My dad would have loved Artemis II
Posted by SouthOfOz@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 5 comments
My dad died 10 years ago but I really wish he was here for this. I’ve had the NASA livestream going pretty much since the launch. I know dad would have spent hours standing in front of the TV with his arms crossed, occasionally making a “hmm” sound and then walking to the garage. He would know everything about the mission, the orbit, how fast they’re going, where splashdown is and how fast they’ll re-enter. And I know that he would somehow have found time, in between car maintenance, yard work, and fixing a minor plumbing issue, to have read the 138-page mission Reference Guide.
I can find all that out, but I just want to be able to ask him and I can’t. If you’ve still got your dad, please call him.
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beaus_tender_0c@reddit
Your dad sounds cool and remarkable to me. As a fellow non college educated guy who’s lived a simple, quiet (but remarkable and rewarding to me) life, I’m curious about your dad. What type of engineer was he? How did he get there? What else did he do?
Thanks for sharing. Your post made me think of my grandfather and Great Uncles who were all poor children of Irish immigrants that I admired who lived simple lives that I wish I knew more about.
vikibabbles@reddit
My dad passed away a little over 10 years ago, and he’d have loved this too. His first job as an electrical engineer out of college was for Grumman, working on the lunar module. I was just a couple weeks old and he woke me up to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. The Artemis mission has been so bittersweet for me. I wish he were here so we could watch together.
Thanks for sharing your memories.
TakkataMSF@reddit
I think it's awesome his enthusiasm passed on to you. Our exploration of space is important. There's already talk of colonies on Mars (still a few issues but it's really just a matter of time). I think one of the worst parts of dying is not knowing where we go. Do we go extinct? Is Mars our limit or do we span solar systems?
I saw that the astronauts got something like 260k+ miles from Earth (don't quote me on the actual distance). But it's the farthest anyone has been from Earth. Which seems terrifying, I recently drove cross country and sometimes the distance between gas stations made you nervous. Imagine if they miss a gas station! Talk about stranded.
ranchoparksteve@reddit
Thank you for the beautiful description. This space launch is definitely worth admiring and the details are endlessly fascinating.