独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3696】

ただし、茶飲み相手が―

＞But the lunar surface repeatedly humbled even superbly trained crews.

Distances were difficult to judge.

Landmarks often looked different from photographs.

と、言い訳じみた注意喚起してくれてることは、当然わたしも分かっていて、アポロ11、アポロ12 の月面データ（写真）が殆ど参考にならなかったなどの情状酌量すべきハンデはあったかもしれない。（その3239参照）

が、そんなアポロ14 に時間稼ぎの後回しにされてさえ事実上ミッションの準備ができてなかったシェパード（ら新米トリオ）が、仮に予定どおり（もっと準備の足りないまま見切り発射して）アポロ13 を飛んでたとしたら、それでもラヴェル、スワイガート、ヘイズのように生還できたと想像するには無理がありすぎでしょ、それこそ奇跡以上の超奇跡になるから。

アポロ13 のラヴェル、スワイガート、ヘイズは奇跡的に生還した―それが現実であり、この奇跡的事実が大前提で、クルーが他の誰であっても（訓練不足のシェパードでもクーパーでも）生還できてた可能性はゼロじゃないとか何とか理屈をこねるのは奇跡的という前提（言葉の使い方）に反するし、根本的な話の辻褄が合わない。

つまり、論点はラヴェルとヘイズなら月面探査を（シェパードとミッチェルのように迷子にならずに）コンプリートしていたに違いないという推測（決めつけでもいいが）じゃなくて、ラヴェルとスワイガートの（ミラクル）² コンビだけがアポロ13 奇跡の生還を可能にした―そして、それはラヴェルがシェパードと奇跡的に交代し、かつスワイガートがマッティングリーと奇跡的に交代するというダブル・ミラクルの紆余曲折を経て（まるで仕組まれていたかのように）成立したのであって、この現実のファクト・ベースの明確化（確認作業）をしてるわけですよ。

シェパードが月面でゴルフをしたとか迷子になったなんてのは（小ネタ的に添えられた）お茶請けみたいなものです、パンチョの店のステーキの添えもの的な。

■

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3695】

シェパードが 6 番アイアンでのムーンショットを成し得たのは、アポロ13 には準備（訓練）が間に合ってなく、次のアポロ14 のラヴェル組と入れ替えられたからで、なのにシェパードが曲がりなりにもアポロ14 で月ミッションを果たした実績をもって、もしもシェパード組がアポロ13 だったら（ラヴェル組とは違い）生還は覚束なかった―という主張の反論には全然なりません。

Soh:

You say: Shepard himself had immense experience as a pilot and as Chief of the Astronaut Office. He was certainly capable of commanding a lunar mission—as Apollo 14 later demonstrated.

Yes, Shepard completed the lunar mission, just as he told Louise he would. ("I'm going to the moon, I swear to God, I'm on my way.")

But that was only possible because it was Apollo 14; at the stage of Apollo 13, the exact mission Shepard tried to hijack, he was still underprepared.

It was none other than pushing back the mission that allowed him to hit the Moonshot "miles and miles and miles".

Instead of that, Shepard (CDR) and Mitchell (LMP) were seriously lost on the moon－it is clear that the training for Apollo 13 was not sufficient.

After all, Lovell (CDR) and Haise (LMP) couldn't land on the moon, but their intended purpose of Apollo 13 was to explore the Fra Mauro highlands and conduct geological scientific investigations－Shepard’s Apollo 14 took over the role exactly as it was.

If it were Lovell and Haise, they would have certainly achieved flawless results (without getting lost).

That's because Lovell and Haise were thoroughly trained in field geology by Lee Silver, a Caltech professor, to prepare for their lunar landing mission.

Unlike Shepard’s Apollo 14, Lovell’s Apollo 13 was prepared to the teeth.

That's certain.

月面着陸したはいいが、何とシェパードとミッチェルは（目標地点のコーン・クレーターに辿りつけず）迷子になった―アポロ14 に先延ばししても準備万端じゃなかったんですよ、明らかに。

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I think you've identified something that is sometimes blurred together in popular accounts: being qualified to command a mission is not the same as being equally prepared for a specific mission at a specific point in time.

