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My 2 fav NY Times, almost *exactly* 50 yrs apart
@OnRallyRd July '19 + the Moon Mission July '69 signed by the crew (IPO on Rally this Friday)
Apollo 11 had:
→politics
→anxiety
→community
→24hr TV
→hope
The parallels to the present are eerie.
Heres the B-Sides
thread//
@OnRallyRd July '19 + the Moon Mission July '69 signed by the crew (IPO on Rally this Friday)
Apollo 11 had:
→politics
→anxiety
→community
→24hr TV
→hope
The parallels to the present are eerie.
Heres the B-Sides
thread//
1// The Quarantine
Starting at the end...
Neil Armstrong celebrated his 39th birthday in a 21-day quarantine for the astronauts + essential staff to prevent “contaminating” the Earth.
Their version of Zoom was a glass box, where they would have team meetings + see family.
Starting at the end...
Neil Armstrong celebrated his 39th birthday in a 21-day quarantine for the astronauts + essential staff to prevent “contaminating” the Earth.
Their version of Zoom was a glass box, where they would have team meetings + see family.
2// Ulterior Motives
• JFK outright said "I'm not that interested in space" in a NASA meeting about the Russians in '62
• LBJ had to justify 4.4% of the TOTAL US budget spent on NASA
• Nixon needed the world see his presidency as a success...
last one sounds familiar
• JFK outright said "I'm not that interested in space" in a NASA meeting about the Russians in '62
• LBJ had to justify 4.4% of the TOTAL US budget spent on NASA
• Nixon needed the world see his presidency as a success...
last one sounds familiar
3// Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst
Getting to the moon wasn’t an issue. Getting OFF was only simulated though- govt confidence was around 50/50
2 days after launch, the White House secretly put together this eulogy for Nixon to read on-air
(unclassified in 1999)
Getting to the moon wasn’t an issue. Getting OFF was only simulated though- govt confidence was around 50/50
2 days after launch, the White House secretly put together this eulogy for Nixon to read on-air
(unclassified in 1999)
4// Science vs. Faith
Buzz Aldrin was insistent on making communion during the mission (which he did) including a mini service in space w/ wine in a chalice poured in 1/6th gravity.
He (and NASA) kept it a secret for decades. Below is the moment it was happening
(
)
Buzz Aldrin was insistent on making communion during the mission (which he did) including a mini service in space w/ wine in a chalice poured in 1/6th gravity.
He (and NASA) kept it a secret for decades. Below is the moment it was happening
(
)
5// Nonstop News
• The first real 24 hr media frenzy
• 1/5th of the world watched live
• The 1st "I remember where I was..." moment
NASA got a telegram that the NYT would print “THE LARGEST HEADLINE IN THE HISTORY OF THE PAPER”
Response from the crew: “save us a copy”
• The first real 24 hr media frenzy
• 1/5th of the world watched live
• The 1st "I remember where I was..." moment
NASA got a telegram that the NYT would print “THE LARGEST HEADLINE IN THE HISTORY OF THE PAPER”
Response from the crew: “save us a copy”
6// Money & Inequality
It cost $482b in today-money
-MLK Jr. asked why $ wasn’t spent on housing?
-Gil Scott-Heron: “I can’t pay no doctor bill, but Whitey’s on the moon”
-James Webb who ran Nasa: “can’t we do something for grandma w/ Medicare”?
2020's bailout / 1960's Apollo
It cost $482b in today-money
-MLK Jr. asked why $ wasn’t spent on housing?
-Gil Scott-Heron: “I can’t pay no doctor bill, but Whitey’s on the moon”
-James Webb who ran Nasa: “can’t we do something for grandma w/ Medicare”?
2020's bailout / 1960's Apollo
7// Lasting Nationalism
Tech advances aside, the mission created unity where Vietnam created separation.
It also targeted one group...
“It was a persuasive event that established in peoples minds... that the Soviets were not the wave of the future” -NASA engineer James Oberg
Tech advances aside, the mission created unity where Vietnam created separation.
It also targeted one group...
“It was a persuasive event that established in peoples minds... that the Soviets were not the wave of the future” -NASA engineer James Oberg
// 𝒻𝒾𝓃 //
the "2020" story isn't yet written. As w/ everything, time will tell it.
but it will be interesting to see how this moment plays out 50 yrs from now (when everything we *don’t* know is public).
Until then, here's “real” news, from 1969
Live on Friday, @OnRallyRd
the "2020" story isn't yet written. As w/ everything, time will tell it.
but it will be interesting to see how this moment plays out 50 yrs from now (when everything we *don’t* know is public).
Until then, here's “real” news, from 1969
Live on Friday, @OnRallyRd
→P.S→
All month, Rally's donating 1 mask for every share sold, going direct to Mount Sinai's 8 NYC hospitals + MainLine Health’s 4 PA hospitals
Apollo 11 coined “moonshot”- committing all resources to solving 1 problem. This is no different
Msg if you know a group in need
All month, Rally's donating 1 mask for every share sold, going direct to Mount Sinai's 8 NYC hospitals + MainLine Health’s 4 PA hospitals
Apollo 11 coined “moonshot”- committing all resources to solving 1 problem. This is no different
Msg if you know a group in need
