NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3

1998

Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, is interviewed about the Apollo program. Petrone discusses the landing trajectory and site selection of Apollo 17, and his high opinion of the geological training that the astronauts got from Lee Silver. He also expresses his disappointment at the ending of the Apollo program before 20 missions.

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Series: NOVA
Program: To the Moon
Program Number: 2610
Title: Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 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: 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: 0:05:17
Asset Type: Raw video
Media Type: Video
Subjects: Gemini; Moon; Apollo; American history; Astronaut; Space
Creators: WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)
Contributors: Petrone, Rocco Anthony, 1926-2006 (Interviewee)
Rights Summary: Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation: Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed December 26, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_9A47579882E74F468E39F8BCED897B16.; MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. December 26, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_9A47579882E74F468E39F8BCED897B16>.; APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_9A47579882E74F468E39F8BCED897B16

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NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3