All Engine Running
June 27, 2015 4:38 PM   Subscribe

Jack King, voice of Apollo 11, has died. He was 84. King, a former NASA Chief of Public Information and Public Affairs Officer, is remembered for having voiced the commencing countdown of, among hundreds of other NASA launches, perhaps the most famous space launch in human history: the launching of Apollo 11. Named as "the voice of launch control", King's presence and contributions are deeply woven into the beginnings of NASA. Indeed, save for that of Neil Armstrong's, no voice is as indelibly etched in our collective memory of humankind's move to space as Jack King's. Recounting those halcyon days of NASA and the birth of the Space Age, here is one of King's last interviews.
posted by Mike Mongo (25 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
🚀
posted by clavdivs at 4:42 PM on June 27, 2015 [9 favorites]


Assistant: Sir, the TV ratings for the launch are the highest in ten years.
Everyone: Yay!
Scientist: And how's the spacecraft doing?
Assistant: I don't know. All this equipment is just used to measure TV ratings.
posted by 7segment at 4:55 PM on June 27, 2015 [1 favorite]




.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 PM on June 27, 2015


We have liftoff.

.
posted by trip and a half at 5:29 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by Rob Rockets at 5:43 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by infini at 5:45 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 7:10 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by dbiedny at 7:12 PM on June 27, 2015


Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:36 PM on June 27, 2015 [1 favorite]


.
posted by drnick at 7:49 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:07 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by tilde at 8:53 PM on June 27, 2015


Per aspera, ad astara.
.
posted by sourcequench at 8:54 PM on June 27, 2015 [2 favorites]


I remember watching the Apollo 11 landing, the national pride and excitement, the grainy TV images and especially the peculiar beeping. I still tear up at "The Eagle has landed!" In memory of Jack King:

*beep*
posted by Quietgal at 8:55 PM on June 27, 2015 [4 favorites]


.
posted by HuronBob at 9:22 PM on June 27, 2015


..........
posted by sexyrobot at 9:33 PM on June 27, 2015


*
posted by sexyrobot at 9:34 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by mikelieman at 11:12 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by notyou at 11:55 PM on June 27, 2015


.
posted by Splunge at 2:07 AM on June 28, 2015


Aww.

.
posted by MissySedai at 6:30 AM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


.
posted by seyirci at 9:03 AM on June 28, 2015


Godspeed into the great beyond
.
posted by double block and bleed at 11:23 AM on June 28, 2015


Thank you very much for sharing this. I especially liked the recent video interview with King that you shared.

It's sad to see my childhood heroes (anyone who worked in the space program, really, but especially the Apollo program) disappearing from this earth. It's still such a stunningly impressive accomplishment.

Aside: thanks to the OMD song Apollo XI (fan video linked), I can always tell whether the film of a given Saturn V launch is Apollo 11 or not, because the song contains audio of Jack King saying "Liftoff. We have a liftoff, 32 minutes past the hour."

It also contains other great clips of Kennedy, Cronkite, Nixon, and more. And if you listen to it a few times, you'll never forget to include Mike Collins with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

posted by Davenhill at 5:41 PM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


« Older The first time I coughed up blood, I shook it off.   |   A T O M I C ! Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments