#107 My Journey to the Moon - Charlie & Dotty Duke
55 years ago, Charlie stepped out of the Apollo 16 Spacecraft and became the 10th human to ever set foot on the moon. But back on earth, his marriage was falling apart, he was a stranger to his sons, and something desperately needed to change.
“T-minus 30 until launch for spacecraft Saturn-V… 29… 28…”
Charlie lay on his back, strapped in beside his fellow crew members, willing the countdown to continue. They had been sitting listening to it for two hours without a delay yet; every second that ticked by took them closer to their dream.
“C’mon, c’mon…”
The countdown kept crackling through Charlie’s helmet.
“26… 25… 24…”
All he could see through the cockpit window was pale blue sky, but that wasn’t what made Charlie’s stomach tighten; it was what lay beyond.
“If we get off this launchpad, in three days I’ll be walking on the moon…”
After six years of working and studying and training at NASA, this was it; the moment Charlie had been waiting for.
“18… guidance release… 17…”
Gripping the arms of his seat, Charlie grinned with excitement; then suddenly, an unexpected thought sprang to his mind.
Dotty.
His wife’s sweet face filled his vision, and Charlie’s grin faded a little.
He tried to remember what she had said during their goodbyes that morning, but he couldn’t.
A twinge of shame pricked his heart, and he was instantly back in their living room a few months prior, arms crossed on the couch as Dotty pleaded with him, hot tears streaming down her face.
✻✻✻
“Charlie, what happened to our life, our family? You’re never home, and even when you are, your mind is still at work.”
Dotty swiped at the tears on her face.
“The boys barely know you… I barely know you…”
Her voice broke.
“What happened to the man I fell in love with 10 years ago?”
Charlie rubbed his chin in frustration, muttering,
“My work and this mission is all that matters right now, Dotty… I’ve told you a million times, things’ll be different once it’s all over.”
His wife’s voice began to rise, pain mingled with the tears in her eyes.
“Really? You said that at MIT. Then you said that at test pilot school. Then you said that when we first got here. Will they, Charlie?”
Something snapped inside Charlie; he slammed his hand against the couch.
“Would you please just grow up for once and leave me alone?!”
✻✻✻
The announcer’s voice crackled in Charlie’s helmet, jolting him back to the present.
“10… 9… ignition sequence, start…”
The entire aircraft began to shake as the giant rockets beneath the astronauts ignited, building up to millions of pounds of thrust. The roar filled Charlie’s ears, he grimaced, pushing Dotty’s tearful face from his mind and setting his eyes on the sky ahead.
“This is it…”
“4 seconds until liftoff… 3… 2…”
Listen now to Charlie and Dotty’s true story
📷 Photos
📺 Video
NASA released a 30-minute documentary about the Apollo 16 mission using footage that Charlie and his crewmates filmed on their trip to the moon.
🔗 Links
List of the 12 people who have walked on the moon (only 4 are still alive)
Official NASA website about the Apollo 16 mission
Apollo 16 Command Module at the Smithsonian Museum today
Charlie’s official NASA biography as of December 1994
Moonwalker - Charlie and Dotty’s book about their journey to the moon and path to Christ.
📊 Mission Facts
Launch: April 16, 1972; 12:54:00:567 p.m. EST
Launch Pad: 39A
Orbit Duration: 11 days, 1 hour, 51 minutes
Orbit Altitude: 107.5 miles
Orbit Inclination: 32.54 degrees
Orbits: 64 revolutions
Orbit Surface Time: 71:02:13
Orbit Distance: 1,391,550
Landing: April 27, 1972
Landing Location: Pacific Ocean
Payload: Casper (CM-113), Orion (LM-11)Mission Facts
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