Introduction to “Moon Shot” by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton
Marching across the heavens each day and circling
our earth monthly, the moon has fascinated scientists and inspired poets. Its changing
shape provides a perpetual clock-calendar in the sky, a marker for planting,
for holidays, for religious celebrations. So near and yet so far, men and moon intertwining
for millennia, but never touching.
In the twentieth century, two distinctly different
technologies emerged: the digital computer and the liquid-fueled rocket. Two great
world powers, ideological adversaries, each recognized that the rocket, which
could operate in a vacuum, and the computer, which could enable precision
navigation, might break the barrier to space travel.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States believed
that technological leadership was the key to demonstrating ideological superiority.
Each invested enormous resources in evermore spectacular space achievements. Each
would enjoy memorable successes. Each would suffer tragic failures. It was a
competition unmatched outside the state of war. Finally, and unpredictably, the
competitors would join in a cooperative effort that would contribute to the demise
of the Cold War that enveloped them.
The moon’s isolation of nearly five billion years
would end soon. Early in the space age, man-made probes flew near the moon. Others
soon crashed into the lunar surface. Robot craft landed and transmitted
pictures and scientific measurements back to earth laboratories. The stage was
set for a visit by man.
The Soviets established an impressive number of “firsts”:
first to place a satellite in orbit, first to send a probe to the moon, first
to place a human in space, first to orbit two manned craft simultaneously,
first to have a human exit his craft in space. But it would be the Americans
who would accomplish the seemingly impossible sending men to the moon and
returning them safely to earth.
History will remember the twentieth century for two
technological developments: atomic energy and space flight. One threatened the extinction
of society, one offered a survival possibility. If Earth were ever threatened
by man-made or natural catastrophe, space flight could, just possibly, provide
protection or escape.
Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton knew the practical
aspects and the visceral feelings of flight. Both were experienced airplane
test pilots. Test pilots have the responsibility for finding errors in airplane
design. They may discover them during flight, but they would much prefer to
identify the problems before going aloft. As two of the seven initial American astronauts,
this search for perfection served them well.
Deke and Alan were at the heart of the manned space
program. Deke was responsible for the selection of flight crews and their
preparedness to fly in space. He took an intense interest in the well-being of
his flock, protecting, supporting, and encouraging them. He was a superb boss.
Alan, as chief of the Astronaut Office, was responsible
for da-to-day operations. Astronauts were needed for spacecraft tests, for design
reviews, for newspaper interviews. With equanimity, he distributed these
seemingly limitless tasks to a very limited number of “his boys”. He was an
impenetrable barrier to inappropriate or ultimately requests. He was “the man
in the middle” and handled it well.
Moon
Shot
is their story. Much more than the story of their flights in space, it details
their central role in the most exciting adventure in history. Jay Barbree, one
of the world’s most experienced space journalists, reported the triumphs and
the tragedies from the dawn of the space age. He is exceptionally well
qualified to recall and record the remarkable events and emotions of the time.
Luna is once again isolated. Four decades have
passed without footfalls on its dusty surface. No wheeled Rovers patrol the
lunar highlands. Silent ramparts guard vast territories never yet visited by
man. Unseen vistas await the return of explorers from Earth.
And they will return.
—Neil Armstrong
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