dhampyresa

Michael Collins, pilot of the Apollo 11 command module, has died. While Neil Amstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, he was alone in the command module. When he was in the Moon's shadow, he was out of radio contact with Mission Control, alone in space.

I once came across the following excerpt of the Apollo 11 mission transcript and, for whatever reason, it has both stuck with me ever since and endeared Collins to me immensely:

000:45:31 Collins (onboard): Menkent. God, what a star.
000:45:35 Aldrin (onboard): Nobody in their right...
000:45:36 Collins (onboard): Menkent's good...
000:45:37 Aldrin (onboard): ...nobody in their right mind would pick that one.
000:45:38 Collins (onboard): ...Menkent's a good star.

(If you too would like to become an astronaut, applications at the European Space Agency are open until May 28.)