50 Years Ago: Summer School Legislature Passes Space Resolution
Fifty years ago on July 20th, 1969, the first person walked on the moon. Apollo 11’s landing and the subsequent moon walk was the culmination of over a decade of work by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under several different presidents. John F. Kennedy issued the original challenge for the U.S. to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, but it was Richard Nixon that would hold office when the goal was achieved.
Before the Apollo Missions, Project Mercury was the program that first aimed to send man into space. Small 1-person capsules were built that could be launched into orbit. Winterville Machine Works, which is still in business today, built twelve practice capsules that were used by NASA as part of Project Mercury. The image below shows one of the capsules being machined at the Works.
From the Daily Reflector Image Collection. April 21, 1961.
On ECU’s campus, the Student Government Association Summer School Legislature recognized the moon walk by presenting and passing a resolution that was then included in the organization’s minutes.
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University Archives Collection#UA22-01 Records of the Student Government Association, SGA Minutes Summer 1969.
The resolution was also published on the front page of The East Carolinian.
The East Carolinian, July 23, 1969. Print copies can be found in the University Archives.
References:
Project Mercury. NASA, August 23, 2017.