Kuiper poses with Columbia, command module from Apollo 11.

Apollo 11, Halfway Home

ELAPSED TIME 171:31. NEARLY HALFWAY HOME. Kuiper considers “Spacecraft 107 – alias Apollo 11 alias ‘Columbia.’ The Best Ship to Come Down the Line. God Bless Her.” (graffiti inside sneakily left by @astromichaelcollins during quarantine after splashdown.)

HUGE thanks to @stlsciencecenterand @sitesexhibitions for granting Kuiper extra special permission to visit #destinationmoon and pose with Columbia. This was one of the first museums we visited with Kuiper, and we’ve since photographed him with 6 other flown spacecraft. As a reminder, Kuiper is not a service dog. He is merely an exceptionally highly trained pet. As pet dogs are not generally allowed in museums, we always secure explicit permission in advance and visit before or after hours to avoid disruption.

Destination Moon is currently on display at @museumofflight in Seattle through September 2. From September 28 through February 17, it will be on display at Cincinnati Museum Center @cincymuseum!

One more sleep til we’re home! Our crew woke up just a bit ago, at 9:32 am Pacific. At 12:56 pm Pacific we’ll be at the halfway point back home to Earth. And at 4:03 pm, we’ll transmit our final onboard TV broadcast. Here’s part of what Michael Collins has to say:

“This trip of ours to the Moon may have looked to you simple or easy. I’d like to assure you that that has not been the case…All this is possible only through the blood, sweat and tears of a number of people. First the American workmen who put these pieces of machinery together at the factory. Second, the painstaking work done by the various test teams during the assembly and the retest after assembly. And finally the people at the Manned Spacecraft Center both in management, in mission planning, in flight control and last but not least in crew training.”

“This operation is somewhat like the periscope of a submarine. All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface are thousands and thousands of others, and to all those I would like to say thank you very much.”

At 9:50 am Pacific tomorrow, we’re coming home.

Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0RGfwJlsXd/

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