From the time he was little, Reddit user thepezdspencer was always tinkering with wires and electronics. So when he joined the Air Force in 1945, his future was sealed: He would go on to become an engineer at NASA, where he worked from 1954 until 1988. It was a hell of a time to join a space outfit—NASA was deep in the Space Race with the Soviets, and the idea of putting a man on the moon sounded preposterous (until he helped make it happen). Thepezdspencer, who is nearly 90 now, revealed what it was like to work at NASA during its golden age in an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. Here, in no particular order, are the most fascinating tidbits from his AMA, edited for grammar and clarity.
How he got the gig:
"I interviewed, took a short test, and that was that. They sent me the whole package and a short time later, I was a contractor at RCA working for NASA. At that time, they were hiring just about anyone that showed interest and had any sort of aptitude at all. And as we grew, we had to do all the training."
On losing the Space Race:
"We were very disappointed that we were not first. We knew we had a lot of catching up to do. With our space program, politics entered into everything. It seemed that the Russians were more reckless than we were to win. We had no idea how many people they may have sacrificed to get men into orbit. Not for us. We were careful—we started with monkeys, and then men. Then we finally put a man in orbit. Everything was a study to be sure. Very methodical. It was the German way. Even the Gemini program had steps, one at a time. The American way was to be patient and do it the right way."
On knowing whether they could put a man on the moon:
"When I took the job, I didn't even know a moon landing was on the table. We were just busy trying to keep the Russians at bay. It was strictly a defensive job at first. Initially it was a joint program for testing long range missiles for Army, Navy, Air Force together. In fact, before NASA, we were called the Long Range Proving Ground. NASA came after all this."
How it felt when they did it:
"It gave us all heart attacks."
Hollywood's most believable depiction of NASA:
"I'd say Apollo 13. That's really the only movie."
On a typical workday:
"Working day with no launch: My job was to ensure equipment was in good shape for the next launch. Very procedural. Working day with launch: filled with checks and tests being done on a very rigid schedule. Everything had to be done at an exact time with certain checking being done and done successfully. They had to be done at the exact right time to fit in with the launch itself. There were times we couldn't test for things if the 'bird' wasn't in configuration for it. So we had very narrow windows to test for things. Otherwise, we'd set off bells and sirens across the area."
On whether he ever dreamed of going to space:
"Back in my day, I had no desire to. I had a wife and kids that depended on me. And in those days, being an astronaut was a death wish. In the early days, most of the missiles we used exploded. So in my mind, I always thought, 'Another launch, another explosion.'"
