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Pat Duggins
Pat Duggins
Senior News Analyst
pduggins@wmfe.org


 

December 26, 2008—This week marks 40 years since the launch of Apollo 8, where Astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders took the famous “Earthrise” photo of our globe above the barren lunar horizon in 1968. Also, I’m flattered to have written the introduction for this month’s Florida Historical Quarterly on the 50th anniversary of NASA.

 

Astronaut Mike Collins made history as a member of the crew that made the first moon landing Apollo 11. But, he was supposed to be aboard Apollo 8 with Borman and Anders. A bone spur in his back prompted NASA to replace him with his back-up Jim Lovell. During a discussion, Collins mentioned to me that he felt that, in one hundred years, Apollo 8 would be considered the most historic Moon mission, even more important than Apollo 11 where Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. That’s because Apollo 8 was the first time humans left Earth to visit another place.

 

On the book front, the upcoming edition of Florida Historical Quarterly is out with articles on NASA’s 50th anniversary. I’m honored to have been asked to write the introduction. Also, hardbound copies of “Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program” are available before the book goes into paperback in the Spring. Now that Christmas is over, I can “spill the beans” that WMFE listener and supporter Wendy McClesky dropped by the station to get a copy signed so she could put it under the tree for her father.

 

Happy holidays and more to come,

 

 

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