Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center.

Episode 92, Apollo 10. I'm Pat Ryan. On this podcast we talk with scientists and engineers and astronauts and lots of other

folks about their part in America's Space Exploration Program.

And today we're taking another look into NASA's past on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 10.

When President Kennedy set a goal for America to land a man on the moon and return him

safely to Earth by the end of the decade, there was less than nine years left in the

1960s, so NASA had to move efficiently.

The first manned Apollo flight didn't happen until October of 1968 and it didn't leave Earth orbit.

When Apollo 8 circled the Moon that December, there was only one year left to meet the President's

challenge.

The first test of the lunar module in Earth orbit came in

March 1969, and then on May 18th they launched Apollo 10, the final dress rehearsal for the moon landing, which of course came in late July.

Apollo 10 showed NASA what it had done right in its effort to meet the President's deadline

and what it needed to refine to finish the job.

And it provides lessons for today's NASA as it works under a new challenge from the administration

to get back to the moon in a few short years. That was the discussion by a

select panel of experts here at the Johnson Space Center a few weeks ago which

we packaged up for your enjoyment forthwith. To talk about that Apollo mission of 50 years ago

you're about to hear from General Tom Stafford,

the Mission Commander,

and the only surviving member of that crew.

John Young and Jean Cernan walked on the moon later on

...