Catch the replay and tell your friends! Livestream from Chapel Hill: Why this Story Matters

Michael G. Neece broadcasted live from his home in Chapel Hill tonight, telling why North Carolina Skies: Tales of Astronauts in Chapel Hill matters in today’s world, and took questions.

Questions were asked (see answers below).

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Alyssa asked how the Apollo astronauts were trained. The 37 guidance and navigation stars that were required knowledge for all of the later astronauts (Mercury astronauts had to know 57!), those were identified repeatedly during their trainings. They looked through a simulated port/window that restricted their field of view to just 60 degrees and they would have to align 2 or 3 stars exactly within that field of view, identifying them by name, and then type in those stars and positions into the guidance computers when they were actually on a mission. When there were rendezvous considerations or course-correction burns, they’d also have to train for those specifically knowing in advance of ever going on the mission itself so that it would already be familiar and easy to conjure up the knowledge.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me at info@michaelgneece.com.

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Michael G. Neece Speaks tonight at UNCW (with Livestream)

At 7:15 PM (ET) in tonight’s address to the Cape Fear Astronomical Society on the campus of UNCW, writer Michael G. Neece will share the origins of the astronaut training program at Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill plus insider stories of astronaut visits.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/7nGRa85USKk (Parking lots C and D should allow for anytime parking on weekends and both are immediately adjacent to DeLoach Hall.)

Live stream: https://goo.gl/3TsDPZ

Astronauts Came to Morehead for 15 Years

Photograph above: Col. Cage, Scott Carpenter (in a Link trainer), Wally Schirra, and Morehead astronaut trainer James Batten. Photo courtesy of UNC Photographic Lab via Wilson Library digital collection.

After NASA astronaut training had been going on for a handful of years at Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, the Manned Spacecraft Center became the hub of activity for astronauts, thus they spent far less time in Langley, VA and much more time in Houston, TX. Morehead was more remote for the astronauts from then on. So why keep the training at Morehead for another dozen years? Why not just shift celestial navigation and stellar identification training to another facility in Houston?

Find out more when my book comes out next year!

And for all you Tar Heel fans out there, President Bill Friday in the mix:

Tony Jenzano (Morehead director), Gus Grissom (Mercury 7 astronaut), Bill Friday (UNC President), Deke Slayton (Mercury 7 astronaut), James Batten (Morehead astronaut trainer), and Jim Wadsworth (Morehead astronaut trainer). Sheet Film 19213, in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photographic Laboratory Collection #P0031, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Speaking Engagements

Last month, I moderated a panel with Jim Horn, a technical visionary who worked at Morehead Planetarium for thirty years, and Don Hall, first Assistant Director of Morehead Planetarium and man who trained more than fifty astronauts at our facility.

I have been invited recently to speak to two astronomy groups in North Carolina about Tony Jenzano impact as thirty-year director at Morehead Planetarium. The first is the Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS) in February. The second is the Cape Fear Astronomical Society with the date likely to be in April or May. I am honored by these invitations.

The picture above clearly is not me speaking – it’s Tony Jenzano addressing the press while standing alongside the New Nine and NASA officials during a press conference at Morehead Planetarium in 1963. Photo courtesy of UNC North Carolina Digital Collection.

Don Hall, Astronaut Trainer

Don Hall (left), former Morehead Planetarium assistant director and astronaut trainer 1962 – 1968 with Michael G. Neece (right)

I spent the day with Don Hall, a Morehead Planetarium assistant director and astronaut trainer from 1962 – 1968. Joining me for one interview was Richard McColman, a man who knows as much about early space missions as anyone I’ve ever met. We got to satisfy a lot of our mutual curiosity regarding training, astronaut personalities, and the Tony Jenzano era at Morehead.

Fulldome Theater Manager, Richard McColman (left) sits with former assistant director Don Hall (right) examining a diagram of the Zeiss VI.

Tomorrow, I will host a lunch with Don Hall, Carol “CJ” Jenzano (daughter of Tony Jenzano), Todd Boyette (current Morehead Planetarium & Science Center director), and Jim Horn (technical visionary for 30+ years at Morehead). Lunch provided will be a classic southern welcome home provided by Mama Dips.

We round out the weekend with a Sunday afternoon panel discussion with Jim Horn and Don Hall regarding Tony Jenzano’s legacy and anything our audience wants to ask about. There is still a bit of space, so RSVP right away for our 3 PM session in Morehead Planetarium’s State Dining Room.