YouTube description:
Something about the Apollo missions always confused me, sure, the step off of the lunar lander’s 91 cm footpad was a small step, but the step just before that was actually enormous!
I’m talking about this, the huge gap between the last rung on the ladder and the ground. Why on the Moon is that gap so huge?! Isn’t it dangerous to require an astronaut to jump down onto the surface and jump back up?
The lunar lander’s ladder had nine rungs all spaced 22.8 cm (9”) apart, but the gap between the last rung and the ground was about three times that at a whopping 76 cm (30”)! So really, the ladder wasn’t missing one rung, it was missing two!
I mean sure, the gravity’s only 1/6th that of Earth’s, but wouldn’t it have been so much safer if there was even one more rung to close that gap up a little?
So today we’re going to look into why NASA and the Lunar Lander’s manufacturer Grumman, chose a ladder of this length, we’ll talk about design considerations of the hardware, the unknown conditions of the lunar surface, and the astronauts who were basically too smooth of pilots to get the ladder’s last rung any closer to the surface of the moon.
6 Comments
BSRNeil Armstrong's last words on the moon. "Good luck Mr. Gorsky"
It seems when Apollo Mission Astronaut, Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, he not only gave his famous "One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind" statement, but followed it by several remarks - usual com traffic between him, the other astronauts and Mission Control.
Before he reentered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark, "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky." Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut, however, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian nor American space programs.
Over the years many people have questioned him as to what the "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" statement meant. A few months ago, (July 5th, 1995, Tampa Bay FL) while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year old question to Armstrong. He finally responded. It seems that Mr. Gorsky had finally died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.
When he was a kid, he was playing baseball with his brother in the backyard. His brother hit a fly ball which landed in front of his neighbors' bedroom window. His neighbors were Mr and Mrs. Gorksy. As he leaned down to pick it up, he heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky. "Oral sex, oral sex you want? You'll get oral sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"
lucky760Fascinating. I did not expect to watch the whole video, but I did. Great stuff!
And @BSR that's an awesome story! Thanks for sharing!
menzoSadly, not a real story, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/good-luck-mr-gorsky/
Fascinating. I did not expect to watch the whole video, but I did. Great stuff!
And @BSR that's an awesome story! Thanks for sharing!
lucky760Awww
What's the real story then? Did he actually say anything like that as his last words on the moon? (I don't know how to use Google.)
Sadly, not a real story, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/good-luck-mr-gorsky/
BSRMenzo was addressing a different comment.
As far the Armstrong story is concerned, Neil debunked it, with a smile. *spoiler*
Awww
What's the real story then? Did he actually say anything like that as his last words on the moon? (I don't know how to use Google.)
ZawashSnopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/good-luck-mr-gorsky/
Discuss...
Enable JavaScript to submit a comment.