posted 03-18-2006 02:18 AM               

quote:

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Tonight's reunion of the last remnants of the trailblazers who blasted America into the high frontier frames a bittersweet snapshot about the passage of time and local indifference to history.

"They're coming from as far away as California and Arizona," says Redstone Missile Pioneers reunion organizer Pat Grimbly, who estimates a closed attendance of 120 people at the Radisson at the Port in Port Canaveral. "But we won't be able to do it again. We're all in our 70s, 80s and 90s now."

The tribute will celebrate the Redstone rocket program, which ignited the United States' aerospace odyssey from Cape Canaveral in 1953. Its special guest will be Konrad Dannenberg, one of the last surviving V-2 missile scientists who followed visionary Dr. Wernher von Braun to America after World War II.

But with the shadow of mortality looming, local survivors of that high-spirited era also are saying farewell to their 10,000-square-foot sanctuary of memories called the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum. Located at the Searstown Mall in Titusville, the free-admission museum will shut its doors at the end of May because of a lack of funding.

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posted 03-18-2006 01:44 PM               

Starting from pretty much scratch and going from sounding rockets to the Saturn V in under 20 years was one hell of a thing.

posted 03-22-2006 11:34 AM               

Duke, why do you drag up these childhood memories? Just kidding.

I remember that during my cub scout meeting, October 4, 1957, that someone announced that "The Russians" launched "a satellite" called "Sputnik."

I don't remember if I saw it. However, today, I enjoy using Heavens-Above website to view the ISS and some of the brighter satellites and space debris. NASA also sends me frequent updates as to the viewing opportunities of the ISS.

And for those of you attending the AHOF last year, NASA had a spectacular launch (for us?) that lit up the night skies.