Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5, both Soviet space craft, docked and conducted the first transfer of crew members in space in 1969. The transfer actually happened through a space walk. The transfer was successful, but the return of Soyuz 5 was truly amazing. The cosmonaut in Soyuz 5 barely survived a landing that would make a great movie. Idea: The children could research the problems of space docking and returning to earth.
Internet’s symbolic birthday is today in 1969 when RFC1 (Request for Comments) was published. Children can view a timeline of the internet at: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0193167.html.
Crew before the Mission
Apollo 10 was launched in 1969 and carried astronauts Thomas Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene Cernan. The three traveled toward the moon and brought Snoopy, the lunar module, within nine miles of the moon. They circled the moon over thirty times and came back to earth on May 26, 1969. Children can learn more at: Apollo 10.
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Eugene Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle on the moon’s surface in 1969. Armstrong walked on the moon first. The first human to do so, he stated, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The two men walked on the moon for over two hours. Michael Collins stayed aboard the Apollo XI’s service module, Columbia. The moon walk was televised live, and everyone watched the event! The sense of great scientific accomplishment, accompanied by a big dose of patriotism, was amazing! Children could learn more about the landing and video at: Moon Landing.
Internet (ARPANET) was used for the first time in 1969. Charley Kline of UCLA tried to send information from one computer to another. The system crashed, but the idea was viable.
Sesame Street aired for the first time in 1969. It is still a favorite with young children. Idea: Each episode is sponsored by a number and a letter or two. Assign certain letters to children. Ask the children to present new and unusual vocabulary words that begin with those letters. Children can learn more at: Sesame Street.
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 was launched in 1969. The craft carried astronauts Richard F. Gordon, Alan L. Bean and Pete Conrad to the second landing on the moon’s surface, which occurred on November 19th. They returned to earth November 24th. Children could learn more at: Apollo 12.