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Non GAA Discussion => General discussion => Topic started by: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM

Title: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM
It's a bit hard to miss.

Where you around to see it on TV?

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?

Did they even go to the moon at all?

What's your thoughts on it?
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Taylor on July 19, 2019, 01:35:39 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM
It's a bit hard to miss.

Where you around to see it on TV? Too young

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite? Have a passing interest in it

Did they even go to the moon at all? Honestly didnt think they did although reading up on it this week it seems they definitely did (can still see the footprints from the landing)

What's your thoughts on it? Why has no one landed on the moon since?
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Captain Obvious on July 19, 2019, 01:36:43 PM
Their last breakfast of steak and eggs on the morning before blastoff on July 16, 1969
(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-07/17/15/asset/fd54878333d1/sub-buzz-578-1563378643-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)

People in Toyko,Milan and even the Vatican watching on.

(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-07/17/16/asset/1f11df5bccc4/sub-buzz-1287-1563380307-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)

(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-07/17/16/asset/d10b90922ab5/sub-buzz-3366-1563380492-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)

(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-07/17/15/asset/85d4154876c4/sub-buzz-381-1563378449-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Farrandeelin on July 19, 2019, 01:37:37 PM
It's a bit hard to miss. - I suppose it is.

Were you around to see it on TV? - Not live, but I thought I saw it sometime someplace.

Are you mad interested or couldn't give a shite? - Couldn't give a shite. I'll never be going anyway.

Did they even go to the moon at all? - They said they did...

What's your thoughts on it? - See question 3s answer
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Shamrock Shore on July 19, 2019, 02:14:57 PM
Where you around to see it on TV? - too young. We may not even have had a telly in 1969.

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite? Very interested in astronomy.

Did they even go to the moon at all? Of course they did. Only loons think it was faked.

What's your thoughts on it?
Like Armagh in 2002 it was a period that promised much but delivered very little in real terms after.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: From the Bunker on July 19, 2019, 02:55:51 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM
It's a bit hard to miss.

Where you around to see it on TV? No

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite? Yes, have read a lot on it.

Did they even go to the moon at all? Hard to believe, 50 years ago we were very limited technology wise. The interview the lads held when they got back to earth was very subdued.

What's your thoughts on it? Strange once getting there was conquered, that nothing more happened! Maybe that was the goal and the cost/benefits of other projects did not add up.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 03:35:44 PM
I don't believe they did go to the moon, so I've taken very little interest in it.

They had to "return" though because it would look very suspect if they only "went" once, then stopped. They had to look like they knew what they were doing. Think the whole thing was a case of America strutting it's feathers.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: RedHand88 on July 19, 2019, 03:45:10 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM
It's a bit hard to miss.

Where you around to see it on TV?

Too young

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?

Yea find it very interesting.

Did they even go to the moon at all?

Yes, course they did. I'm not an idiot.

What's your thoughts on it?

Massive technological achievement.

Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Shamrock Shore on July 19, 2019, 03:53:20 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 03:35:44 PM
I don't believe they did go to the moon, so I've taken very little interest in it.

They had to "return" though because it would look very suspect if they only "went" once, then stopped. They had to look like they knew what they were doing. Think the whole thing was a case of America strutting it's feathers.

And this all went ahead with the co-operation of the Soviet Union, in the middle of The Cold War, who were able to observe all missions? And the assistance of hundreds of NASA employees?
And the faking continues to this day as orbiting satellites can take pictures of the lunar modules that were left behind.

I hope you accept the Earth isn't flat!
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: RedHand88 on July 19, 2019, 03:55:59 PM
There were just far far too many stakeholders in the operation for it to have been "faked", especially those from a civilian non-government or even non-american background. Tens of thousands overall. Theres no way that many people keep a secret for 50 years, even on their death bed.
Agencies all over the world tracked the Apollo astronauts on their journey there and back. On top of that, you can send a laser to reflectors on the moon to measure it's distance away, reflectors put in place by the Apollo astronauts.