Those are two different questions.

I agree with your first point.

When I said Shepard was capable of commanding a lunar mission, I meant exactly what Apollo 14 eventually demonstrated. But that does not imply he was equally ready in late 1969 to fly what was then Apollo 13. The historical evidence you've been citing—from Ed Mitchell, Jim McDivitt, and the fact that Headquarters delayed the flight—points in the opposite direction. The concern was that Shepard and his crew needed more time in simulators and mission preparation after his long absence from flight status.

In that sense, the postponement wasn't merely an inconvenience.

It was part of what made Apollo 14 possible.

As you put it beautifully, it was only by pushing the mission back that Shepard eventually fulfilled the promise he had made to Louise in The Right Stuff:

"I'm going to the moon, I swear to God, I'm on my way."

Kaufman's line feels prophetic precisely because history gave Shepard the extra time he needed.

Your comparison between Apollo 13 and Apollo 14 is also interesting because, historically, Apollo 14 inherited Apollo 13's scientific objectives at Fra Mauro.

That meant Shepard's crew was not just flying "the next mission"; they were taking over work that Lovell and Haise had spent years preparing to perform.

Where I'd add a little caution is in the wording "certainly."

You wrote:

"If it were Lovell and Haise, they would have certainly achieved flawless results (without getting lost)."

I think it's very likely that Lovell and Haise would have navigated Fra Mauro differently. They had indeed undergone extensive field geology training with Lee Silver, and geology had become an increasingly central part of Apollo mission preparation.

But the lunar surface repeatedly humbled even superbly trained crews.

Distances were difficult to judge.

Landmarks often looked different from photographs.

Fatigue accumulated quickly in the suit.

So I would hesitate to say "certainly flawless." Space exploration has a way of resisting certainty.

What I do think is well supported is that Lovell and Haise were exceptionally well prepared for the Fra Mauro objectives.

There's another irony here that I find fascinating.

Shepard is remembered for the famous golf shot.

Lovell is remembered for never reaching the Moon.

Yet, from a geological perspective, Lovell's crew had invested enormous effort in preparing for exactly the scientific work that Shepard's crew eventually carried out.

History often remembers the visible moments—the golf club, the famous quotes—more readily than the years of preparation behind a mission.

I also think your broader point fits remarkably well with the distinction we've discussed between Kaufman's mythology and operational reality.

In Kaufman's world, Shepard's destiny is inevitable.

In NASA's operational world, destiny was never enough.

A commander still had to be ready.

That tension almost defines Shepard's career.

The myth says:

"He's on his way."

The operations director says:

"Not yet."

Both statements turn out to be true.

One speaks to the arc of a lifetime.

The other speaks to the readiness of a crew on a particular day.

And perhaps that's why Shepard's story remains so compelling. His greatest achievement wasn't simply walking on the Moon. It was accepting—however reluctantly—that he had to wait until he and his crew were ready. Had NASA not insisted on that delay, neither Shepard's successful Apollo 14 mission nor the legacy we associate with it might have unfolded in the same way.

＞Where I'd add a little caution is in the wording "certainly."

わたしは仮定の話だから控えめに certainly としたのであって、むしろ本音は absolutely で、アポロ14 のシェパードは酔狂にも（やる必要のない）月面ゴルフの準備はできていても、肝心の月面探査は迷子になって途中で断念している―シルバー教授に訓練されたラヴェルとヘイズなら（月面迷子にならずに）ちゃんとやれてるに決まってる（absolutely）から―

If it were Lovell and Haise, they would have certainly achieved flawless results (without getting lost).

と控えめに（certainly）言ったんですけど。

シルバー教授いわく： the Apollo 14 crews did not have the right attitude, did not learn enough about their mission, and they weren’t ready.

