Growing up with rockets

While looking at the history events for April 4, I sadly recalled the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King. Today, what I was surprised to learn about April 4, 1968 was the launch of Apollo 6, an event overshadowed by the murder of Dr. King. In case you don't remember; Apollo 6 was NASA's second and last unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle (Jeff's favourite rocket!). I guess in terms of the overall space program it was probably not a very glamorous or exciting mission in the public's eye. With the events of the day focused on the tragedy in Memphis, I suspect no one was really paying attention anyway. I don't remember the launch at all but I remember being glued to the TV for news about the assassination. I wonder if anyone reported the launch? As a child (and into my teens) i never missed a NASA event. TV's in my classrooms were turned on when anything connected to the space race was occurring. Jules Bergman was our man! Deeply involved in the space program, Grumman Aerospace was located near my home on Long Island and was a source of local pride. Many of my classmates had parents who worked there and the space program was huge part of the local economy. I wish history had been different that day. It would have been nicer if Dr. King was still with us and Apollo 6 was the main story of the day!