next to Hoot Gibson for diner. All I can say is, what a great guy. A real sense of humor. Funny and willing to talk about many things from sports cars to air racing to his views on the ISS and end of the shuttle program. I had to ask him what his favourite aircraft to fly was and was very surprised when he said from pure performance and fun it was the Mig 21.

posted 11-14-2010 09:22 AM               

The signers, of course, were all great as always, and the new attendees made it special. Mike McCulley and Sam Durrance were talkative and fun at their tables, and it's worth flying 6,000 miles to meet Kathy Thornton.

posted 11-14-2010 06:59 PM               

The "photoshopped" photo, I think it may have been one of the moon in the night sky with Apollo 8 on the launchpad. I had it to be signed for a friend, and Lovell commented that it did not look right, the moon was too large, not in the right phase. When I advised it was photoshopped he said "They can photoshop a lot of things these days eh? Maybe they can photoshop me standing there," which brought some laughs.

We were talking to Bill Pogue and Jerry Carr when the topic of Armstrong's jock came up. I think Bill Pogue is serious when he says he has Armstrong's jock strap. When the topic came up again later, he wondered out loud if it was more valuable used that if it were new? Anyone want to guess?

Bill Pogue has some great stories and is really a fun guy. I hope he does more shows. He told me he has a limited run book coming out soon of short stories and memories from his days with the program. I hope it does well.

posted 11-15-2010 12:12 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Dave Clow:
...has an article called "Earthshine, Fading" about collecting and about the ASF show.

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posted 11-15-2010 01:07 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by alanh_7:
Lovell commented that it did not look right, the moon was too large, not in the right phase.

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posted 11-16-2010 09:22 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
I saw your article the other day and thought it was excellent!

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posted 11-19-2010 09:10 AM               

We stopped by first and saw Bruce McCandless. What a great guy. Nobody was in line so we got to chat a bit. And he signed our photo.

Next we went to Dave Scott. I presented him a coin from Ohio's Adjutant General. I presented him a military challenge coin engraved with his name last year. He remembered us and thanked us again. He said he kept the other coin on his desk. Since nobody was in line we got to chat with him for a while. He signed three photos for me, one with his name and title and two others pointing out things in the photos.

posted 11-19-2010 01:36 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by JasonB:
were you able to get a pic with them and chat for a moment? It sounds like the people mentioned on here were willing to but I was just curious how everyone dealt with that.

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For example, at this last event it had been years since I had spoken to Mike McCulley (when he visited England) and I had never met Sam Durrance before. What began with a simple hello to both turned into an extended, animated conversation on all kinds of subjects, not just space.

No matter what someone did in the space program, there are personalities we click with in life, and others we perhaps click with less. Far more than just meeting a person for a photo and handshake, these events allow you to get to know spacefarers as people, and make great personal connections.

posted 11-19-2010 07:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JasonB:
...were there lines for them or could you pretty much just walk up and get your stuff signed?

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Fred Haise, Jim Lovell Alan Bean and Gene Cernan were pretty busy but all three men alway have a moment to chat.

I agree with Francis that we often attend the shows to meet the big names and come out having excellent conversations with people we least expected. For me it was Bill Pogue, Owen Garriott and Gerry Carr. Jack Lousma as always is such a great guy as is Joe Kerwin and Hoot Gibson.

posted 11-24-2010 10:56 PM               

As usual, my old buddy Francis French and I got together several times during the day for a chat, but I was surprised at how quickly the time passed. Much to my surprise, the main doors closed at 4 p.m. and so I went around the back entrance to say goodbye to a few people. Imagine my disappointment in finding the signing hall completely deserted, as everyone had been whisked onto buses for the journey back to the Radisson Hotel.