You really think if the Russians had even a whiff of suspicion about the whole thing they wouldn't call them on it??
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: omaghjoe on July 19, 2019, 04:03:00 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 01:14:20 PM
It's a bit hard to miss.


Where you around to see it on TV?
Over a decade too late

Quote
Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?
Somewhat from a technological point of view mainly, which if you break if down was mostly fairly simple, but if you add it all together its massively complicated :-P. Scientifically there isn't much going on on the moon (apart from this stuff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3)) essentially just a lump of rock

Quote
Did they even go to the moon at all?
Do you mean our moon or a different moon

Quote
What's your thoughts on it?
When all was said and done it was a massive propaganda exercise but was a massive achievement. Kinda like climbing Everest
When I was a cub I used to be fierce confused on how they got back off the moon if it took them so many massive rockets to get them there
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Shamrock Shore on July 19, 2019, 04:04:17 PM
QuoteOn top of that, you can send a laser to reflectors on the moon to measure it's distance away, reflectors put in place by the Apollo astronauts.

In millions of years there will be no more total solar eclipses as the moon is moving away from the earth at the rate of approx. 4cm per annum.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:06:24 PM
Very interested in this.

I am currently watching a three part documentary series on PBS which goes into the whole program in great detail, starting from Sputnik and the annexation of all those Nazi rocket scientists by the US and the Soviets, up through the Mercury and Gemini programmes which led into Apollo. For instance, I was not previous aware that Von Braun, the leader of the whole program in the US, was the same man who led the development of the V2 rocket for the Nazis. A lot of fascinating detail on the astronauts themselves, and stuff you would never think about like why is the NASA control centre in Houston (it was because the House committee chairman who controlled the purse strings insisted it be built in his district!). Footage of JFK talking about pulling the plug on the whole thing due to the cost and his personal lack of interest in the space programme. And interesting titbits like the fact that on Apollo 8, the first mission to actually go out to the moon and back (they didn't land), Frank Borman got sick and vomited and diarrhaead everywhere all over the interior of the astronaut module. They eventually got it cleaned up, but can you imagine travelling in those cramped conditions with that shit (literally!) floating around everywhere. They also show the intense public interest in the astronauts themselves and how NASA exploited that. On that same Apollo 8 mission, the news programmes were stationed in the homes of the wives, and had cameras stuck in their faces as they went through the agony of watching their husbands take off from Florida on the tip of basically giant ICBMs and later disappear behind the moon, something no one had ever done before.

Chasing the Moon
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/)
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: omaghjoe on July 19, 2019, 04:07:19 PM
Quote from: Shamrock Shore on July 19, 2019, 03:53:20 PM
Quote from: BennyCake on July 19, 2019, 03:35:44 PM
I don't believe they did go to the moon, so I've taken very little interest in it.

They had to "return" though because it would look very suspect if they only "went" once, then stopped. They had to look like they knew what they were doing. Think the whole thing was a case of America strutting it's feathers.

And this all went ahead with the co-operation of the Soviet Union, in the middle of The Cold War, who were able to observe all missions? And the assistance of hundreds of NASA employees?
And the faking continues to this day as orbiting satellites can take pictures of the lunar modules that were left behind.

I hope you accept the Earth isn't flat!

To be fair even most flat earth theories dont accept the earth is flat
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: RedHand88 on July 19, 2019, 04:08:09 PM
Quote from: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:06:24 PM
Very interested in this.

I am currently watching a three part documentary series on PBS which goes into the whole program in great detail, starting from Sputnik and the annexation of all those Nazi rocket scientists by the US and the Soviets, up through the Mercury and Gemini programmes which led into Apollo. For instance, I was not previous aware that Von Braun, the leader of the whole program in the US, was the same man who led the development of the V2 rocket for the Nazis. A lot of fascinating detail on the astronauts themselves, and stuff you would never think about like why is the NASA control centre in Houston (it was because the House committee chairman who controlled the purse strings insisted it be built in his district!). And interesting titbits like the fact that on Apollo 8, the first mission to actually go out to the moon and back (they didn't land), Frank Borman got sick and vomited and diarrhaead everywhere all over the interior of the astronaut module. They eventually got it cleaned up, but can you imagine travelling in those cramped conditions with that shit (literally!) floating around everywhere.

