domingo, 28 de julho de 2013

Eleições para a Direcção no C F "Os Belenenses"

Ontem, 27 de Julho, passei grande parte do dia no Estadio do Restelo.
Das 9 horas da manhã ás oito horas da noite.

Na noite anterior, ao preparar os papeis para a jornada de trabalho que me lá levou,
revi, numa pasta das Assembleias Geais, algumas já muito antigas, algumas "lembranças" que não revejo com assiduidade.

De entre todas, aqui fica uma fotografia, dos meus arquivos das AGs do CFB,
que me comoveu profundamente mas me deu também uma enorme alegria, a de ter vivido
aqueles momentos, o ter privado e feito amizade genuína com aquelas pessoas:

Cá estão os Amigos Belenenses que me encheram de comoção e, confesso, me deixaram os olhos turvos durante uns momentos : o Major Fernando Baptista da Silva, o Morais Cascalho ,

a Maria José Morais Cascalho e a sobrinha do Major, a Cuca Rebelo de Andrade.

A eles, considero eu, poderemos chamar uma excelente Equipa Sénior das Mesas da AG do CFB. Fico de fora pois, com toda a modéstia e verdade, com eles aprendi imenso destas andanças e do próprio Clube. Infelizmente, tanto o major como Cuca nos deixaram já.

Mas, mudando um pouco de assunto, ficam também recordações de "Gente Boa", Belenenses, que senti que ficaram felizes por terem feito o favor de me acompanharem naquela jornada

no pavilhão Acácio Rosa.

Funcionários e Colaboradores da MAG, que convidei pessoalmente e logo se prontificaram.

Um renovado muito obrigado e Saudações Belenenses para todos.

Do acto eleitoral, ficaram-me ainda algumas novas recordações :

domingo, 14 de julho de 2013

Apolo 11 e recolha dos três astronautas pelo USS Hornet - Some miles away from S. Francisco Bay, I had the opportunity to seat at the command desk of the USS Hornet

I had the honor to be received on board of the USS HORNET, the ship that recovered the capsule where the 3 astronauts returned to Earth. Some miles away from S. Francisco Bay, I had the opportunity to seat at the command desk, to see some of the crew members that are still alive, to touch and see the aircrafts from the original fleet of the USS Hornet.

Os primeiros e até agora únicos astronautas a pisar solo lunar, retornaram á Terra no dia 24 de Julho de 1969 e foram recolhidos no oceano pacífico pelo porta aviões americano USS Hornet.

Tive o privilégio e a imensa alegria de ser recebido a bordo do USS Hornet, ao largo de São Francisco, de conversar com "velhos" Membros da tripulação da altura, ainda vivos, de me sentar no posto do comandante e com ele tirar uma foto, de ver, tocar e admirar os aviões que faziam parte da frota do USS Hornet.

Seated at the command desk of the USS Hornet

Me and my wife, teresa, at the command desk

One of the original aircrafts of the USS Hornet

The three signatures of Neil A Armstrong, Erwin Aldrin and LT Colonel Michael Collins

Apollo 11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the television film, see Apollo 11 (film).

Apollo 11
Mission insignia

Crew photo

Left to right: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Armstrong spent about two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less, and together they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. A third member of the mission,Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth.

Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA'sApollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a Command Module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, which was the only part which landed back on Earth; a Service Module (SM), which supported the Command Module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module (LM) for landing on the Moon. After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed a total of about 21½ hours on the lunar surface. After lifting off in the upper part of the Lunar Module and rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Broadcast on live TV to a world-wide audience, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the late US President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the United States Congress, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."^[3]

On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module Columbia just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC^[12]) at 13°19′N 169°9′W, in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet.^[1]

At 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and 7 minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. The Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers," was Armstrong's last official transmission from the Columbia.

The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon

After touchdown on the Hornet, the astronauts exited the helicopter, leaving the flight surgeon and three crewmen. The helicopter was then lowered into hangar bay #2 where the astronauts walked the 30 feet (9.1 m) to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where they would begin their 21 days of quarantine. This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions

President Richard Nixon was aboard Hornet to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth. He told the astronauts, "As a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before."^[55] After Nixon departed, the Hornetwas brought alongside the five-ton Command Module where it was placed aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF.