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Mr David Woods, Spaceflight Historian, will present the second public lecture of the session "Thirteen out of Ten: A Tribute to Neil Armstrong & Apollo 11's Landing on the Moon" online via Zoom.

Apollo 11's landing on the Moon in 1969 was a landmark event but it almost didn't occur for many reasons.  In order to explain what the issues were, this talk lays out the basic concepts and equipment behind the landing and then details the eight major problems that Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and the flight control team in Houston had to deal with (including some issues that no one knew about until much later).  Normally, this talk concludes with a real-time replay of the 12.5-minute descent, with the audience hopefully having a much greater appreciation of what is happening moment by moment.  In light of this being an online event, the talk would end with a suggestion of where on YouTube folk can go to for a comprehensive portrayal of the landing as created by the author.

Biographical Summary:
David Woods is a semi-retired video editor, formerly with BBC Scotland, but he took a life-long interest in the Apollo programme.  Major works include the Apollo Flight Journal website (hosted by NASA) and four books.  He authored How Apollo Flew to the Moon, a comprehensive description of the engineering and procedures that made an Apollo mission work; and the Haynes Saturn V Owner's Workshop Manual, an insight into the history, development and technology of the vehicle that sent Apollo to the Moon.  He co-authored two other Haynes manuals; Lunar Rover and Gemini.  He has been a consultant on many books, films, television and radio programmes on Apollo.

Join the lecture using the following Zoom URL: https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/j/97301658086

The lecture will start promptly at 1930

 


Dr Queenie Chan answers questions after her successful lecture
entitled "Meteorites and the Search for Life", September 2019
Image: Paul Makin

The ASG's free public lectures for the 2020-21 session are as follows. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic our normal venue at University of Strathclyde is closed and public lecture will instead be held online via Zoom.  Access links for the Zoom sessions will be posted below before each lecture.  All lectures start at 19:30