Chasing the Moon
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/)

Operation paperclip.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: omaghjoe on July 19, 2019, 04:11:33 PM
Quote from: Captain Obvious on July 19, 2019, 01:36:43 PM

(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-07/17/16/asset/d10b90922ab5/sub-buzz-3366-1563380492-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto)


The chap right at the front with the side burns  hogging the shit out of the box  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: macdanger2 on July 19, 2019, 04:16:32 PM
Where you around to see it on TV?

We didn't have a TV and I wasn't around for another decade or so

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?

Very interested. Some great programmes on Bbc4 on astronomy / science

Did they even go to the moon at all?

Definitely. Although I don't buy the argument that it's because thousands would have had to be in on it, they wouldn't as most people involved just worked on their little piece of the puzzle.

What's your thoughts on it?

Unbelievable achievement but it was largely a propaganda-driven exercise. If we applied ourselves to in the same way to more "real" but less glamorous problems, the world would be a better place
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:26:52 PM
Quote from: RedHand88 on July 19, 2019, 04:08:09 PM
Quote from: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:06:24 PM
Very interested in this.

I am currently watching a three part documentary series on PBS which goes into the whole program in great detail, starting from Sputnik and the annexation of all those Nazi rocket scientists by the US and the Soviets, up through the Mercury and Gemini programmes which led into Apollo. For instance, I was not previous aware that Von Braun, the leader of the whole program in the US, was the same man who led the development of the V2 rocket for the Nazis. A lot of fascinating detail on the astronauts themselves, and stuff you would never think about like why is the NASA control centre in Houston (it was because the House committee chairman who controlled the purse strings insisted it be built in his district!). And interesting titbits like the fact that on Apollo 8, the first mission to actually go out to the moon and back (they didn't land), Frank Borman got sick and vomited and diarrhaead everywhere all over the interior of the astronaut module. They eventually got it cleaned up, but can you imagine travelling in those cramped conditions with that shit (literally!) floating around everywhere.

Chasing the Moon
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/)

Operation paperclip.

That's it.

Where did they come up with the name? :)
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: dec on July 19, 2019, 04:35:17 PM
Quote from: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:06:24 PM
Very interested in this.

I am currently watching a three part documentary series on PBS which goes into the whole program in great detail, starting from Sputnik and the annexation of all those Nazi rocket scientists by the US and the Soviets, up through the Mercury and Gemini programmes which led into Apollo. For instance, I was not previous aware that Von Braun, the leader of the whole program in the US, was the same man who led the development of the V2 rocket for the Nazis. A lot of fascinating detail on the astronauts themselves, and stuff you would never think about like why is the NASA control centre in Houston (it was because the House committee chairman who controlled the purse strings insisted it be built in his district!). Footage of JFK talking about pulling the plug on the whole thing due to the cost and his personal lack of interest in the space programme. And interesting titbits like the fact that on Apollo 8, the first mission to actually go out to the moon and back (they didn't land), Frank Borman got sick and vomited and diarrhaead everywhere all over the interior of the astronaut module. They eventually got it cleaned up, but can you imagine travelling in those cramped conditions with that shit (literally!) floating around everywhere. They also show the intense public interest in the astronauts themselves and how NASA exploited that. On that same Apollo 8 mission, the news programmes were stationed in the homes of the wives, and had cameras stuck in their faces as they went through the agony of watching their husbands take off from Florida on the tip of basically giant ICBMs and later disappear behind the moon, something no one had ever done before.

