posted 02-02-2008 11:37 AM               

Basically, I'd just like to get an idea of how big a crowd there will be, what kind of guests usually attend, how formal it is, etc. It's at the Hilton, as it has been for years.

If you are interested in going, here is the event website. Tickets are $225 each. (Hence my renewed selling of extra autographs!)

Thanks,
Steve

posted 02-02-2008 11:50 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by stsmithva:
Basically, I'd just like to get an idea of how big a crowd there will be, what kind of guests usually attend, how formal it is, etc.

---

It was not uncommon to find other astronauts among the attendees but with everyone in tux and/or military dress, you'll need to be good at recognizing their faces to pick them out.

posted 02-02-2008 03:48 PM               

Enjoy the moment -- Carpe Diem.

posted 02-14-2008 08:06 PM               

1. he might not ever have been asked before, but isn't too out-there weird; and
   
2. is something that probably only Neil Armstrong could answer. That is, pertaining to something that only he experienced or witnessed, so only he could provide the facts or insight.

posted 03-08-2008 11:50 PM               

The reception beforehand was packed- it gave me an idea of the huge scale of the event as I came down the hall and heard the roar created by hundreds of people just chatting. I don't want to sound like a meek wallflower, but I felt out of my element. Most people there were involved in the aerospace industry, and were catching up on old contacts and making new ones. They were talking shop, and my version of talking shop consists of "Hi! Some of my students are reading Fantastic Mr. Fox. What's your favorite Roald Dahl book?" Fortunately a really nice guy who works for ILC struck up a conversation, and after a little while the chimes were being rung for us to go downstairs for dinner.

That was the largest room in which I've ever had a meal. Larger-than-a-football-field large.

I made my way over to my table- way over to the side against a wall. There I met fellow cS member Scott, who had e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago about the dinner and then by happy coincidence was assigned to the same table. We talked space collecting for a while, and met our few tablemates, who consisted of a fourth-grader (who has met more M-G-A astronauts than I have) and his father; an aerospace guy; and the first Brazilian woman to fly zero-gravity. (On a parabolic flight- she had some great pictures.)

I reckon that the movers and shakers in aerospace got the good tables out in the open middle, while random enthusiasts like us were sent to the Island of Misfit Toys. Actually, the only drawback was that we pretty much had a profile view of Neil Armstrong and the other people at the head table.

There were many benefits to being at a half-full table against the side: we could stand for a better view whenever we wanted to since our backs were to the wall; we were brought the same amount of wine that tables with ten people got; and something else I'll tell about later. The dinner was fine- brie, duck, salmon cake (like a crabcake), and beef.

posted 03-08-2008 11:51 PM               

And then the one more benefit of sitting at our table: it was ten feet from the door leading to the hall the head table people walked through at the end of the event. So Scott and I stood up, and in 30 seconds, with delightful ease (seriously, no annoying pushiness) found ourselves shaking hands with Neil Armstrong. We both got pictures...

...and then I took out something I'd brought to give him. Remember a month ago on this thread Mike Constantine of Moonpans posted a photo he had made by cropping the faceplate from the famous Apollo 11 "visor shot" of Buzz Aldrin so that it only showed Armstrong standing next to the LEM, then flattened and flipped it so it showed what a photo taken by Aldrin would have looked like?

Well, I thought he'd enjoy seeing that, so with Mike's permission I had it printed wallet-sized (2" x 3") so it was pretty sharp. I said to Armstrong, "Just a present for you, made by someone in England." Armstrong examined it, realized what it showed, and really seemed pleased. He said, "Thank you very much" as he tucked it in a pocket. (I wrote out on the back who did it, so now Neil Armstrong is another fan of Mike's work.)

(I like how in this photo it's obvious from my hand that I'm explaining something to Neil Armstrong. Me! To Neil Armstrong! Sure, I'm explaining a tiny photograph, but it looks like, "See Neil, here's how you should have handled the short-circuit in the Orbital Attitude Maneuvering System on Gemini 8." "My gosh, Steve, thanks! Why didn't I think of that? Let me buy you a Novaspace Moonwalkers Lithograph, and bring me a Sharpie!")

(Oh, and Mike, in this photo for some reason it looks like I have a receding hairline and quite a belly started. Please work your photo retouching magic.)

After that the live band kicked in. Scott and I hung out for a while, then he headed out and I headed to the hospitality rooms of the aerospace corporations. I needed coffee to remain awake to the end of the orange Metro line. For the next hour I enjoyed conversations with a bunch of people who were there for various reasons- another teacher, a White House space program expert, etc.

I got home at 2:15 a.m. A really fine Friday night.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

posted 03-09-2008 08:03 AM               

Thank you for sharing. That was a great read.

posted 03-09-2008 09:35 AM               

I too had the honor of meeting Neil Armstrong during a lecture series held at the National Air and Space Museum in 2006.

Like you, I brought along a photo...one that I had since 1969 of the New York City Apollo 11 ticker-tape parade, that my Dad took me to as a youngster.
He seemed genuinely interested.

Certainly, a day I will never forget.

posted 03-09-2008 10:32 AM               

Many thanks- like a good beat reporter, you made us feel like we were there with you!

Thanks again- great pictures!!!

posted 03-10-2008 08:42 PM               

By the way, first thing this morning I received an e-mail from a friendly guy I'd met that night who works for the Executive Office of the President, offering to help get a bunch of educational material to my school for when I teach about space and the space program again next fall. So I DID manage to do some job-related networking myself, in addition to meeting some other great people.