Venture capitalist, photographer, and master-level space fanatic Steve Jurvetson has been digging in to his archives for snapshots and relics related to the life and legacy of the late astronaut Neil Armstrong. For instance: above, a vintage 11”x 14” X-ray of Armstrong’s lunar EVA spacesuit boots dated 7-7-69, only 9 days before the launch.
You can scroll through more photos here, on Steve’s Facebook page.
Steve shared some amazing conversations with the “First Man,” from what I can tell.
Here’s one:
Tang is a farce. That was the first thing Neil Armstrong told me last night. “We did not use it on the Apollo missions.”
I asked him, of all of the systems and stages of the mission, which did he worry about the most? (the frequently failing autopilot? the reliance on a global network of astronomers to spot solar flares in time to get the warning out? the onboard computers being less powerful than a Furby?….)
He gave a detailed answer about the hypergolic fuel mixing system for the lunar module. Rather than an ignition system, they had two substances that would ignite upon contact. Instead of an electric pump, he wished he had a big simple lever to mechanically initiate mixing.
That seemed a bit odd to me at first. So, I asked if he gave that answer because it really was the most likely point of failure, or because it symbolizes a vivid nightmare – having completed the moon mission, pushing the button… and the engines just wont start.
He responded that he had dreams about that for two years prior to the launch.
Reminds me of what Warren Ellis wrote on the day Armstrong died:
Neil Armstrong has died, aged 82. Manually flew a spaceship and landed it on the Moon. Relaunched it with a bit of a pen. Beat that.
— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) August 25, 2012
“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer,” Armstrong said at a millennial gathering honoring the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. A modest man. One who will inspire nerdy engineers for ages to come.