GBH Openvault
NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3
Part of To the Moon Interviews.
1998
Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, is interviewed about his work in NASA's mission control during Apollo 11. He describes the now-primitive code that was created for a 64,000-word-machine by MIT students that was used to send men to space and the moon, and compares the differences in complexity of operations between the Gemini and Apollo programs. Bales also explains his feelings after the loss of Apollo 1, and his role during Apollo 11, and the importance of practice while running Apollo 11. Bales also describes training for Apollo 11 using simulations, and describes the moments before the Apollo 11 landing on the moon including the crowding in the room and the pressure that everybody felt. During Apollo 11's descent to the moon, an alarm began sounding, and Bales explains his thoughts and why he chose not to abort the mission.
- Series
- NOVA
- Program
- To the Moon
- Program Number
2610
- Title
Interview with Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3
- Series Description
NOVA is a general-interest documentary series that addresses a single science issue each week. Billed as "science adventures for curious grown-ups" when it first aired in March, 1974, NOVA continues to offer an informative and entertaining approach to a challenging subject. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won every major television award, most of them many times over.
- Program Description
This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went – not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.
- Duration
0:23:21
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Astronaut
- American history
- Apollo
- Gemini
- Space
- Moon
- Creators
- WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)
- Contributors
- Bales, Steve, 1942- (Interviewee)
- Rights Summary
Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed April 26, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B5062B5586AA4AF88635EDDBB03F39BE.
- MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. April 26, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B5062B5586AA4AF88635EDDBB03F39BE>.
- APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_B5062B5586AA4AF88635EDDBB03F39BE