For Release: March 30, 1998
Michael Finneran
(757) 864-6121/23/24
RELEASE NO. 98-015
March 31 event at Virginia Air and Space Center
Media invited to premier of HBO series "From the Earth to the
Moon"
News media are invited to cover the premiere of the HBO
miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" at the Virginia Air and
Space Center in Hampton starting with a reception at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31. The premier airs at 7:30 p.m. The hour-long
premier, co-sponsored by NASA Langley, will feature highlights of
the 12-part series produced by Tom Hanks and is scheduled to run on
Cox Cable in April and May.
The series chronicles the U.S. voyage to the Moon, beginning
with President Kennedy's commitment to the program in 1961 to
touchdown of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 and the missions
that followed. The premier will feature highlights of parts one
through three and the whole of part four.
Following the premier, the first two parts of the series will
air on HBO on Sunday, April 5, and run every Sunday through May
10.
Langley Research Center, birthplace of the nation's space
program, played a critical role in the Moon landing and figures in
the early parts of the series. The center:
- Managed the Mercury program in which the first American orbited
the Earth.
- Developed the method used to land on the Moon.
- Built simulators where astronauts practiced for a safe landing
and return.
- Used wind tunnels to help determine the aerodynamic
characteristics of the Apollo-Saturn launch
configuration.
- Played a key role in the mapping of the lunar surface and the
selection of landing sites.
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