Dakota Beacon

In 2026, Artemis II carried the first crewed mission beyond low earth orbit to the moon since Apollo 11 landed astronauts on the moon in 1969.

Fifty-seven years elapsed on the space frontier between Apollo 11 and Artemis II. There have been other Apollo moon landings (12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 ) and 12 astronauts have walked on the moon. The first space station was placed in orbit (Skylab, 1973) followed by the orbiting of the International Space Station in 1998.

Humans extended their presence among the stars in the last century and glimpsed where no eye had seen before. We stared like spectators into unknown corners of the universe from the vantage point of the Hubble Space Telescope. Exciting times, these.

It was 57 years prior to Artemis II that the Apollo 11 inserted the first men on the moon. Neil Armstrong (Mission Commander), “Buzz” Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot), and Michael Collins (Command Module Pilot) were launched on top of a Saturn V rocket in 1969. In 2026, the Artemis II manned flight returned to the moon.

People preserve their personal impressions and recollections of those heady days. My thoughts drift back to a mild, overcast Virginia day in September 1992 standing at the graveside of my friend, Doug Broome. Doug had been the Hubble Space Telescope program manager until he succumbed to liver cancer. Patti, his wife, asked if I would serve as one of his pall bearers.

Doug worked with NASA from its start. His outstanding contributions to every major area of space exploration began in the early days of the Mercury and Apollo programs and extended through the missions of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Mars Observer. Doug eventually became the Deputy Chief of Solar System Exploration and was instrumental in restructuring planetary flight programs aiming toward greater efficiency.

In 1970 Doug received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his skill and performance under pressure during the Apollo 13 mission which involved a dramatic rescue of three astronauts in the third attempt to land humans on the moon.

All of this brings me back to my personal recollections on the 57^th anniversary of the Apollo moon mission. It was Doug who oversaw the design of the electrical systems for the command module, the service module, and the lunar module.

Admitted to Mensa in 1966, Doug was one of NASA’s technical elites. He graduated from the Citadel with a degree in electrical engineering in 1959 and went on to attend Texas A&M as well as George Mason University. As a senior executive fellow, Doug attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 1984.

Doug was an intellectual and managerial giant in space exploration. Sadly, until the last few years of his life, he struggled mightily with alcohol. In the end, alcohol took its physical toll on Doug. Nevertheless, he was the final victor following an earlier conversion to Christianity. After the diagnosis of liver cancer, Doug would quip, "If I win, I win; and ultimately, even if I appear to lose, I still win." He managed the discomfort of chemotherapy with wry humor. "I worked hard to get my liver in this condition, and this is the price I have to pay," referring to his years of heavy drinking.

Doug lived a life of service in which people were paramount, and he took care of his people. He fondly recounted a remark made by the Apollo project manager at the project's completion. "There are two products as a result of this mission -- the spacecraft and the people. The spacecraft goes into the museum to gather dust; the people are what count."

Years later, in his recovery program, Doug would counsel men with drug and alcohol problems. "When you're helping someone else," he said, "you're helping yourself." He lived it and loved it. I know. I was a product of his efforts because he was my sponsor during my own difficulty.

As I gaze at the moon on a clear night these memories return. Doug was a brilliant astrophysicist whose inquiring mind raced with the speed of light, generating a million questions seeking answers. I believe all his questions are answered now. We have Doug, among many others, to thank for the Apollo moon landing and world-class discoveries from Hubble. In my mind's eye I imagine him, with a puckish grin, urging us on to return to space exploration.

God bless you, Doug -- and thanks for everything. You are not forgotten.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).