Grumman Lunar Module slideshow

6/21/2012 9:19 PM EDT

Small pictures of photographs, one per page.

Can we do a little better?

6/22/2012 7:39 AM EDT

Thanks for taking me back to when the space program was on everyones minds and hearts. I live near the Cape here in Melbourne, FL and find that this area still thrives on "space nuts" like me. I don't like missing launches, even though the shuttle is retired now, we still shoot off a lot of "one stick" rockets. One minor correction I would make is that I believe the Lunar Module as you called it (LM) was actually called the LEM for Lunar Excursion Module... I

6/22/2012 11:31 PM EDT

What I remember of July 20, 1969. I was working for Northrop, Defense Systems Division and on my way home from Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. I was asked to divert to Grumman Bethpage, NY and help with an AN/ALQ-80 ECM pod / Grumman OV-1 Mowhawk interface problem. By the time I made it to Grumman and resolved the problem it was after 11:00 pm. The Grumman Engineers told me that a LM (sister to the one on the moon) was set up in the next hanger and asked if I wanted to see it.

Grumman had imported truck loads of shale to coat the floor in front of the LEM and had a black tarp set up behind it. There were TV cameras set up to look over a table loaded with the shale. On the monitor it appeared that the camera was looking over the edge of a creator at the LEM. The TV views from the hanger were labeled as such.

I took a small rock from the table and headed back to Illinois. The next morning all the early news was about the moon landing and there were shots from the Grumman hanger. I produced the rock and told me family it was from right there, pointing to the spot on TV. My oldest did not buy it as a moon rock. I had to show him that the TV stated it was was not a moon shot and point out that I never said it was a moon rock to gain back any credibility. I have no idea what happened to the rock!