In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program and historic moon landing, Apollo astronauts, specifically the lunar module pilots and flight directors are joining together on June 6 to celebrate at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.
The astronauts scheduled to appear at the Apollo at 50 anniversary dinner include the lunar module pilots Walt Cunningham (Apollo 7), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9), Fred Haise (Apollo 13), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), as well as Apollo flight directors Gerry Griffin and Milt Windler.
The Apollo astronauts are grateful for Grumman’s role in their successful missions and want to pay tribute to their efforts on this special anniversary. The Cradle of Aviation has special meaning to these astronauts. Not only is it home to the world’s best collection of lunar modules, lunar module parts, photos and documentation, but it’s also home to the engineers of the Grumman Aerospace Corporation that designed, built and tested the lunar modules between 1961-1972 that successfully landed 12 men on the moon between 1969-1972.
In all, six lunar modules landed on the moon. Three remaining lunar modules that did not go to the moon are prominently housed at the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum.
Proceeds for this star-studded dinner event, starting 6 p.m., will support the museum’s education and preservation programs. A space memorabilia auction will also be held at this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tickets are $275 per person, open to the general public and can be purchased at www.cradleofaviaton.org or by calling 516-572-4066.
