The first event in this series was held on Friday, November 3, 2006 at the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and was entitled Vice Adm. Donald D. Engen Flight Jacket Night.  During these events you will learn from these men their unique contributions to space history.  Moderated by Ed Buckbee, astronauts Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford, Charlie Duke and Scott Carpenter will recount their experiences during NASA's drive to put a man on the moon.

The second event was a private event for Omega and was held on February 17, 2007 California Science Center, Los Angeles, California.

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dates and locations in the near future

 

Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford, USAF (Ret.), flew in space four times, including the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first meeting of American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts in space. 

Brigadier General Charles Duke, USAF (Ret), served as lunar module pilot of Apollo 16, and was the 10th of only 12 men to walk on the moon.  Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey and sample materials and surface features.

 

Ed Buckbee, director emeritus of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and founder of U.S. Space Camp, served as a public affairs officer during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

 

Following the lectures, the speakers will be signing the following books that will also be available for purchase:

Brothers of Apollo

“Apollo may be the only achievement for which our age is remembered a 1000 years from now”…Arthur C. Clark

Twelve Americans walked on the moon. Others have tried but only Americans succeeded. No human has been out of earth orbit since 1972 when the last man on the moon, Gene Cernan returned home with his Apollo 17 crew. In the race to the moon with the Russians, Ed Buckbee was a NASA spokesman who worked with all the Apollo astronauts including the now famous moonwalkers. His personal stories of this brotherhood of astronauts who competed for moon shots are the real deal. The competition for rides, the close calls, near tragedies and splashdown parties are told as he experienced them as a close colleague of these famous space flyers. He relates how they trained and encounters he had with the astronauts before they became famous moon walkers. On the first moon mission, Buckbee describes Neil Armstrong's descent to the moon as his fuel runs out with only seconds remaining. He takes you behind the scenes during the Apollo I fire that killed three astronauts and Apollo 13 that nearly became the lost in space mission, ’Houston, we have a problem.’ You ride along with John Young as he drives the lunar rover, the ultimate driving machine on the moon. Only three days by Saturn rocket to the moon, Buckbee describes the mammoth machine and you listen in as the Saturn riders exclaim, ‘Whew, what a ride!’ You blast off the moon with the last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan, as he flies his moon ship home. Where are those moonwalkers today and what do you do after you have been to the moon; attend anniversaries, dedications, reunions and memorial services?

Buckbee takes you to the moon and back in his exciting and dramatic Brothers of Apollo. Ed Buckbee, alumnus of NASA Public Affairs, lecturer, director emeritus, space advocate and author of The Real Space Cowboys presents a power point presentation with rarely seen manned space flight photos and videos, designed for all audiences.

 

Remembering  Wernher von Braun and Saturn

“The soul of an explorer lives in us all”…Wernher von Braun

 Ed Buckbee  introduces  the multi-facet Von Braun, the master architect of America’s Apollo manned space program; the man who made dreams come  true while letting others see the stars from a vantage point he himself had hoped to one day share. In Von Braun, Buckbee provides insight about the a man who committed—heart and soul—to living in a new frontier. His words, “late to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise, “ aptly described his approach to securing his dream. Von Braun, the rocket scientist and visionary of space flight, convinced presidents and congressmen to spend millions exploring space for peaceful purposes. Von Braun’s eloquence and resolve were renowned and unrelenting, even after landing man on the moon.

 Buckbee takes you  through the events leading  into the U.S. manned space flight  program and tours of NASA with President  John  F. Kennedy, who challenged the nation to land man on the moon within the decade. Feel the collective will of a nation to defeat the Russians in an all-out space race via an American team of 400,000 scientist, engineers, astronauts and technicians who preformed as if the country  were at war. He describes the mood and the efforts of those building and testing the mammoth Saturn V moon rocket that launched the Apollo astronauts to the moon. “You couldn’t go anywhere in a NASA building in those days and not hear three words…man…moon…decade.

To watch a  Saturn booster test firing was the ultimate fire and smoke show. Generating 71/2 million pounds of thrust—equivalent to 160 million horsepower—thousands came to  Huntsville, the Rocket  City, to watch and marvel at the immense power  of this enormous man-made machine.”

Ed Buckbee, an alumnus of NASA Public  Affairs , lecturer, space advocate and author of  The REAL Space Cowboys presents a  power point  presentation  with  rare photos and  DVD’s of  Von  Braun and  the Saturn moon rocket,  designed  for all audiences.

 

Meet The REAL Space Cowboys  

“Levity is the lubricate of a crisis", says Wally Schirra. "We resort  to jokes, pranks and good natured kidding to relieve  tension, stress and boredom.”

In 1959, seven pilots were selected to train as America’s first astronauts. Alan Shepard, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, Gus  Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter  and  Deke  Slayton  accepted their  country’s call to service and would become known as the Mercury 7. These men who had jockeyed for the best flying jobs in the military, began competing for rides on  rockets. Most would eventually vie for the ultimate ride to the moon. This was the dream—a chance to ascend to the top of the pyramid—a lion-hearted pilot’s deepest desire. Author Buckbee, who has enjoyed a 40 + year association with the U.S. space program, follows these brave pioneers. From Alan Shepard’s sub-orbital flight to the last man to walk on the moon Gene Cernan and Deke Slayton’s Apollo-Soyuz mission with the Russians;  Buckbee covers all the manned missions of that era. Through time and personal friendships, he captures their dreams of flying higher, faster and farther than anyone in the known universe. You are  taken behind the scenes to witness the competition between chimpanzees and astronauts and the conflict between NASA engineers designing capsules and those who would pilot them. They were our first astronauts. The path they blazed now shines for others; on a voyage that is a measure of the best in us all. The Mercury 7 astronauts were first. They are The REAL Space Cowboys, who had the right stuff.

 Ed Buckbee, a lecturer, space advocate and author  presents a  power point presentation with rarely seen  early manned space flight photos and videos designed for all audiences. An alumnus of NASA Public Affairs, Buckbee who’s appeared on CNN, Today Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Good Morning America, was there when the astronauts flew on the early Mercury, Gemini and Apollo moon landing missions. Founder of Space Camp and co-founder of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Buckbee teamed with Wally Schirra in authoring a  book entitled, “The REAL Space Cowboys.” that he describes in Meet the  Real  Space Cowboys.