On Wednesday, July 21, 2004, the CBS television program "Up
to the Minute" presented interviews with personnel from the
original Grumman Lunar Module Team whose efforts helped put man
on the moon. Below is the transcript.
MELISSA McDERMOTT, anchor: Yesterday was a big
day to remember for anyone who recalls the momentous events of July
20th, 1969, especially the people who helped put the first men on
the Moon. Donald Forbes of CBS affiliate WKMG-TV in Orlando spoke
with some of them.
DONALD FORBES reporting: 35 years ago NASA made
the impossible, possible, putting the first man on the Moon.
Mr. CHUCK TANNER (Grumman Lunar Module Team):
I would like to go back and have that time again. It was a wonderful
time. It was the finest group of men and women that you could imagine
ever working with.
FORBES: Three and 1/2 decades later, the workforce
in charge of the Eagle Lunar Module have gathered for the anniversary
of the event that captivated the world.
Mr. HAL LARKIN (Grumman Lunar Module Team): (inaudible)
you knew it was going to soar, and then it was going to
sink. Then when it really happened you just, you were spellbound
just like a fairytale come true.
FORBES: While it was Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,
and Michael Collins that reached the heavenly body first and received
most of the glory, they know it only happened because of the thousands
who worked so hard to send them on their way to destiny, and changed
the world forever.
Unidentified Man: All the opportunities it has
brought. Just all of the electronics and the things from computers.
And everything you have today, or a lot of it, has come from the
Apollo program.
Mr. DICK JONES (Grumman Lunar Module Team): You
couldn't believe that this happened, and that you we apart of it.
FORBES: These proud men and women say there will
be a 40th anniversary, although they suspect some of the old-timers
will not be in attendance because time like space exploration continues
to march on.
McDERMOTT: WKMG's Donald Forbes. Where do we
stand now? NASA's human space flight program remains grounded as
it has been since the space shuttle Columbia disaster a year and
1/2 ago. President Bush is calling for a robotic probe to land on the Moon as early as 2008, but no humans are expected
to travel there before 2020.
