I read 108 pages in Moon Shot this week.

Top Three Quotes of the Week

1. “Good Lord, they were going to land on the moon.”

-Moon Shot by Shepard, Slayton, Benedict, and Barbee

2.  “Washington had given the Russians an open door and a free ride to lead the world into tomorrow.”

 -Moon Shot by Shepard, Slayton, Benedict, and Barbee

3.             “‘Have you come from outer space?’ asked the astonished woman.

            ‘Yes, yes, would you believe it?’ Gagarin answered with a wide grin. ‘I certainly have.’”

-Moon Shot by Shepard, Slayton, Benedict, and Barbee

Responses:

1. I chose this first quote, because it brings up the difference in perspective before and after landing on the moon. Before it was done it was an astounding feat. If you were to tell someone that you were going to land on the moon, they might tell you to put your head on straight. Now, landing on the moon almost seems like an ordinary thing to do.
2. Many of the things that Washington did put the U.S. behind in the space race for a while. Washington didn’t want a rocket designed for military purposes to launch the first satellite, however looking back, we see that if they would have used the technology developed by von Braun and his team instead of investing in Vanguard which failed, the U.S. might have beat the soviets into space.
3. Whether Soviet, Russian, European, Japanese, Chinese, American, or any other nationality, I greatly support everyone in spaceflight. When I read this quote, I laughed out loud because it almost sounds absurd to have men from outer space landing on earth. Secondly, I felt happy for Yuri Gagarin getting to be first in space. Lastly I realized some of the realities about Soviet spaceflight that are present in this quote. A farmer is speaking to Yuri; most of the time, farmers were the first to find the cosmonauts. Secondly, Yuri landed on land; the Soviets always had land landings. Third, Yuri is proud for his country. For many cosmonauts it was all about serving their country.