Posts: 273
From:
Registered: Jul 2016

posted 10-12-2018 04:19 AM               

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Both Wally Schirra and Alan Shepard are credited with the following quote:

When asked what they were thinking when they were inside their Mercury spacecraft sitting atop a live booster waiting to launch, their answer was: "This was put together by the lowest bidder."

I have always assumed that it was Wally Schirra who first said this and that Alan Shepard then used the line himself when asked the same question. Does anyone know the story behind this?

Posts: 971
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

posted 10-12-2018 06:12 AM               

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Why have you always assumed this to be Wally Schirra's quote? It has in fact been attributed to many people, and is thought to be a line passed about between the Mercury astronauts over the years.

The internet attributes this quote to John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and most of the original 7. This page gives one version of events and many other versions have been put forth. It may be a case that many of the astronauts used this same line during public events and interviews.

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From: Lausanne
Registered: Apr 2012

Posts: 273
From:
Registered: Jul 2016