Tim: My father worked for Convair, an aeronautical company in San Diego, that had build post-WWII military and civilian aircraft. In the early 1950s the U.S. Government contracted with Convair to create a booster rocket that would initially be used as first-generation ICBMs, (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) and later as booster roc…
Tim: My father worked for Convair, an aeronautical company in San Diego, that had build post-WWII military and civilian aircraft. In the early 1950s the U.S. Government contracted with Convair to create a booster rocket that would initially be used as first-generation ICBMs, (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) and later as booster rockets for the Mercury space missions and some later Gemini missions. These missiles were called "Atlas". My father spent a lot of time at Cape Canaveral, FL, during flight testing of these early rocket systems, and later as Project Mercury mission flights were launched. The Project Mercury missions carried a total of seven separate American astronauts into earth orbit for the first time. I was 12 years old when the first Mercury mission was launched. I remember sitting in our TV den in San Diego, sometimes alone, other times with my father home from earlier testing in Florida. We cried tears and yelled "Go, baby! Go!" sitting on the couch or me jumping up and down in front of the TV. A rocket launch is all that you describe so well in your piece. Thank you for "lifting" this current moment of human achievement up for all to enjoy.
Amazingly, my Dad (mentioned in my comment) also worked for Convair in San Diego. He had just finished with the USAF where he was an airframe engineer working on the X-20 project (cruise missiles and space shuttles) at Holloman. We arrived in '69 during the bicentennial. In fact my pinewood derby car was tested in Convair's wind tunnels. It also had nearly frictionless axles, like hotwheels. It was very fast. We lived on Point Loma and Mission Hills. I graduated from Roosevelt Jr High, and Uni High School. Thanks for prompting the blast from the past.
Tim: My father worked for Convair, an aeronautical company in San Diego, that had build post-WWII military and civilian aircraft. In the early 1950s the U.S. Government contracted with Convair to create a booster rocket that would initially be used as first-generation ICBMs, (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) and later as booster rockets for the Mercury space missions and some later Gemini missions. These missiles were called "Atlas". My father spent a lot of time at Cape Canaveral, FL, during flight testing of these early rocket systems, and later as Project Mercury mission flights were launched. The Project Mercury missions carried a total of seven separate American astronauts into earth orbit for the first time. I was 12 years old when the first Mercury mission was launched. I remember sitting in our TV den in San Diego, sometimes alone, other times with my father home from earlier testing in Florida. We cried tears and yelled "Go, baby! Go!" sitting on the couch or me jumping up and down in front of the TV. A rocket launch is all that you describe so well in your piece. Thank you for "lifting" this current moment of human achievement up for all to enjoy.
Amazingly, my Dad (mentioned in my comment) also worked for Convair in San Diego. He had just finished with the USAF where he was an airframe engineer working on the X-20 project (cruise missiles and space shuttles) at Holloman. We arrived in '69 during the bicentennial. In fact my pinewood derby car was tested in Convair's wind tunnels. It also had nearly frictionless axles, like hotwheels. It was very fast. We lived on Point Loma and Mission Hills. I graduated from Roosevelt Jr High, and Uni High School. Thanks for prompting the blast from the past.