In fact, the photo at the top of this site right now is the fountain in front of the U.S. Capitol Building, and Becky is down on the right taking a picture with her camera.
She was with me when I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and she endured all my moments where I grabbed my head with both hands and hissed, "Oh my GOD I can't believe I'm seeing this!!"
Tonight Apollo 13 was on HBO, and I can't not watch it. I can't. It is an amazing piece of American history and the story is told with very very few dramatic embellishments.
So when I saw this display over in a corner of the museum, I did that head-grab thing. Gene Kranz, the flight director for Apollo 13 and many other space missions, wore a specially made vest for each mission. His wife sewed them. For Apollo 13, he wore a white vest, and it is in the movie. And here is the actual vest:
Then there's Gus Grissom. He was one of the original astronauts. He died in the accident with the Apollo capsule that caught fire.
This is his flight suit:
This is an actual Apollo Space Capsule. It is enclosed in glass:
A flight suit patch that was salvaged from the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Challenger:
