Sometimes even the most awe-inspiring of historical moments have their not-so-exciting bureaucratic requirements.
For example, Buzz Aldrin recently posted his travel voucher for one of the greatest moments in aerospace history, reducing a great triumph for man to a sad piece of paperwork.
Just to show that not even the men who walked on the moon were excused from the drudgery of governmental procedures, Aldrin assures the world that he too was required to submit a travel voucher. Admittedly, what seems like a normal government paperwork takes on a surreal feel when you read that his travels took him from Cape Kennedy, FL to the moon.
You really don’t see things like “Gov. Spacecraft” on this type of paperwork too often. You also generally don’t see things like traveled from the Moon to the Pacific Ocean. But these things can’t be recorded too carefully when you think about the expense of the Apollo 11 mission. After all, according to Aldrin, fuel was 7 inches to the gallon for part of the trip.
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And just in case the expense reports aren’t enough of a historical oddity, Adrin also posted his customs forms. The paperwork declares he has moon rock and moon dust samples. As Adrin notes in his Facebook post, “Moon disease TBD.”
Thanks, Buzz.
All kidding aside, this is some really incredible historical documentation. It may come across as a little bit silly given the enormity of the mission, but it still makes for some excellent history.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense