NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2

1998

R. Walter Cunningham, retired NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 7, is interviewed about his role in the Gemini and Apollo programs. Cunningham contrasts his experience during Gemini and Apollo, and describes various astronauts' roles in providing input to various elements of the missions. Cunningham also describes deficiencies during Apollo 1 and the "go fever" that resulted in the fire that killed the first crew.

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Series: NOVA
Program: To the Moon
Program Number: 2610
Title: Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2
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: 0:11:20
Asset Type: Raw video
Media Type: Video
Subjects: American history; Moon; Astronaut; Apollo; Gemini; Space
Creators: WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)
Contributors: Cunningham, Ronnie Walter, 1932- (Interviewee)
Rights Summary: Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation: Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed April 19, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E3C27080DF574DBE82CA295C449FDC75.; MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. April 19, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E3C27080DF574DBE82CA295C449FDC75>.; APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E3C27080DF574DBE82CA295C449FDC75

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NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2