posted 03-16-2005 03:11 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by rjb1elec:
Jim Irwin would have been 75 today(17 march),he and dave scott did an excellent job at hadley rille all those years ago.
I never met the great man myself,but i wonder if any of the people at cs ever met him or worked with him

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I never met or worked with the man. However, I recently saw some video footage of Irwin on the History Channel the other night in an episode of their "History's Mysteries" series whose topic was searching for Noah's Ark. Apparently Irwin spent some time on Mt. Ararat searching for the ark and was quite passionate about it.

posted 03-16-2005 04:54 PM               

What a fantastic job they did together.

Glad you were in our lives James Irwin.

posted 03-16-2005 07:03 PM              

I met Colonel Irwin again in my home town of Bangor (the original Bangor, after which Bangor, Maine is named) in 1986. I have a photograph of myself, Colonel Irwin, and a piece of genuine Moonrock encased in a plastic pyramid.

Our last meeting was inside Belfast City Hall in January, 1991, just seven months before his untimely death. He was a fine man who genuinely appreciated the opportunity which was given to him to be one of humanity's pioneers on the Moon.

In March 2003, I was in Washington, D.C. attending a public lecture by Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt. Afterwards I interviewed Jack Schmitt for an article in the B.I.S. "Spaceflight" magazine. By an interesting coincidence, I was interviewing Jim Irwin's Apollo 15 LMP back-up exactly 20 days after I interviewed Jim Irwin himself. Jack Schmitt was very complimentary about the geological skills of David Scott and Jim Irwin.

The next morning I visited Arlington cemetary and was able to pay my last respects at Jim Irwin's grave.

posted 03-17-2005 01:28 PM            

His attitude, as he often said, was "ask and you shall recieve." Some of my prized possessions are letters he wrote about working on the moon, written with the pen and ink he took to the moon. He also invited me to join him in Canterbury for what was as you can imagine a great day for a teenager.

His autobiography is a great read, he gave incredibly good interviews which still color many videos such as "For All Mankind." He may indeed have been the best person to send to the moon when it comes to relating the experience in words on his return. Combine his words with Bean's paintings, and you have the perfect duo.

posted 03-17-2005 04:30 PM               

Noah's Ark thing & Irwin's High Flight group are true, Glint. I saw Hist Ch. thing some time ago ( wonder if we're closer to solving that, with the gopher wood sample & all! ). I browse christain tv once in a great while, actually have seen reruns of Jim on a talk show discussing the Noah quest, and later his interviewer spoke of his sadness about Jim's death in '92. In the earlier interviews Jim kept referring to earth as "the blue planet." I was an atheist during Apollo, making fun of those faith toting astros & controllers. I recall siding WITH those who wanted to crack down on scripture-quoters, in the space program. Now, not only do I ( and probably many ) appreciate the wondrous Genesis moments from Apollo 8's Christmas, but I love Jim's quote on the moon. And took guts, conviction to slip it in after A8 flack. I think the quote Jim used really means this: ' I look far beyond the greatest hills, to whence my help comes from'. And to us on earth those lunar hills are mighty high up aren't they.

Fever for A15 started for a lot of Apollo fans when Nat'l Geographic's A14 article finally came out. It had that captivating big diagram of the coming Lunar Rover. Could hardly wait! Rick of Mersey side, Rick of MA, I loved watching A15 too. That 15 for Apollo was just like a teenager changing from simpler things, with the argued about advanced landing near the mountains & canyon, with the rover, etc. Searching Worden about something, came across a beautiful photo of the lunar surface from inside A15's CM that a cS member had signed by Worden -- that I was looking at not long before I saw this board! But on the Irwin quote, I searched it to make sure I had it right and got this site, with a more famous 15 photo http://www.xedox.de/Jim%20Irwin%20Autogramm.htm WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE AUTOGRAPH & inscription, maybe someone can translate that quote in German!!??

Life can be very frail. But Jim would say he's flying high now. Indeed RJB, God Bless his family too.

[This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited March 17, 2005).]

posted 03-21-2005 04:09 PM               

I hate to admit it, but I can't tell you without looking it up, if I met Jim Irwin three or FOUR times !

He seemed to love this area for some reason and kept coming back.....you can bet that I made sure I was "there" whereever it was every time !

The first time was for the 25th anniversary celebration of Bethel College in Mishawaka.....1972, so he hadn't even shaken off all the moondust yet !

