wolf%umass-cs%CSNet-Relay@sri-unix.UUCP (01/13/84)
From: Alexander Wolf <wolf%umass-cs@CSNet-Relay>
I was once told that Armstrong's famous "first words" were not, as commonly
accepted, "This is one small step for Man, one giant leap for Mankind," but
rather "This is one small step for *a* man, one giant leap for Mankind.
(note the article "a").
Apparently the voice-activated transmitter ate the "a." To me, the latter
version makes more sense anyway (what's the real difference between Man
and Mankind?).
Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?
Alex.wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (01/16/84)
That "first step" on the moon that we all saw on tv was not. Armstrong stepped off the ladder to the moon several minutes before just to test the footing. The tv camera was turned on later and he did his thing for the camera. This according to NASA and the speakers atthe Smithsonian in DC. They, it seems, did not want him to disappear into a hole or something in front of the cameras. Sort of takes the drama out of the whole thing if you ask me. T. C. Wheeler
daemon@decwrl.UUCP (01/16/84)
From: dvinci::fisher (Burns Fisher, MRO3-1/E13, 231-4108) Regarding Armstrong's first words on the moon: I remember listening to them in real time and saying to myself and/or my girlfriend, "What the hell does that mean?" In any case, Armstrong later confirmed (in FIRST ON THE MOON, I think) that he meant to say, and in fact THOUGHT he HAD said "One small step for A man...". I have heard the broadcast replayed a number of times, and I don't think he said it, VOX or no VOX. I think he is to be forgiven, given the situation at the moment! Burns UUCP: ... decvax!decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher or ...allegra!decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher or ... ucbvax!decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher ARPA: decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher@Berkeley or decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher@SU-Shasta
rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe @ 41:48:31 N, 88:07:13 W) (01/16/84)
I have heard Neil Armstrong say that he in fact said "That's one small step for a man . . ." or at least he thinks he said that. I remember listening to it that very night and I've never believed otherwise. Roger Noe ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
cej@ll1.UUCP (Chuck Jones) (01/17/84)
Not only was it supposed to be "One small step for a man", but that's the way Neal said it during all the mock-up runs, long before the actual mission. You really didn't think that no one gave what Neal was going to say any thought, did you? (Personally, though, I think that the excitement of the moment overcame Neal, and he actually blew his well rehearsed (over-rehearsed?) line. Just another guy from Ohio Chuck Jones AT&T Communications ...we13!ll1!cej
clyde@ut-ngp.UUCP (Clyde W. Hoover) (01/20/84)
<<Dead Wombats eat news lines>>
Several items of Apollo trivia (I remember these things well - but
don't ask me my driver's license number).
* On Apollo 11, the pallet with the TV camera was opened
when Armstrong had climbed just past the porch heading down the
ladder. The 'unofficial step on the moon' was testing the
step down from the last rung of the LM ladder onto the footpad
of the LM (he fooled Walter Cronkheit (sp) on that one).
The 'first step' on the moon was really that.
* On Apollo 12, Pete Conrad's comment on Armstrong's first words
was partly because that last step off the ladder is a 3-foot drop,
and Conrad is about 6" shorter than Armstrong, so it was a bigger
step for him (physically).
* On Apollos 15,16,17 the LM liftoff was shown by the TV
camera on the Lunar Rover. Of course, there was a movie camera
running in the window of the ascent module, (there was movie
cameras running in both CM and LM for most important maneuvers).
The LM liftoff on 15 was not tracked, for Mission Control was
afraid that the camera would jam pointing upwards, and they didn't
want that. Subsequent camera mounts had that problem fixed.
--
Clyde W. Hoover @ Univ. of Texas Computation Center; Austin, Texas
(Shouter-To-Dead-Parrots)
clyde@ut-ngp.{UUCP,ARPA} clyde@ut-sally.{UUCP,ARPA} ihnp4!ut-ngp!clydePucc-H:Pucc-I:Pucc-K:ags@CS-Mordred.UUCP (01/20/84)
A recent cartoon in OMNI magazine shows the first landing of a manned spaceship on Mars. One astronaut has tripped and is lying in a heap at the bottom of the ladder. The other astronaut, leaning out of the spaceship, says: "Do you realize that what you just said will go down in history as the first words spoken on Mars?" -- Dave Seaman ..!pur-ee!pucc-k:ags
monroe@sequent.UUCP (01/22/84)
for *a* man .vs. for Man
True, that is what the quote was supposed to be, but I didn't hear
that it was the electronics that ate it. Well, if I was stepping onto the
moon in front of a whole planet full of television viewers, I probably would
have concentrated more on not falling on my face rather than what I was saying.
The Knight In Glowing Phosphor,
Doug Monroe
Sequent Computer Systems
{ogcvax,cdi,verdix}!sequent!monroe9212osd@houxa.UUCP (Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz) (02/02/84)
<-->
Look up the Dec.? 1983 issue of Esquire Magazine for a
decent article on Armstrong and the story behind the famous
first words. Contrary to what Chuck Jones says, the
words were no rehearsed at any time before the launch.
He came up with the famous phrase en route.
This article also explains Conrad's first words on the Moon.
He just wanted to win a bet with a very famous journalist.
He won, but was never paid. The purpose of the bet was to show
her that NASA was not pushing or telling the astronauts
what to say when they first stepped on the Moon. Check the
Esquire issue.
--
Orlando Sotomayor-Diaz /AT&T Bell Laboratories, Crawfords Corner Road
Room HO-3M-325 201-949-1532 Holmdel, New Jersey, 07733
Path: {{{ucbvax,decvax}!}{ihnp4,harpo}!}houxa!9212osdjax@sequent.UUCP (02/03/84)
What I heard was, " One small step for a man ..." I never understood why the MEDIA reported what I did not hear, but I assumed that they were reporting the preprinted script and Major(?) Armstrong screwed up and spoke wrong. I greatly preferred the "A" version. The Wanderer aluxp!danhart --------- FYI, Neil Armstrong was a *civilian* test pilot before becoming an astronaut. He stepped on the moon as a civilian working for NASA. It was a gaint step. -- .jax Jack T. Inman Sequent Computer Systems Portland, Oregon 97229 ...ogcvax!sequent!jax (503) 627-9810