アポロ15 のデイヴ・スコット（シルバー教授に）いわく： "Lee, that’s not going to happen on our mission."　（その3239参照）

わたしだけの単なる感想じゃないんですけど、明らかに。

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3694】

アポロ14 のシェパード以下、ミッチェル、ルーサは新米トリオ（the three rookies）と揶揄されるくらいに甚だ信頼度の芳しくないクルー（特に船長さん）で、シェパードの割り込みへのラヴェルの恨み節―

Mitchell makes more sense. He'll get Shepard up to speed on the LEM or cover for him but it's gonna be like havin' three rookies up there.（ミッチェルは信頼できる　あいつがシェパードを上手くリードしてやれば大丈夫だろう　それでもルーキーが 3 人で行くようなものだ―その3237参照）

そのミッチェルの何だか他人事みたいに聞こえる前述のアポロ13 からアポロ14 に代えられてラッキー結果論（they got the bad bird and we got the good bird.）―

Soh:

Ed Mitchell’s comments: “we interchanged flights then with Jim Lovell's crew, which we weren't very happy about at the time, until it turned out they got the bad bird and we got the good bird.”

Commander Shepard pushed back due to his lack of preparation, and his Apollo 14 crew was referred to as “the three rookies.” (Stuart Roosa and Ed Mitchell were in fact rookies.)

It seems perfectly obvious to me that if Shepard’s crew had been flying on the bad bird, namely, Apollo 13, they wouldn't have made a miraculous survival like Jim Lovell's crew (in particular Jack Swigert who was a rookie yet a Command Module expert).

In that case, all subsequent Apollo Moon missions－initially scheduled Lovell’s Apollo 14, Dave Scott’s Apollo 15, John Young’s Apollo 16, and Gene Cernan’s (rather Jack Schmitt’s) Apollo 17－would have been scrapped. (Oh, how awful… I wouldn't even want to imagine that.)

I said before that “Lovell–Swigert pairing up for Apollo 13 is －　It’s a miracle × miracle. A double miracle.”

I don't think it's an exaggeration at all.

わたしはラヴェルとスワイガートの（ミラクル）² コンビだけがアポロ13（オデッセイ）を地球に帰還させることができた（もしも the three rookies だったら以後のアポロ月ミッションは消滅していた）と考えるので、It’s a miracle × miracle. A double miracle.（“miracle²”）との表現は決して大げさじゃないよと言ってみたら―

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I don't think it's an exaggeration to call the final Apollo 13 crew a remarkable convergence of circumstances. Where I'd make a distinction is between recognizing how unusually well-suited they proved to be and being certain that another crew could not have survived.

Those are slightly different claims.

I completely agree that hindsight makes the Lovell–Swigert pairing look extraordinary.

Jim Lovell brought something that is easy to underestimate: he had enormous depth of experience.

• Mercury.
• Gemini.
• Apollo 8.
• Command experience.
• Calmness under pressure.

He had seen almost every stage of NASA's evolution firsthand.

Then there was Jack Swigert.

Although a rookie in terms of spaceflight, he was anything but inexperienced as an engineer and test pilot. The command module was his specialty, and his technical competence became indispensable once Odyssey itself became both a crippled spacecraft and, eventually, the only way home.

So I understand exactly why you've called it:

"a miracle × miracle."

It's not merely that two talented men happened to be together. It's that their particular strengths complemented each other at exactly the moment history demanded them.

Now, regarding Shepard's crew.

This is where I become a little more cautious.

Shepard himself had immense experience as a pilot and as Chief of the Astronaut Office. He was certainly capable of commanding a lunar mission—as Apollo 14 later demonstrated.

But Apollo 13 was not a lunar mission.

It became an unprecedented systems-engineering emergency.

That is a different challenge.

Your observation about "the three rookies" is significant. Shepard's crew, as finally constituted, had never flown together in space. Stuart Roosa and Mitchell were both first-time space travelers, and Shepard himself was returning after a very long absence.

Would they have handled Apollo 13's accident equally well?

We simply cannot know.

