GBH Openvault

NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4

Part of To the Moon Interviews.

1998

Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, is interviewed about the Gemini and Apollo programs. The interview begins with Lunney's reasons why the Gemini program was so integral to the Apollo program, what went into the Gemini program, and Lunney's reaction to President John F. Kennedy's "to the moon" speech. Lunney also explains the details of the Gemini 7-6 mission and Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford's roles during the mission. Gemini 7-6 rendezvoused for 14 days, and Lunney explains some of the medical fears of having astronauts in space for that long, and assesses Jim Lovell and Frank Borman's performances during the mission, and mentions their smell after emerging from the capsule. Lunney discusses being a flight director at a very young age, and explains Russian space exploration as a motivator for American exploration. For Lunney, Apollo was insulated and isolated from the general upheavals of the 1960s, and Lunney explains his feelings when Gemini ended. Lunney discusses the effect of the Apollo 1 fire, its effect on the Apollo program and Wally Schirra, and the in-flight difficulties during Apollo 7. The interview ends with Lunney's expressions of his love for his job. The very end of the interview has audio from Sy Liebergot's interview (from tape 52050, ID barcode52050_Liebergot_01) on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13.

Series

NOVA

Program

To the Moon

Program Number

2610

Title

Interview with Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4

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

Alan Binder, former Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, is interviewed about the Lunar Prospector. Binder says that if moon travel became viable again, he would want to go to the moon, but says that in order to get financial and public support for space exploration, scientists need to sell the science of the moon. Another option, according to Binder, is to make travel to the moon commercially viable, and lists many benefits of going to the moon, including using it as a fuel source, or colonizing the surface for human habitation (audio cuts out from 00:07:30 - 00:09:00). Binder explains the work of the Lunar Prospector and talks about the necessity of having computers to do a lot of the work. On Apollo, Binder calls the program the most significant event of the 21st century, and talks about the roles of the Apollo program, the Clementine spacecraft, and hte Lunar Prospector. The interview ends with Binder's views on his relationship with NASA, which he characterizes as being needlessly bound up in beaurocracy and red tape.

Duration

0:28:37

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Gemini

American history

Space

Astronaut

Moon

Apollo

Creators

WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)

Contributors

Lunney, Glynn, 1936- (Interviewee)

Rights Summary

Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed April 19, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_8505684580A54F0381327D0D2E0317B2.

MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. April 19, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_8505684580A54F0381327D0D2E0317B2>.

APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_8505684580A54F0381327D0D2E0317B2