'There was tension, anxiety and worry': Ex-NASA astronaut relives the moment he watched the Apollo moon landing while trying to comfort Buzz Aldrin's nervous family

  • Russell Schweickart, 83, sat with Buzz's wife and kids at their home in Houston
  • He was there for support and comfort as Aldrin landed on moon with Armstrong
  • Ex-astronaut said: 'There was a bit of tension and there was a little bit of anxiety'

A former NASA astronaut has described the moment he watched the Apollo 11 mission with Buzz Aldrin's family while trying to comfort them as 'tense and anxious'.

Russell Schweickart, 83, sat with Buzz's wife and kids at their home in Houston, Texas, as his friends Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took their historic first steps on the Moon in July 1969.

There has been renewed interest in the Apollo missions, as NASA launched celebrations in October to mark the 50th anniversary of the program.

As part of this interest, memorabilia belonging to Neil Armstrong and John Glenn - the first American to orbit Earth - has been put up for auction in recent days.

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Ex-NASA astronaut Russell Schweickart, 83, sat with Buzz's wife and kids at their home in Houston, Texas, as his friends Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took their first steps on the moon

Ex-NASA astronaut Russell Schweickart, 83, sat with Buzz's wife and kids at their home in Houston, Texas, as his friends Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took their first steps on the moon

Mr Schweickart helped lay the foundation for the Apollo 9 mission
He performed extensive tests on the lunar module used by Aldrin and Armstrong in March 1969

Mr Schweickart helped lay the foundation for the Apollo 11 mission when he performed extensive tests on the lunar module used by Aldrin and Armstrong in July 1969

'I was at the Aldrin home for the landing, with Buzz's wife and kids, both to help them understand what was going on and in case something went wrong,'  Mr Schweickart told Fox News.  

'That was something that we often did as astronauts. As you would expect, there was a bit of tension.

'There's a little bit of anxiety and some tension and worry and that kind of thing.'

Mr Schweickart aided the Apollo 11 mission when he performed extensive tests on the lunar module used by Aldrin and Armstrong to dock on the surface of the moon. 

The former astronaut said he was no stranger to the Aldrin household, having been there to support Buzz's wife and children when their father was on missions. 

Mr Schweickart said it was tense watching the moon landing with Buzz's family, who are pictured. From left to right: Andrew, Edwin  Sr., Edwin  Jr. (Buzz), Joan, Janice  and Michael

Mr Schweickart said it was tense watching the moon landing with Buzz's family, who are pictured. From left to right: Andrew, Edwin Sr., Edwin Jr. (Buzz), Joan, Janice and Michael

There has been renewed interest in the Apollo missions, as NASA launched celebrations in October to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program. This image Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon near the leg of the Lunar Module in 1969 (file photo)

There has been renewed interest in the Apollo missions, as NASA launched celebrations in October to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program. This image Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon near the leg of the Lunar Module in 1969 (file photo)

Mr Schweickart also had gripes with some of the technical aspects of spaceflight depicted in the new Neil Armstrong biopic First Man.

He said that real life spaceflight was boring, slow, majestically and quiet - compared to the film which he described as noisy. 

The ex-US Air Force fighter pilot said even on a launch, things were much quieter than shown in the film. 

Mr Schweickart's comments come after it was announced memorabilia belonging to Neil Armstrong and John Glenn - the first American to orbit earth - was going up for auction this week.

Mr Schweickart said First Man - the new Neil Armstrong biopic with Ryan Gosling in the lead role (pictured) - didn't accurately portray some of the technical aspects of spaceflight

Mr Schweickart said First Man - the new Neil Armstrong biopic with Ryan Gosling in the lead role (pictured) - didn't accurately portray some of the technical aspects of spaceflight

Glenn was among the Mercury Seven, the group of astronauts that piloted America's first manned spaceflights in the 1960s.

The golden helmet he wore while setting the transcontinental speed record during 1957's 'Project Bullet' is now up for grabs to the public.

The helmet will be offered at auction by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions today.

Glenn gifted it to Matt Carpenter, son of Scott Carpenter who was also part of the Mercury Seven.

Matt said: 'When we were young, as far back as I can remember, we would play naval aviators on the couch, and either my brother or I would wear the gold Glenn Navy helmet and one of us would wear a helmet that belonged to my father.' 

The helmet worn by John Glenn during the history-making flight, dubbed Project Bullet, in which the future astronaut set the transcontinental speed record in 1957, is going on sale today

The helmet worn by John Glenn during the history-making flight, dubbed Project Bullet, in which the future astronaut set the transcontinental speed record in 1957, is going on sale today

The sale is a kind of astronautical addendum to a larger, previously announced sale involving the personal collection of another famed astronaut, Neil Armstrong. 

A series of auctions involving some 2,000 artefacts and mementos owned by Armstrong also began today and runs through November 2019.

Among Armstrong's personal items are pieces of a wing and propeller from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first successful heavier-than-air powered aircraft. 

Armstrong, who like Glenn was from Ohio, took the items with him to the moon.

As with the Glenn helmet, Armstrong's items landed in the lap of the next generation after the famed astronaut died in 2012. 

Carpenter died in 2013 and Glenn followed in 2016, at age 95, the last surviving Mercury Seven astronaut. An estate sale of his belongings took place in March.

The golden headpiece was a gift from Glenn - the first American to orbit earth - to Matt Carpenter, son of Scott Carpenter who was also part of the Mercury Seven astronaut team

The golden headpiece was a gift from Glenn - the first American to orbit earth - to Matt Carpenter, son of Scott Carpenter who was also part of the Mercury Seven astronaut team

When the Carpenters discovered Armstrong's sons had organised a sale of their famous father's memorabilia, Matt Carpenter said the helmet seemed like an ideal fit.

'Obviously, we'd love to get the most money realized for it, but also we'd love to get somebody who's going to appreciate it,' he said. 'I think it's a very special thing.'

Carpenter, now 40, and his brother Nick, who turns 39 this week, would like to use some of the proceeds to help underwrite a documentary they are producing about the Glenn-Carpenter friendship. Matt Carpenter said they interviewed both astronauts in 2012 and hope to release the film in 2019.

Its working title is the famous Glenn quote, 'Zero-G and I feel fine.'

WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAMME?

This NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge, 363-foot tall Apollo 11 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A

This NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge, 363ft tall Apollo 11 rocket launched from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center

Apollo was the NASA programme that launched in 1961 and got the first man on the moon eight years later.

The first four flights tested the equipment for the Apollo Program and six of the other seven flights managed to land on the moon.

The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 8 which circled around it on Christmas Eve in 1968 but did not land.

The crew of Apollo 9 spent ten days orbiting Earth and completed the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo rocket that would later land Neil Armstrong on the moon.  

The Apollo 11 mission was the first one to land on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.

The capsule landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, carrying mission commander Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon. 

When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, 'That's one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.'

Apollo 12 landed later that year on November 19 on the Ocean of Storms.

Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 hours into flight, an oxygen tank explosion forced the crew to cancel the lunar landing and move into the Aquarius lunar module to return back to Earth.  

Apollo 15 was the ninth manned lunar mission in the Apollo space program, and considered at the time the most successful manned space flight up to that moment because of its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than had been possible on previous missions. 

The last Apollo moon landing happened in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts had touched down on the lunar surface.

Astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin is pictured unpacking experiments from the lunar module on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. He was photographed by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969

Astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin is pictured unpacking experiments from the lunar module on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. He was photographed by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969

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