He spoke at dinner at the college.....all it took was a phone call to the Presidents' office there and I was a FREE dinner guest !

I raced around town in a cab from the press conference back to home to change clothes and then back to the college for dinner.....I was too young to drive ! He did not make the press conference....we had a bad snowstorm.

He came back to preach at Calvary Temple a couple years later.....

And he was a guest of Art Klingers' for the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation Planetarium dedication.

Needless (in my mind) to say, he always stayed and signed autographs for whoever was willing to wait their turn.....I remember that to be exceptionally true at the Calvary Temple visit.....and that crowd was probably the biggest.....their church has 1200 "free" seats.....

I think he was the first astronaut I ever saw sign with "Aim High"......but he freely added "Apollo 15" and his little crescent Moon many, many times.

I have NEVER met a less-than-cooperative astronaut in person when wanting pictures or signatures......although Dr. Mae Jemison probably STILL does not know why I wanted her to sign my space shuttle stamps !

You NEVER will hear a more touching story than to hear Jim Irwin tell about the Genesis Rock......I don't think there was a dry eye in the place at any of the talks I heard.

posted 03-22-2005 12:02 PM               

More than 30 years ago this young and somwhat shy teenager had the opportunity to first meet the astronaut-moonwalker turned-evangelist when he was invited to speak at my church. It was the start of a long personal friendship and close working relationship until his death from this Earthly life in Aug. 1991.

His Christian experience began at age 11 when he received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. Years later, in 1871, he became the first human to quote Scripture (Psalm 121:1) on the surface of the moon. Jim's desire to share his faith throughout more than 20 years of his ministry had taken him to more than 100 worldwide countries, including China and the former Soviet Union. Col. Irwin's greatest personal test came in 1961 after he had graduated from test pilot school. "I considered myself one of the best pilots in the sky," he recalled. One weekend morning while flying as an instructor pilot with a student, his small airplane crashed on the Mojave desert floor. There was no explosion, and fortunately, no fire. But Jim had serious injuries and his Air Force flying career hung in the balance. Doctors had told him that he may never walk again, let alone, fly! But Irwin's determination, along with an unwaivering faith and support of his family and friends, saw him persevere. More than that, his career took a quantum leap ahead, and in 1966, NASA selected him to be an astronaut along with 18 other pilots. After two years of astronaut training, Jim was assigned as commander of the LTA-8 crew which finished the first series of lunar module thermal vacuum tests in 1968. He was also served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10 and later as backup LMP for Apollo 12. Both assignments prepared Jim for the biggest challenge of all--the Apollo 15 "J" mission--in the summer of 1971. Training for the lunar landing voyage meant preparing his mind, body and spirit for that "high flight." During the spaceflight, thousands of people on Earth were praying for the Apollo 15 astronauts. "I was aware of that on the moon," Irwin once said. "The hours that I spent on the moon were the most thrilling of my life. Not because I was there but because I could feel the presence of God. There were times when I was faced with new challenges, and help from God was immediate."

During the 12-day flight of Apollo 15, Jim logged nearly three days on the lunar surface--a new record at that time--that included almost 19 hours while working and exploring on the surface directly. Apollo 15, the fourth lunar landing mission in July-Aug. 1971, had many "firsts" and accomplishments. It was distinguished by the first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle. He and crewmate Dave Scott explored the moon's Hadley Rille and the high Apennine Mountains, collecting 180 pounds of lunar surface material, including the famous Genesis Rock.

posted 03-22-2005 05:58 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BLACKARROW:
The crash left the future Moonwalker with one leg shorter than the other! This is worth bearing in mind when anyone suggests that only perfect physical specimens were selected as astronauts.

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It was probably very helpful when walking along the sides of lunar hills, as long as he only went around one way...

posted 03-23-2005 10:05 PM               

What great writing. While waiting for a Part Two above, just wanted to thank JURG BOLLI for the translation of the one photograph's inscription. Its very beautiful. Now I think I remember those words being from Irwin. Was it Jim that originated this remark, that setting foot on the moon was not as important as the messiah setting foot on the earth? ( And if so, why does the owner of the photo above say the inscription might not be authentic, I wonder? ).

And I wonder if Jim Irwin's appearance was one of the first "crystalizers" of Ken's space interest, or at least a stimulator of it.