discoverynews:

In Event of Moon Disaster

On July 18 of 1969, as the world waited anxiously for Apollo 11 to land safely on the surface of the Moon, speechwriter William Safire imagined the worst case scenario as he expertly wrote the following sombre memo to President Nixon’s Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman. Its contents: a contingency plan, in the form of a speech to be read out by Nixon should astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become stranded on the moon, never to return, followed by some brief instructions relating to its broadcast. Luckily for all those involved, the memo was never needed.

Image courtesy of The National Archives.

1. itswaytoomuch liked this
2. itswaytoomuch reblogged this from deliriun
3. deliriun reblogged this from pazozosaurus
4. aheartofchambers liked this
5. mickeyjw liked this
6. another-night-slips-away liked this
7. clearhead-----andthewell reblogged this from discoverynews
8. bethanamyralph reblogged this from discoverynews
9. nothingbutadopemetaphor liked this
10. mooonbeams reblogged this from discoverynews
11. itriedtoresist reblogged this from theatlantic
12. dancingshark liked this
13. misssusiehadasteamboat reblogged this from realityshmality
14. realityshmality reblogged this from inkbatts
15. inkbatts reblogged this from introvertsarepeopletoo
16. introvertsarepeopletoo reblogged this from seriiously
17. amaranthinehaze liked this
18. swallow-tailedkite reblogged this from discoverynews
19. glitterbullet reblogged this from notthedroidyouarelookingfor
20. drewsof reblogged this from fireflythefirstofhername and added:

    What our world would’ve been like if President Nixon gave this speech… It’s astonishing to realize that these speeches...

21. cicerothewriter liked this
22. cicerothewriter reblogged this from lord-kitschener
23. serpentspoiler liked this
24. rantsquotesandtruth reblogged this from brosephstalin
25. islandadventures reblogged this from lord-kitschener and added:

    I hope it’s not just me but the line in this “That there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind”...

26. hierophanthistorian reblogged this from lord-kitschener
27. josieandtheawkwardfelines liked this
28. fireflythefirstofhername reblogged this from notthedroidyouarelookingfor
29. amarinekick reblogged this from brosephstalin
30. twistedcolon liked this
31. wingsandtails liked this
32. quantumaniac liked this
33. stardustpaste reblogged this from brosephstalin
34. maresalsalis liked this
35. silentworldpilot reblogged this from notthedroidyouarelookingfor
36. thereluctanthipster liked this
37. femfatale liked this
38. captain-communism liked this
39. un-canadien-errant liked this
40. keybrows reblogged this from heymatthewwelcometothe60s
41. hipsterr liked this
42. sammyknapp reblogged this from notthedroidyouarelookingfor
43. whenanimalsgetstuck liked this
44. listenlouder liked this
45. ahorsenamedsus liked this
46. boston-ivy liked this
47. britishparadox liked this
48. brosephstalin reblogged this from lord-kitschener
49. bisexualnotbiromantic reblogged this from lord-kitschener
50. heymatthewwelcometothe60s reblogged this from lord-kitschener
51. Show more notesLoading...