My favorite line from a soon to be astronaut,watching another astronaut on T.V." Here's this guy he is flying faster,higher and louder  than I am and he's on T.V. I want that guy's job"! That was so funny to me,shows the real human side of these men.

Those were amazing times.  The school day would stop when the astronauts lifted off and splashed down.

I cry when I remember how highly we could aspire and how we were brought together by the shared pride in the very best we could be.

I cry harder, that such a wondrous time seems so irrecoverable.

I say seems, because there is an optimist in me that will not give up on humanity.

It was an exciting era.  There was a pervasive aura of optimism and faith in the future that glowed even through the heavy clouds of the Cold War.  And as the narrator of the clip said, for a brief moment all of humanity shared in "our" accomplishment.

Thanks sagefever; unforgettable times of truly great human achievement.

Now yah went and done it.  More tears running down my cheeks.  I'm not complaining, though.  I can't get through footage of a historic early launch with dry eyes, seeing all that awesome power lifting our highest aspirations to their destinations.

We lived in great times, Sam.  We can do it again.  The day will come when our nation will tire of the addictive negativity, that now makes hoping and dreaming a thankless diversion, and will rediscover humanity's best aspirations for the deep breaths of fresh air that they are.

In the early 80's I was living in a 26 ft. trailer while the ranch house was being remodeled.  I had a 12 inch black and white TV and normally only two local stations to watch when a lauch was scheduled.  Of all the ones I've seen since, none stirred me quite like that one.  I don't know if it was the local station who put it together, or a network,  but they played Chariots Of Fire while the shuttle was being launched.  It shook me then, and the memory is still with me.  That music, with the launch, was awe inspiring.

I recall the evening when the moon landing was televised. I watched it at a friend's house in San Luis Obispo. There was hardly any traffic on the streets. Everybody was indoors somewhere, focused on a tv set. It still amazes me that from the Wright brothers almost laughable flying contraption to a moon landing occurred within the span of a lifetime.

Thanks all for sharing your hopes and memories. My Nana recalled hearing about the Wright Bro.s( which she did not believe till she saw the moving pictures show) and then the moon landing.I envied her that.

I have been a space program nut ever since I can remember. I wasn't old enough to see the early launches of the Mercury program. The first thing I clearly remember was Ed White's(I didn't know his name at the time)spacewalk. I dont know if that was shown live or what, I just remember it. I remember the Apollo I fire and the funeral coverage for astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White(the space walker)and Roger Chaffee, and actually understanding their sacrafice and I was seven when that happened. Just a few weeks before the tragic accident I got a G.I. Jow with a Mercury Space capsule and silver space suit. It was my favorite toy and one of my favorite gifts of all time(Can you imagine what THAT would be worth today on e-bay?),

I was nine when Apollo 11 lifted off and I got to watch that on our next door neighbors COLOR TV!  I also watched the landing there, but it was of course, in black and white.  One of the things I really remember about the Apollo launches was how they would follow the rockets until all that was visible was the huge fan of the rockets engines as they spread in the upper atmosphere. A tiny white dot with a tail a hundred times wider. It was awesome.

The Space shuttle has always fascinated me and I followed the progress of  the X-15 which utilized throttleable rocket technology and re-useable re-entry vehicles, and the X-24 which proved the viability of lifting bodies, both major factors of the shuttle program. I remember racing at Edwards AFB motocross track in the mid 70's and seeing the lifting gantry, the 747 and the only Shuttle never to reach space, the Enterprise, as they built the mating facility. It was awesome.

I was at work for a trucking outfit(while I was laid off from the railroad)in 1981 when the Columbia made it's approach to Edwards AFB over Bakersfield. A small crowd had gathered outside the facility as it was being broadcast over the radio live. A woman asked what we were listening to and looking for. Someone told her and she replied "Were are they broadcasting from..Weedpatch? Who cares, it's all faked anyway"  Some people still feel that way. I wonder what she thought about the double sonic boom a minute or so later, but she probably assumed it was fake too.

I was at work in Tehachapi when I got the news about Challenger. I went home and saw it on the news. It still kills me to watch it as well as the Columbia. These space farers knew the risks and would all do it again in a heartbeat, just as their peers have done before, since and will continue to do.

Thanx for the reminder of one of my greatest loves.

Yeah I love the "fake" folks,I let them drone on and then mention the ex-father in law...lol. Moto you'd love this movie,it has the X-15 and tons of really great footage .

Great link Murphy~ those photos are amazing and it is a shame Nasa does not get the coverage it once did.WE still are doing amazing things!

I lived in Florida for Mercury.  Family mythology says I learned to count to ten...backwards.   Loved this stuff always.