48th Anniversary of the All-Michigan Apollo 15 Mission
One of the most badass facts about the University of Michigan is that all three members of the Apollo 15 moon crew were Wolverines. It was 48 years ago today - July 26, 1971 - that the mission blasted off.
You'll find the story here. Contrary to popular belief, the crew did not leave a Michigan flag on the moon - but they did bring 20 "M" flags on board with them.
Two of the astronauts - David Scott and Alfred Worden - are still alive today. James Irwin passed away in 1991. Godspeed and Go Blue, gentlemen.
Did they go there looking for Reggie Jackson’s home run from the all star game that year?
No, but they did find one of Ali Haji-Sheikh's field goal footballs.
One of the all time great names of Michigan football. Although I think he played in the early eighties.
"Now kicking off for Michigan, Ali Haji-SHEIKH"!!!!!!!
Yes, he was there the same years I was, 79 to 83. Watched him kick loads of FGs and extra points.
many of his kickoffs went through the uprights. the crowd loved that. kickoffs were from the 40 yd line back then.
You should get a point if your kicker can do that.
I love the MSU game for what I think was Ali Haji-Sheikh's freshman year. He put two kick-offs out of bounds so they back up 5 yards and kick again. So on the third try Haji-Sheikh gives up aiming the ball and kicks it long and straight down the field. It goes over the MSU receiver's head so that he has to run back for the ball and fall on it to prevent a Michigan recovery. Outstanding strategy but those of us that were there know that he struggled mightily his freshman season.
One of my favorite shirts. I wore it around Ann Arbor yesterday.
Iirc they did something on that mission to piss off nasa and were all grounded from future space missions.
They were paid about $7K each to take unauthorized postal covers into space, some sold at high prices by a West German stamp dealer. Even though they returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA and later called before a Senate committee.
BTW, the West German stamp dealer who brokered the deal was the infamous Helmut VonUpkeep
The bastard!!!
You just dont like him bc he was a WESSIE.
/s
Hold on...I have it on good word that the Earth is flat and Apollo 15 is a HUGE conspiracy by The Man (and 3 Dudes from U of 〽️)...
Seriously, people who are "flat earthers" are beyond stupid!
Of course, everyone knows it's a rhombus.
For twenty years, the only thing I knew about The Flat Earth Society was that they were a tongue-in-cheek social club that published some hilarious satire. And then the world wide web arrived. I still haven't heard a flat-earther speak that wasn't obviously putting people on.
Watch it. Draymond is going to kick you.
Where are the flags now?
Space, bitches. Space.
I would think that they were going fast . . .
So they had speed in space.
When they first realized they needed to get to 25k mph, someone said "We're gonna need a bigger fire".
Nicely connected to the football team.
I've posted this before, but here it is again.
A few years back during a Michigan vs. OSU broadcast they played the two universities' marketing commercials back to back. They first played the OSU commercial which was basically a bunch of OSU alums spelling O-S-U with their arms like monkeys as they are wont to do. Then they played the Michigan commercial which was the all-Michigan apollo 15 crew circling the earth playing the Victors as it passed. That was just perfect.
Thanks for this post. My cousin, Jack Lousma, an astronaut on SkyLab and Space Shuttle missions, was a UofM grad (class of '59) and played some football for UofM too. My father was also an aeronautical engineer who worked for NASA specializing in orbital mechanics. He worked on Apollo 13 and was one of the engineers who helped bring them back. I was fortunate to grow up right near NASA headquarters near Houston in a neighborhood of astronauts. And I met all the astronauts including Neil Armstrong.
Cool story, bro. And I mean that honestly, not sarcastically.
Col. Lousma visited us in the Aero department in '79 or '80 as he was training for his Shuttle mission. By the time he flew STS-3 in 1982 I was working in the Shuttle Division at Rockwell, where we watched him pop a wheelie on touchdown (an inadvertent nose pitch-up after touchdown) which could have ended badly. Luckily he recovered it and avoided tarnishing the reputation of the M Aero department ;-). He was a stud astronaut, as were the Apollo 15 astronauts!
The gymnast in the Law Library is cool, but this has always been my favorite. They should continue to use it.
Best ad ever. It should always be in the rotation.
From the link...
"If there was any doubt whether a Michigan flag was planted on the Moon, one had only to ask none other than Professor Harm Buning – who knew the astronauts"
Why ask Buning? He didn't go to the moon. Just ask one of the two Michigan men still alive who went there.
After Michigan space walks and Michigan men go to and land on the moon, East Landfill attempted to join the space race...
That is too perfect, well done sir.
I just wanted to keep this thread alive. This story is one of my top Michigan brags right after academics.