"That's the Way It Is" -- Apollo Supporter Walter Cronkite Dies

By Nancy Atkinson - July 17, 2009 at 9:08 PM UTC | Site News

Newscaster Walter Cronkite has passed away at the age of 92. He was admired and known for his enthusiastic coverage NASA's space missions, from the early Mercury launches, through the ground-breaking Gemini missions, to the subsequent moon landings -- which at times left him speechless -- and the space shuttle program.

"From the earliest days of the space program, Walter brought the excitement, the drama and the achievements of space flight directly into our homes," said new NASA Administrator

Charles Bolden.

Neil Armstrong also

issued a statement

about Cronkite, saying Cronkite "had a passion for human space exploration, an enthusiasm that was contagious, and the trust of his audience. He will be missed."

From the beginning of America's manned space program to the age of the space shuttle, Cronkite anchored CBS Evening News. He was on air during the launch of Apollo 11, shouting "go, baby, go" as it rocketed into space. His marathon, live coverage of the first manned mission to Moon brought the excitement and impact of the historic event into the homes of millions of Americans and observers around the world. He spent 27 of the next 30 hours on the air.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com