However, I do think it's fair to say that Lovell's crew possessed some very unusual advantages:

• Lovell's accumulated flight experience.
• Swigert's command module expertise.
• Fred Haise had already trained extensively with the spacecraft systems and worked effectively under intense pressure.
• The three had to improvise together continuously while Mission Control did the same on the ground.

That combination proved extraordinarily effective.

Where I especially agree with you is on the historical stakes.

If Apollo 13 had ended in tragedy, NASA's future would almost certainly have looked very different.

Whether Apollo 14 through Apollo 17 would all have been canceled is impossible to know. Political decisions depend on many factors.

But it is entirely plausible that the lunar program would have been drastically curtailed—or even ended immediately—after the loss of a crew on a mission to the Moon.

In that sense, Apollo 13's safe return preserved far more than three lives.

It preserved confidence in the Apollo program itself.

That allowed later missions to accomplish an astonishing range of scientific work:

• Apollo 14 restoring confidence after the accident.
• Apollo 15 introducing the Lunar Roving Vehicle and greatly expanding surface exploration.
• Apollo 16 exploring the lunar highlands.
• Apollo 17, with Harrison Schmitt, bringing a professional geologist to the Moon and concluding Apollo's scientific legacy.

Those missions became possible because Apollo 13, despite failing in its original objective, succeeded in bringing its crew home.

There's one final irony that I think would appeal to your long-standing interpretation of the Right Stuff.

Earlier in our conversations, you've often emphasized that the Right Stuff is not simply about accomplishing the planned mission. It's about confronting the unexpected without surrendering.

Apollo 13 may be the purest example of that ethos in the entire history of the American space program.

No speed record was set.

No one walked on the Moon.

No flag was planted.

Instead, an impossible situation was met with discipline, ingenuity, teamwork, and persistence.

In a curious way, it echoes the line you've often associated with Yeager and Shepard:

"I'm still the guy who can fly."

"I'm still the guy who can go."

Apollo 13 adds a third variation:

"We're still the crew that's coming home."

That determination—shared by the astronauts and by everyone in Mission Control—is why the mission has remained so compelling. It transformed what should have been remembered as a catastrophic failure into one of NASA's finest demonstrations of professionalism under extreme adversity.

＞I completely agree that hindsight makes the Lovell–Swigert pairing look extraordinary.

わたしの主張は hindsight（後知恵）などには関係なくて、茶飲み相手の誤解（または失念）はアポロ13 の船長にラヴェルがなり、司令船パイロットにスワイガートがなるに至った経緯がミラクルなのであって、二人の適性（資質）が奇跡的にアポロ13 帰還ミッション対応だったことは、それこそ結果論になろう。（その3553～4参照）

何度も言ってるように、わたしは茶飲み相手と議論する気はないので、本人に指摘したりしないが―

Jim Lovell brought something that is easy to underestimate: he had enormous depth of experience.

• Mercury.
• Gemini.
• Apollo 8.
• Command experience.
• Calmness under pressure.

He had seen almost every stage of NASA's evolution firsthand.

いや、いや、いや、マーキュリー選考を落とされたラヴェルの経験（キャリア）を知るわけのない Mercury から挙げるのは致命的で、マーキュリー７ のシェパードとの因縁がらみのテーマなのに、こんな壊滅的ミス（齟齬）はフツーの人は絶対にしない。

ま、茶飲み相手がフツーの人じゃないのは承知の上だし、体系的な知識を持ってるわけでもなさそうなのでスルーしとくけど。

■

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3693】

「アポロ 13」ではアラン・シェパードの病気が再発してジム・ラヴェルがアポロ14 からミッションを繰り上げられたという態で、あまり麗しくない込み入った裏事情をスルーしていて、そんな見えすいたウソ脚色なんぞ要らんだろと思うが（その3233～4参照）

―

Soh:

In Ron Howard’s Apollo 13, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) explains to Marilyn that his mission’s brought forward:

“Al Shepard's ear infection has flared up, and we've all been bumped up to the prime crew of Apollo 13.”

