Guest: Sy Liebergot. Topics: NASA Flight Controller, space station, Return to the Moon, exploration, education. Sy Liebergot returned to The Space Show to talk about the newly released second edition of his book, "Apollo EECOM: Journey of a lifetime," published by Apogee. Sy was the lead EECOM Flight Controller throughout the Apollo manned missions and the book tells his story with lots of experiences and personal insights. We talked about his Russian training for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the tank explosion on Apollo 13, and what it was like being a flight controller working that accident. Sy talked with us about his collaboration on the Ron Howard Apollo 13 movie. Later in this two hour program, we discussed the importance of going back to the Moon, the problem with going to Mars at this time, and the need to develop our expertise with space medicine. You will want to hear his thoughts on all of these important topics. We also spoke about the current NASA, some of the issues with Ares and Constellation, NASA culture, and the search for a new NASA Administrator. Space solar power was mentioned by a listener as a possible way to rekindle interest in the space program, so you will want to hear what Mr. Liebergot had to say about that idea. We spent a considerable time talking about education and the need for both the people and our congress to understand how important it is for a nation to go outward and to explore, not to turn inward. When asked how we might influence Congress, Sy was short of effective suggestions as are most people. The space station was discussed and Sy mentioned several times its high inclination orbit and how limiting that has become and also the fact that not much can be done on station because, for the most part, it only has a maintenance crew. During this interview, Sy relates many of the stories and events that are in his book. He also talked about the CD in the back of the book which has several hours of the actual exchange with the flight controller and Apollo 13 during the accident. The CD also contains other EECOM audio as Sy describes during this program. Visit Sy Liebergot's website for more information, http://www.apolloeecom.com . If you have comments or questions for Sy, you can reach him through the website or the direct email link is syliebergot@gmail.com .
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