Chasing the Moon
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/)

There are a few other shows on PBS as well for the 50th anniversary

https://www.pbs.org/summer-of-space/
Back to the Moon
8 Days: To the Moon and Back

I have recorded Chasing the Moon and am watching it with my son, we are about half way through, pretty good so far


Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:43:44 PM
Quote from: dec on July 19, 2019, 04:35:17 PM
Quote from: J70 on July 19, 2019, 04:06:24 PM
Very interested in this.

I am currently watching a three part documentary series on PBS which goes into the whole program in great detail, starting from Sputnik and the annexation of all those Nazi rocket scientists by the US and the Soviets, up through the Mercury and Gemini programmes which led into Apollo. For instance, I was not previous aware that Von Braun, the leader of the whole program in the US, was the same man who led the development of the V2 rocket for the Nazis. A lot of fascinating detail on the astronauts themselves, and stuff you would never think about like why is the NASA control centre in Houston (it was because the House committee chairman who controlled the purse strings insisted it be built in his district!). Footage of JFK talking about pulling the plug on the whole thing due to the cost and his personal lack of interest in the space programme. And interesting titbits like the fact that on Apollo 8, the first mission to actually go out to the moon and back (they didn't land), Frank Borman got sick and vomited and diarrhaead everywhere all over the interior of the astronaut module. They eventually got it cleaned up, but can you imagine travelling in those cramped conditions with that shit (literally!) floating around everywhere. They also show the intense public interest in the astronauts themselves and how NASA exploited that. On that same Apollo 8 mission, the news programmes were stationed in the homes of the wives, and had cameras stuck in their faces as they went through the agony of watching their husbands take off from Florida on the tip of basically giant ICBMs and later disappear behind the moon, something no one had ever done before.

Chasing the Moon
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/ (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chasing-moon/)

There are a few other shows on PBS as well for the 50th anniversary

https://www.pbs.org/summer-of-space/
Back to the Moon
8 Days: To the Moon and Back

I have recorded Chasing the Moon and am watching it with my son, we are about half way through, pretty good so far

Excellent. Thanks for the heads up. Although my wife won't be too pleased!
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Eamonnca1 on July 19, 2019, 05:51:40 PM
Were you around to see it on TV?
Was before my time.

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?
Hugely interested.

What's your thoughts on it?
A remarkable achievement. It united all of humanity in awe at what human beings could achieve, and inspired a generation of people to become scientists and engineers. The number of technical spin-offs from space exploration is huge. It's a massive example of "blue sky" research where we try to solve complex scientific problems but aren't aware of how they're going to benefit society in the long run.

What grinds my gears is the "let's solve our problems on Earth first" crowd who seem to think that money spent on space exploration is wasteful. By solving problems "up there" we solve them "down here." They don't have cash registers on the ISS. There were no cash registers on the moon. Money spent on space is spent on Earth, not in orbit. If you're going to gripe about wasteful spending, NASA's pittance of a budget is the wrong place to look. Go to the Pentagon. Go to the defence contractor cranking out tanks that nobody wants and an F35 fighter jet that's the most expensive weapons system ever developed and has killed more of its own pilots than enemies.

Space exploration is the most noble endeavour ever and long may it continue.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: omaghjoe on July 19, 2019, 06:20:17 PM
Quote from: Eamonnca1 on July 19, 2019, 05:51:40 PM
Were you around to see it on TV?
Was before my time.

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?
Hugely interested.

What's your thoughts on it?
A remarkable achievement. It united all of humanity in awe at what human beings could achieve, and inspired a generation of people to become scientists and engineers. The number of technical spin-offs from space exploration is huge. It's a massive example of "blue sky" research where we try to solve complex scientific problems but aren't aware of how they're going to benefit society in the long run.

What grinds my gears is the "let's solve our problems on Earth first" crowd who seem to think that money spent on space exploration is wasteful. By solving problems "up there" we solve them "down here." They don't have cash registers on the ISS. There were no cash registers on the moon. Money spent on space is spent on Earth, not in orbit. If you're going to gripe about wasteful spending, NASA's pittance of a budget is the wrong place to look. Go to the Pentagon. Go to the defence contractor cranking out tanks that nobody wants and an F35 fighter jet that's the most expensive weapons system ever developed and has killed more of its own pilots than enemies.

