Fighter Pilot and First Apollo Astronaut To Spacewalk | Russell "Rusty" Schweickart
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- Prior to joining NASA, Russell "Rusty" Schweickart served in the U.S. Air Force and Massachusetts Air National Guard from 1956 to 1963. During this time he logged over 4,000 hours of flight time.
Schweickart joined NASA as one of 14 astronauts named in October 1963, the third group of astronauts selected. He served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 9, an experience that would forever change his life.
Apollo 9 was the third manned flight of the Apollo series and the first manned flight of the lunar module. During a 46 minute EVA Schweickart tested the portable life support backpack which was subsequently used on the lunar surface explorations.
During the Apollo 9 mission Schweickart logged 241 hours in space.
Interview recorded on May 28, 2023
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Video Credits:
Interviewer - Greg Corombos
Director of Photography - Jon Hambacker
Editor - Daniel Taksas
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Already subscribed. Beautiful story !! 🤠
What a great man to listen to
What an intelligent, interesting, grounded and articulate man he is, to say nothing of his accomplishments. Just a joy to listen to and know he and people like him exist. I wish we all had those qualities
Amazing how vital this guy is! He was like 88 years old when this was recorded!
I'm 63 and am older than he is in this video.
I've always loved 'Rusty' as an Apollo astronaut. I think he got a raw deal. I love Apollo 9 and the fact that he backed out the hatch and tested the ladder and the Apollo moon suit above earth. NASA had a lot of astronauts to get onto flights back then. But I think 'Rusty' should have flown again on Skylab at least...
Rusty is a hero to humanity. Thank you for your contributions to the military & Apollo missions.
What a great interview. I found his comments about Apollo 8 being more historically important than Apollo 11 very interesting.
Chris Kraft said the same thing in his book years ago. Despite the significance of Apollo 11, Apollo 8 broke MUCH more ground especially considering it was the FIRST time that people flew aboard the Saturn V
Agree with him.
One of the most profound astronaut experiences ever. I am glad that From The Earth To The Moon portrayed Rusty's epiphany in a way that feels so in line to this story directly from him. The actor they cast did an excellent job of capturing Rusty's look, and more importantly his humility.
Finding a fighter pilot who is humble is said to be near impossible. Rusty is a role model.
Rusty sent his daughter to the Waldorf School in Sacramento, Ca. Go visit that campus on the edge of the American River to get a more complete sense of just how unique Rusty Schweickart is. Then take another look at his official Apollo portrait in how he grew his hair out freely, while others kept their crewcuts. Rusty is a Free Spirit. And he was the perfect representative of the human race... or as he so eloquently explains here, representative of all life on Earth, all consciousness on our planet, to have those precious 5 minutes. Along with the rest of the awe inspiring EVA, and other profound moments from his one and only spaceflight.
Rusty is not like any of the other astronauts. Another place you can visit to get a much more complete sense of just how different he is... you can go visit Esalen.
Esalen is a place that can be understood as a capital for the most enlightened human beings among us. Also in California. Also adjacent to serene water. The Pacific Ocean.
Rusty was an instructor there. He is a person who has developed his full potential in so many dimensions. One of the greatest astronauts ever. One of the greatest human beings ever. And a key aspect to that greatness is the completeness of his humility. It keeps so many from recognizing just how special Rusty Schweickart is.
Thank you for posting this profound interview. I fully agree that the most historic event was Apollo 8. The highlight most everyone thinks of is Earthrise. But the singular moment of that mission in my mind was early on, not long after TLI when they were able to look back on Earth to see it as a whole sphere. They were the very first human beings to ever go beyond Low Earth Orbit. The first of only 24. Throughout all the hundreds of thousands of years of human existence. Only 24.
But the real jewel all along is Earth. So he probably knows that he had the best seat in the house. The only astronaut to do an EVA around Earth during Apollo.
@@thejerseyj5479
3 x 9 = 27
The number of seats is exactly correct. And my number of 24 human beings filling those seats is also exactly correct. A conclusion that 27 different men filled those seats is an error. The obvious explanation as to why is because 3 of them went twice.
Lovell, Young, Cernan.
8&13, 10&16, 10&17.
Now of the 24, there are three of them who did something special as well. A grand total of 3 astronauts have ever done a Deep Space EVA. A spacewalk where you could see the whole Earth, turn your head, and see the whole Moon. These were:
Worden, Mattingly, Evans on 15, 16, 17.
The LMP was designated as safety observer. And this could be seen as the better job. No tasks to do, you could sightsee the entire time. They only poked their torso out of the CSM, never leaving it entirely. These were:
Irwin, Duke, Schmitt.
These last 6 had one of the most unique experiences ever. I have never heard it described with the magnitude that Rusty describes his EVA experience. In my imagination, it must be far more powerful. Or maybe it was felt as extremely scary. Was it an eerie surrounding of blackness? Or gloriously surrounded by stars? I've never heard any of the six describe the event with a richness of detail sufficient for me to imagine being there myself.
