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Smithme2g t1_j6wt6fn wrote

I saw him speak at an event in 2019. He had the crowd rolling with laughter the entire time, seemed like a great guy all around. His book is an excellent read!

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M4nusky t1_j6zjlwb wrote

Must have been a great event! His book is so interesting with his mostly pragmatic tone amid the craziness of the programs and handfull of "wait you want us to do WHAT while up there?? " moments.

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Distwalker t1_j6xn03d wrote

In the summer of 1969 he was further removed from other humans than any other person ever.

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Historical_Gur_3054 t1_j6y3exk wrote

That reminds of the pic Collins took of the LEM Ascent module coming up from the moon with a partial earth in the background.

While a great shot all by itself it took on a more interesting tone when you realized that every human being alive at that point except one was in that picture.

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Bigfops t1_j73zvpg wrote

Someone needs to post that with the caption:

Everybody*

*not pictured: Michael Collins

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BenjaminaAU t1_j6w1ygn wrote

'Collins, who died in 2021 at age 90, was the first person to orbit the moon solo'
Apollo X CM pilot John Young: "Am I a joke to you?"

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haruku63 t1_j6wn4d0 wrote

It says alone, not solo, so you can interpret it as he was first to be the only one in a lunar orbit. But I guess they just forgot about 10.

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HowManyAccountsHaveI t1_j6x7txs wrote

Was Snoopy ever out of "sight" of Charlie Brown? Maybe the solo vs. alone distinction is that Collins was the first person to be out of contact with any other humans while on the far side of the moon, while Eagle could still talk to Earth.

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BenjaminaAU t1_j6ybez0 wrote

This is what I was trying to find out. Snoopy went down to about 10 miles above the surface. Haven't been able to find out what altitude Charlie Brown's orbit was, but you'd guess it was far enough apart to test the rendezvous radar and other systems.

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mixologist998 t1_j6y14os wrote

His picture of the moon and the earth, with all other humans beings in existence in it, is stunning

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Neb_Djed t1_j6wxmbp wrote

Imagine going to the moon and still being the less important Michael Collins

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arcosapphire t1_j6xxntn wrote

He's the most important one in my view. 500 years from now, I'm pretty confident he will be the one remembered the best.

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blackbarminnosu t1_j6zekll wrote

Doubt it. Very few people know who he is now

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ClapAlongChorus t1_j78bztg wrote

but he's still the most famous michael collins outside the UK: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins

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blackbarminnosu t1_j78q8o4 wrote

What does the UK have to do with anything

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ClapAlongChorus t1_j78qywn wrote

click the link. i'd assume if you lived in the British Isles there's a much higher chance you're more familiar with the Michael Collins who was an Irish Nationalist or the British Actor or the British Footballer

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armchairracer t1_j6yu3fm wrote

Is there another Michael Collins I should be familiar with?

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Xaqv t1_j6yuxlm wrote

You’re not Irish are you?

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RegularRockTech t1_j702o83 wrote

Leader of Ireland and its military during the revolution and subsequent civil war. Big part of the reason why Ireland exists as a country now.

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Ooh-Rah t1_j6xzdnc wrote

Off topic, I know, but I always thought flag officers were buried with an all-officer color guard.

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jmvbmw t1_j6ym3gm wrote

BTW: Collins was not the first person to orbit the moon solo. The first was John W. Young

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EsenliklerDiler t1_j748jt0 wrote

Bro what? He died like a year ago, they are burying him now? Wtf?

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Bare425 t1_j6w1l88 wrote

I know his name because of Norm Mcdonald. He went all the way to the moon then couldn't step down the rope ladder.

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msur t1_j704hms wrote

Buzz and Niel, you know, they were his friends and probably didn't want him to feel bad. "It was alright, I mean I prefer the Command Module, myself." "But I saw you playing golf!"

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