Space exploration is the most noble endeavour ever and long may it continue.

Prehaps you missed the bit about what got these yokes outside of our atmosphere in the first place?
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Eamonnca1 on July 19, 2019, 06:37:01 PM
Quiet.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: armaghniac on July 19, 2019, 08:45:53 PM
Where you around to see it on TV? -Watched it in Uncle's house

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite? definite spacer.

Did they even go to the moon at all? Of course they did. Only loons think it was faked.

What's your thoughts on it? Not surpassed until Armagh landed in 2002
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: under the bar on July 19, 2019, 11:49:45 PM
Given that the lunar landing was just over 60 years after the first ever manned flight by the Wright Bros and no astronaut/cosmonaut has journeyed much further in the intervening 50 years, despite huge advancement in technology, the achievement was utterly remarkable.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: J70 on July 20, 2019, 01:35:45 AM
Quote from: armaghniac on July 19, 2019, 08:45:53 PM
Where you around to see it on TV? -Watched it in Uncle's house

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite? definite spacer.

Did they even go to the moon at all? Of course they did. Only loons think it was faked.

What's your thoughts on it? Not surpassed until Armagh landed in 2002

Excellent! ;D
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Orior on July 20, 2019, 06:10:21 AM
Interesting fact: While the two Americans were walking on the moon, the Russians crashed a rocket onto the surface.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: redcard on July 21, 2019, 01:42:42 AM
Where you around to see it on TV?
YES There were two "western" movies on before the moon landing in the early hours which was unheard of at this time. First time I'd stayed up all night. Was totally wrecked then and throughout the day

Are you mad interested in it or couldn't give a shite?
always remember it with fondness - which I cant say about the morning internment was introduced a couple of years later

Did they even go to the moon at all?
I always believed they did

What's your thoughts on it?
a piece of history all right. Always remember that beeping noise from the broadcast
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: Eamonnca1 on July 21, 2019, 06:20:43 AM
Quote from: Fionntamhnach on July 20, 2019, 09:16:07 PM
As a side note, several hundred millions of people across the world saw live pictures of Armstrong & Aldrin stepping foot and walking on the moon via television, including Ireland whom showed the live pictures in the wee hours of the morning (very rare at the time for programming to be transmitted when most people should be in bed). In many other countries footage was shown later on, like in some European countries when day broke. However there was one notable country at that time whose people couldn't watch it, namely South Africa.

That's because back in 1969 there was no TV service in South Africa. Back then the National Party government of the Apartheid state felt that the introduction of television would undermine the cultural and social fabric of the Afrikaaner Volk and its Dutch Calvinist outlook, with focus on the need to bringing in foreign English language programming being seen as the biggest threat, especially shows that saw people from different races living together without conflict. Funnily enough, except for the obvious racist overtones, similar concerns were expressed in Ireland (RoI) before Telefís Eireann launch on New Year's Eve 1961.

That's not to say that many South Africans weren't aware of the existence of television and some politicians were pushing for its introduction, especially as the then Southern Rhodeshia (now Zimbabwe) had a TV service running for several years and some other African countries, all of whom were more significantly impoverished than SA, had a regular TV service as well. What was the straw that broke the camels back for keeping TV out of South Africa was the moon landings. Not only could South African's not view it on TV because they couldn't, live or otherwise, there wasn't even any live or scheduled showings in public venues. It was seen as a national embarrassment and a more vocal group of people in public were calling for anything like this in the future to not happen again. Incidentally the government had made quick arrangements for short clips of the landings to be brought in and shown in cinemas, but only a few places showed them.

