Coming this Friday,

a special Texas Standard presentation

 

This month marks 50 years since the U.S. put a man on the moon and Texas Standard has been working on a show looking back at how Texas helped lead the race. The one-hour special airs Friday, July 19, at 10 a.m. on your local NPR station.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the voices and stories you’ll hear:

 

  • Excerpts from, and commentary on, President Kennedy’s 1962 speech at Rice University, which launched the mythology of an outer space manifest destiny.
  • The voice of a Mission Controller, Charlie Duke, whose first words to the Apollo 11 crew on the surface of the Moon – after a landing that nearly expended all of the Lunar Module Eagle’s fuel – were “Roger, Twank…Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot!”
  • Why many historians see LBJ as our most important president when it comes to space.
  • Two of the women NASA engineers who were instrumental to the Apollo 11 mission.
  • How Texas has become a hub for space exploration, including private space businesses, including Blue Origins and SpaceX.
  • And much more!

Tune in Friday, July 19, at 10 a.m. to your local NPR station. (Note: Some stations air Texas Standard at different times. Please check the where to listen page for your station.)