Are We There Yet?

In the 1960’s, NASA’s Apollo program spurred growth and development on Florida’s SpaceCoast. Fifty years later, the lasting impact of the program can still be seen.

Photographer Jim Hobart set out to document those changes for a special photo project for WMFE. He recreated photos found from the 1960’s and you can compare his new photos with the old using a slider tool.

We speak with Hobart, along with Ben Brotemarkle from the Florida Historical Society to talk about the project  and the impact Apollo had on Florida’s Space Coast.

In the 1960’s, NASA’s Apollo program spurred growth and development on Florida’s SpaceCoast. Fifty years later, the lasting impact of the program can still be seen.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, millions tuned in live to watch the event. The moon landing inspired many to pursue an education and career in aerospace in what is now called the Apollo effect.

Phil Metzerger was one of those kids who grew up around the Apollo program on Florida’s Space Coast and went on to study engineering and eventually work at NASA.

He was nudged by his dad, Theodore Metzger, who worked on the Apollo program. Now, Metzger works at UCF’s Florida Space Institute as a planetary scientist. Phil rejoins the podcast to talk about growing up in the era of Apollo.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, millions tuned in live to watch the event. The moon landing inspired many to pursue an education and career in aerospace in what is now called the Apollo effect.

After launching from Kennedy Space Center, controllers in Houston, Texas took over the operation of the Apollo missions — keeping a watchful eye on the crew and vehicle as it made the nearly quarter-million mile trip to the moon.

One of those flight controllers was Gerry Griffin. We spoke about the role controllers played during the Apollo program and how the team handled the challenges and triumphs of the first moon missions — including the famous “SCE to AUX” fix that saved Apollo 12.

After launching from Kennedy Space Center, controllers in Houston, Texas took over the operation of the Apollo missions -- keeping a watchful eye on the crew and vehicle as it made the nearly quarter-million mile trip to the moon.

Two senior NASA officials have been ousted from their positions.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said associate administrator Bill Gerstenmaier and deputy associate administrator Bill Hill have been reassigned within the agency.

Bridenstine said the move is meant to help meet the challenge of landing humans on the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the Trump administration.

Will this streamline the effort or cloud the mission with uncertainty? To unpack the news of the shakeup, we’re joined by Tim Fernholz. He’s a senior reporter at Quartz and the author of “Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and The New Space Race.” 

Two senior NASA officials have been ousted from their positions to help meet the challenge of landing humans on the moon by 2024. Will this streamline the effort or cloud the mission with uncertainty?

MaryLiz Bender and Ryan Chylinski didn’t know it at the time, but they were both embarking on a similar mission — selling all their stuff, hoping in a camper and touring the country documenting the latest space events.

The two met and once they realized they were doing the same thing, they joined up to criss-cross the nation in their modified campers collecting videos and photos from rocket launches, composing music inspired by the energy at these events, and leading the outreach effort to get more people interested in space.

The couple is launching their latest project, Guidance Internal: Lessons From Astronauts, a Kickstarter campaign for a book and documentary looking at how astronauts are inspired by the cosmos.

MaryLiz Bender and Ryan Chylinski didn’t know it at the time, but they were both embarking on a similar mission -- selling all their stuff, hoping in a camper and touring the country documenting the latest space events.