The memories have faded.
Half a century after playing a key role in the development of the Saturn V rocket engine which sent Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon 50 years ago today Bill Goode admits the years have caught up to him.
Its been so long, that a lot is just out of my memory, said Goode, 94, who resides at Heartland Meadows Residential Care in Iola. I remember it was a real exciting time.
Nevertheless, Goodes contribution to Armstrongs iconic one giant leap for mankind will be recognized with a moon party today at Heartland Meadows.
Staffers have a slew of activities on the agenda, including a televised special of Armstrongs moon landing on July 20, 1969.
In addition, moon pies and crescent sandwiches will be served, while residents will reminisce about where they were when the Eagle, the nickname given to Apollo 11s lunar landing module, set down in the Sea of Tranquility.
Administrators also will present a certificate to Goode to honor his contribution to science.
GOODES affiliation with the space program came through his extensive background, first in the Navy during World War II, then after the war as an engineer with Boeing.
It was while at Boeing, helping develop such aircraft as the B-52 Stratofortress, that the aircraft giant was hired as a subcontractor with NASA to help develop components for the Saturn V.
Goode moved from Wichita to New Orleans as part of the rocket booster design team at the Michoud Assembly Plant.
The rockets would be assembled, tested, and if successful, loaded on barges for the long trek to Cape Canaveral, Fla.
I liked everything about it, Goode explained in a 2017 interview with the Register. We did static firing of every rocket, and everything was kept in top shape.
Perhaps most pleasing, Goode said, was that the Apollo missions went off almost on schedule. President Kennedy had declared the United States would reach the moon by the end of the 1960s. Armstrong did just that in July 1969.
Goodes involvement spanned the entire length of the Apollo space program, (including the tragic fire during a test simulation that killed three astronauts in 1967 prior to Apollo I), to the final moon landing from Apollo 17 in December 1972.
