Apollo 16 40th Anniversary Celebration

So, here's the deal. If you're a nerdy space fanatic like I am, there's a good chance you have a favorite Apollo mission. In my case, it's Apollo 16. I'm sure you're relieved that I'm sparing you the reasons why I'm fascinated by this particular mission which I could discuss in length and in exhaustive detail. I'm also sparing you all the "me with" photographs taken with the astronauts (Apollo and shuttle), politicians, and Kennedy Space Center administrators in attendance at the 40th anniversary celebration hosted by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. In the interest of brevity, I decided just to post a picture of me with Charlie Duke, the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 16, as he was the featured guest of the evening. Unfortunately, the other Apollo 16 crew members, John Young/Commander and Ken Mattingly/Command Module Pilot, were unable to attend.

The evening's activities consisted of a reception to give the guests an opportunity to mingle with the astronauts, a banquet, and a panel discussion with Charlie Duke along with members of the Apollo 16 back-up and support crews.

Neil Armstrong did a brief introduction of the Apollo 16 crew before the panel discussion started.


Below is a picture of the panel (Hank Hartsfield, Edgar Mitchell, Fred Haise, Charlie Duke) discussion being moderated by Jim Lovell. The group told some funny stories. My favorite (which I'm wildly paraphrasing) was how Ken Mattingly lost his wedding ring in the capsule and had been searching for it in vain. The ring finally showed up at the most inopportune time- when the hatch had been opened for Ken Mattingly to perform an EVA (i.e., spacewalk). Charlie Duke tried to grab it before it floated away into the reaches of space, but was unsuccessful. Fortunately, the ring hit the back of Mattingly's helmet which caused it to reverse its trajectory and float back into the capsule.


The party did not so much end as it transferred to the lounge at the event hotel where everyone was staying. I finally cried uncle at about 2:00 a.m.

Overall, it was a really nice event. It was fun mingling with the astronauts and hanging out with my space buddies.