26 May 1969: The Command Module Charlie Brown splashed down in the Pacific Ocean & was recovered by crewmen from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Princeton; Tom Stafford, John Young, & Gene Cernan were flown first to American Samoa & then to Hawai'i; the stage was now set to attempt the first Moon landing, with seven months left to meet President Kennedy's goal of the end of the 1960s.
Bonus! Moonshot Songs o' the Day: Apollo 10
James Darren, "Here's to the Losers" from This One's from the Heart (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
Commentary: I tease the crew of Apollo 10 only out of a deep affection & affinity. They played their part in the great drama of Project Apollo with poise & professionalism, setting the stage for Armstrong, Collins, & Aldrin's historic feat during Apollo 11. So close, yet so far, but weep not for Stafford, Young, & Cernan. SPOILER ALERT: Young walked on the Moon as Commander of Apollo 16 & Cernan as the Commander of Apollo 17, making them two of only twelve men to walk on the Moon & two of the three—along with Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 & Apollo 13)—to have twice journeyed from the Earth to the Moon & back. Stafford served as the Commander of the final Apollo mission, the Détente-era Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Here's to the losers!
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National Aeronautics & Space Administration, "Apollo 10 Excerpt 19" from The Apollo Missions (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
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