@@thejerseyj5479,
Now I will quibble with you for saying _"ONE OF THE_ world's most exclusive clubs." Hah.
If anyone can let me know of a more exclusive club, then I'm all ears.
Raquel Welch's husbands? Hmm, only 4 there.
@@dahawk8574 I got to interview Ken Mattingly by telephone and his description of the intensity of the blackness of space contrasted with the infinite (in human terms) brightness of the sunlight co-existing within the same volume of space was truly unforgettable. I will dig out my handwritten notes to refresh my memories.
Fantastic interview, Russell "Rusty" Schweickart is a remarkable individual indeed. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Just learned Jim Lovell of Apollo 8 & 13 is on assisted living home at age 94 (?).
His wife, Marilyn, passed about a year ago. Fun guy!!!
This is an amazing interview and long over due. Rusty Schweickart giving praise to the crew and accomplishments of Apollo 8 speaks volumes to his character.
I could listen to Rusty all day! I love this man!
Absolutely astounding profound interview. Rusty’s lucidity at 88 years of age is amazing. Very few in their 50s or so would come close in the depth of thought.
Wow! Loved this interview. What an awesome man! Glad he shared!
We can’t even get to orbit properly these days. The MAIN reason we succeeded in the 60s - 70s is because of these extraordinary, talented and steadfast men. They overcame problems that we don’t know anything about to make those missions successful. We would be hard pressed to find men like these in today’s society.
You have no clue what you are talking about… we throw stuff up there every damn day.. guys like this are still around. Quit letting people convince you that everything is awful now.
@@nicholasrice8693 You are right, but what Rusty is talking about was done getting on for sixty years ago. It was accomplished quickly and effectively without the fantastic tools we have now. As for Apollo 8, not only was it the first human excursion into space beyond low Earth orbit, it was incredibly bold (first manned flight atop Saturn 5, first human flight to the Moon, only the second spacecraft to return to Earth after going around the Moon, first to return after closed Lunar orbits). This truly was a "space race" which Apollo won. The Soviets were having trouble with the Proton rocket and the Soyuz 7K-L1 spaceraft (N-1 was way behind). Zond 5 (14-21 Sept. 1968), was meant to be crewed, but carried tortoises. It successfully looped around the moon, and despite various problems, it landed and was retrieved from the Indian Ocean. Another uncrewed test, Zond 6 (Nov. 10-16), crashed on landing and killed its payload of turtles. The cosmonauts, led by Alexei Leonov, tried very hard for the next flight to be crewed, but the cautious Soviet leadership opted for another test, Zond 7 (Aug. 7-14, 1969), which was fully successful, but again carried turtles and performed photography. Of course, by then Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon.
The CIA knew what the Soviets were doing, and this apparently strongly influenced the decision to send Apollo 8 to the Moon when it became obvious that the the LEM was not ready for its first tests in LEO (carried out later by Apollo 9, on which Rusty flew). Had the Soviets been better organised, perhaps if Korolev had not died earlier, Alexei Leonov would be remembered as the first to command a spaceship beyond Earth and not Frank Borman. It would have been a stretch, and Proton never did fly humans (just as well!). But then "Earthrise" would not be a Bill Anders photograph but an Alexei Leonov painting ;-)
@@StefanMochnacki Agreed. Even on todays terms its daunting what was achieved. The Russians at that time were no less sophisticated or competent in many ways. They were just not good enough!.
Cap weve never been out of our atmosphere.
@@ebkjug What do you mean?
Thank You so much for your service and lovely dedications to Our Beautiful USA Dear Older American Sir.🙏
Wonderful interview from a great man. Apollo 9 had one of the best Apollo crews, a tight knit group. Rusty, may you live longer and prosper
As a boy during WW2 my dad carved wooden bombers out of cedar with sewing pins for machine gun barrels and hinged bombay doors made of tin and rotating propellers of carved cedar as they flew practice maneuvers overhead. As a boy during Vietnam A4s would buzz my parents house. Very exciting.
I’m not sure the hatch was the main problem. At that time they used an 100% oxygen environment with flammable materials. Any spark would lead to the whole thing being an inferno in seconds.
I could listen to Rusty a long, long time. Really proud to be an American like him.
Cool interview with Russell "Rusty" Schwickart Apollo 9 Lunar Module Pilot.
This is arguably the most important page on YT.
I wish the American Veterans Center would do these as audio podcasts.
I can't watch videos and work, but many times, I could listen.
I remember looking at pictures of Apollo 9's mission in a book I read a long time ago -- when I was really into the US space program.
I always felt Apollo 9 had some of the most spectacular shots of the entire program. There were shots of David Scott and Schweickart performing EVAs but the single most impressive shot was of the Lunar Module -- "Spider" -- inverted like it was going to dive to Earth!
Schweickart didn't mention this (that I heard) but Apollo 9 was the first mission since Gemini 3 (christened Molly Brown for dark humor reasons) were the vehicles had nicknames. They had to do this because you couldn't call both vehicles Apollo 9 and make it understood which vehicle NASA was communicating with!
I regret bringing this up "Gumdrop" and "Spider" sound like names a 5-year-old would come up with! LOL
Stunning!
Russell Schweickart is the youngest living flown Apollo astronaut. He is 88.
What a magnificent man!
He looks remarkably like Clint Eastwood in some camera angles.
This man's generation had some very exceptional individuals.
11:15I was 7.. We lived across the state and all my friends dads were involved with the Cape, or Honeywell, GE, etc.. Best friend's dad worked on the Shuttle program almost till the first launch.
From Neptune to the Moon !
Wow, why haven't I ever heard this man before?
Probably because he didn't make it to the moon and there were many Apollo guys who did.
What can you say to someone who's already pierced the heavens and returned to us mortals?
God isn't real
@tuckerg9577 you certainly look like the type to believe so.
@@Jv9569 ease up on this guy, I'm sure Tucker here is just angy that his stream thot didn't thank him for his monthly dono
@@Jv9569 you can't even see me properly and how's that
@@Jv9569 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" in Matthew 7:1
very sympathic
Oh by the bridge is a couple of blocks from North American on Imperial. LA Div is where we had the B-1 mock-up! Wonder if he is one of the astronauts who came to see it?
Love the North Anerican planes
Yeah but they stole money from the employees in the IT department.
Buzz Aldrin walked in space in Gemini.
"Planet Earth is blue...and there's nothing I can do...." - from Major Tom by David Bowie
Compared to the cosmos as a whole, the Moon is just a sliver of space away from Earth, and the Moon is about is far as the human species is ever likely to get.
where was this interview ?? thanks.
What you talked about intergalactic future travel a century ago
Is he the one who they kept telling to come back in over and over??
You're probably thinking of Ed White on Gemini 4.
First unemployed man in space!
I know so much and it was so bad and sad
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Why would youtube put a warning on this video?
Blockhead moon landing and round earth deniers.
Extra context in addition to throwing a speed bump in the way of misinformation.
@@sincereflowers3218If he isn’t espousing a flat earth theory then why bother? “Misinformation” is code for censorship and cowardice. If it’s factually wrong, then present your facts. It’s not rocket science.:)
@@cyn7869 Exactly, that’s why they presented the Wikipedia article, which states the fact that the earth isn’t flat 😊because we know for a fact that it isn’t.
🤔🤔🤔
This guy wasn't the first to space walk anywhere.
That was done by a Russian. Russia was first.
It said he was the first Apollo astronaut to spacewalk and he was.
Rusty, it is quite simple. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and all living things.
I thought you were in a studio. How can you do a space walk on the ground?
You thought wrong.
Utter stupidity
LOL - No one has gone beyond low earth orbit (a couple hundred miles up), as if well over half a century of no one going beyond low earth orbit isn't enough of a clue.
This is the argument you make when you don't understand why we went to the moon in the first place.
@@jshepard152
I KNOW we never went to the moon.
You go ahead and believe your cartoon fairy tale anyway....everyone needs a religion.
@@yomommaahotoo264and just what proof do you provide that every country ever put someone on the moon are all in on a crazy space conspiracy
proof?
@@cardboard9124
ENDLESS proof, one being there is ZERO independent evidence of humans breathing 5psi and under of pure O2 for days and weeks at a time.
Next.....
Apollo moon landings stages fools.
Go to Apollo Detectives for 85 videos proving it.
All absolutely stupid
They talk everything that is crooked into straight and vice versa.
@@NoremacOktik
Silliest nonsense on the internet.
You need to look at little closer at the sources you are believing. It is an undisputed fact that we went to moon 6 times where men landed and returned.
@@petersearls4443
And installed EASEP, ALSEP and LRRR.
I couldn't stand this.
The earth is flat
No one asked, but the laws of physics would immediately collapse a flat plane into a ball shape. All other planets are spheres for this reason.
Explain eclipses, time zones, why other planets are OBVIOUSLY round, and why gravity ALWAYS causes massive object to collapse into a BALL.
Then again, you're a moron. And that's not up for debate.
@@sincereflowers3218 the other planets arnt real lol, nasa is just using their budget to project things onto the firmament
@@sincereflowers3218 lol there’s no such thing as “other planets” nasa is using their budget to project things onto the firmament
@@sincereflowers3218 and gravity isn’t real it’s literally because of density and earth moving up
Tell him to put his hand on the Bible and swear it happened
Asks someone who beliefs in the biggest lie in history. Who are you to question this mans integrity anyway?
They never went to space...and never will ...u cant
@dtmrstp2153u can believe in space all u want ...u can believe they called bin laden as well...I seen a movie about it...must b true bro😂😂😂😂
Anyone in 2024, thinks it didn't happen is frankly a blind idiot. How do you think today we have photographs in recent years of what was left on the moon from apollo. Take the blindfold off and look at the undisputed evidence
What's so special about swearing on a Bible, and does a stack of Bibles work better than just one?
Sure 😂😂😂😂
Get lost with your stupid emojis and I think you have Anosognosia.
What is worse than the devil's sellout puppets? the sheep who worship them.