The Afrikaaner establishment didn't want to introduce a TV service that was extensively "liberal" and challenged the media & wider cultural controls in place, but a change in personell at government levels in the late 1960's meant a slightly more relaxed attitude to the establishment of a national TV service, plus another issue was that the potential progress of television being made available via satellite would allow viewers to watch programming from outside South Africa that overcame state censorship. This convinced the government that it was better they got a foot in first to ensure that the introduction of TV in the country was on "their" terms. Eventually the state radio broadcaster SABC/SAUK were given permission to start a TV service, but it still took a few years - test broadcasts only started in May 1975 and the full launch wasn't until January 1976.

Great post. Very informative.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: omaghjoe on July 21, 2019, 08:24:18 AM
Quote from: Eamonnca1 on July 21, 2019, 06:20:43 AM
Quote from: Fionntamhnach on July 20, 2019, 09:16:07 PM
As a side note, several hundred millions of people across the world saw live pictures of Armstrong & Aldrin stepping foot and walking on the moon via television, including Ireland whom showed the live pictures in the wee hours of the morning (very rare at the time for programming to be transmitted when most people should be in bed). In many other countries footage was shown later on, like in some European countries when day broke. However there was one notable country at that time whose people couldn't watch it, namely South Africa.

That's because back in 1969 there was no TV service in South Africa. Back then the National Party government of the Apartheid state felt that the introduction of television would undermine the cultural and social fabric of the Afrikaaner Volk and its Dutch Calvinist outlook, with focus on the need to bringing in foreign English language programming being seen as the biggest threat, especially shows that saw people from different races living together without conflict. Funnily enough, except for the obvious racist overtones, similar concerns were expressed in Ireland (RoI) before Telefís Eireann launch on New Year's Eve 1961.

That's not to say that many South Africans weren't aware of the existence of television and some politicians were pushing for its introduction, especially as the then Southern Rhodeshia (now Zimbabwe) had a TV service running for several years and some other African countries, all of whom were more significantly impoverished than SA, had a regular TV service as well. What was the straw that broke the camels back for keeping TV out of South Africa was the moon landings. Not only could South African's not view it on TV because they couldn't, live or otherwise, there wasn't even any live or scheduled showings in public venues. It was seen as a national embarrassment and a more vocal group of people in public were calling for anything like this in the future to not happen again. Incidentally the government had made quick arrangements for short clips of the landings to be brought in and shown in cinemas, but only a few places showed them.

The Afrikaaner establishment didn't want to introduce a TV service that was extensively "liberal" and challenged the media & wider cultural controls in place, but a change in personell at government levels in the late 1960's meant a slightly more relaxed attitude to the establishment of a national TV service, plus another issue was that the potential progress of television being made available via satellite would allow viewers to watch programming from outside South Africa that overcame state censorship. This convinced the government that it was better they got a foot in first to ensure that the introduction of TV in the country was on "their" terms. Eventually the state radio broadcaster SABC/SAUK were given permission to start a TV service, but it still took a few years - test broadcasts only started in May 1975 and the full launch wasn't until January 1976.

Great post. Very informative.

Many moons ago I visited South Africa on an extended holiday / brief sojourn.... but one of the things I was told by an acquaintance who was a typical Africans guy (what I mean by that is.. obiviously macho but surprisingly open minded, friendly and great craic but despite the confident swagger always a bit paranoid)  told me that they didnt have tv till the 70s.
Until now I thought that he was talking about his rural agricultural area in the lowveld... defo not joburg one of the worlds wealthiest cities or cosmopolitan capetown. Which all appeared way more advanced to me in every way to Ireland at that time even just 10 years after apartheid ended. Things are often not as they seem

Fionntamhnach despite the shite spouted on it you are without doubt reason enuff to keep visiting the general discussion section of this board.
Title: Re: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Post by: David McKeown on July 23, 2019, 12:25:53 AM
I happened to be in Central Florida the last couple of weeks so thought I might go to Port Canaveral to see how they were marking the event. Turns out they were having a Duran Duran concert. Very bizarre I thought