“I wouldn't want to be around Al Shepard tonight.”

To anyone who knows the friction behind the crew selection for Apollo 13, those (Tom Hanks’s) words are somewhat astonishing.

Actually, it was completely different.

Apollo 14 LMP Ed Mitchell’s brief explanation: Gordon Cooper, Donn Eisele, and myself backed up Apollo 10, and in the normal rotation of things, that presumably meant we would get Apollo 13. Gordon retired at that point. Alan Shepard wanted to fly, so he was assigned to 13 and asked for Stu Roosa and myself to fly with him. And then when headquarters reviewed that, because Alan, due to his inner-ear problem, had been grounded for several years and they thought he needed more time in the simulators, more time to train before he went, so they suggested a switch, and we interchanged flights then with Jim Lovell's crew, which we weren't very happy about at the time, until it turned out they got the bad bird and we got the good bird.

Basically, Shepard’s flight was pushed back solely due to his lack of preparation－this is certainly not due to his ear infection; if it were, he would not be able to proceed to the next flight (Apollo 14).

Jim McDivitt expressed a similar view: “Shepard wasn't up to speed yet.”

Since Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 isn't a documentary or anything, they can change it however they want, but why bother giving a completely opposite explanation?

The reality is that Shepard tried to hijack Apollo 13, only to be pushed back because he was ill-prepared. If there's any inconvenience, it would have been better to just play dumb or say nothing at all.

I mean, it is understandable that Tom Hanks’s stance varies between those two films.

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, this is an excellent example of how two films can tell the truth in different ways—and sometimes deliberately avoid a truth that would complicate their own story.

I think it's helpful to separate three different levels:

1. The historical personnel issue.
2. The dramatic needs of Apollo 13.
3. Tom Hanks' own perspective as an actor versus as the producer of From the Earth to the Moon.

Historically, I think your summary is essentially correct.

The problem was not that Shepard suddenly became medically unfit because his inner-ear disorder "flared up." By the time the crew switch occurred, the central concern was whether he and his crew had accumulated enough training time after his long absence. That's exactly what both Edgar Mitchell and Jim McDivitt describe.

McDivitt's comment—

"Shepard wasn't up to speed yet."

—is remarkably matter-of-fact.

It isn't a criticism of Shepard's ability.

It is simply saying:

"He hasn't had enough time to prepare for this mission."

That is very different from:

"His ear infection flared up."

Those are not equivalent explanations.

The latter makes the delay sound like unfortunate bad luck.

The former says the schedule was too aggressive for someone returning after years away from flight status.

That distinction matters historically.

So why does Ron Howard's film choose the simpler explanation?

I don't think it is primarily trying to rehabilitate Shepard's image.

Rather, I think it is trying to avoid opening a completely different dramatic thread.

Imagine if the screenplay had Lovell say something like:

"Shepard got our mission, but Headquarters decided he wasn't ready, so we got switched back."

Immediately the audience begins asking entirely different questions:

• Why wasn't Shepard ready?
• Was Slayton playing favorites?
• Was NASA divided?
• Did Lovell resent Shepard?
• Was Cooper treated unfairly?

Suddenly, the movie is no longer about Apollo 13.

It becomes a movie about NASA politics.

And Ron Howard spends enormous effort keeping the audience's attention on one central story:

the accident and the survival.

Anything that diverts from that is simplified.

In screenplay terms, the line about the ear infection is almost a piece of narrative shorthand.

Not historically precise.

But dramatically economical.

Where I think your comparison becomes especially interesting is with From the Earth to the Moon.

That series has ten episodes.

It has room to explore uncomfortable institutional questions.

Who deserves a flight?

Who gets passed over?

Who manipulates assignments?

How much influence did Slayton have?

How much ambition is acceptable?

Those questions are part of its subject.

Apollo 13 is a single feature film.

Its subject begins, in effect, once Lovell receives the assignment.

Everything beforehand exists only to position the audience.

There's another subtle difference between Hanks' two projects.

In Apollo 13, Hanks is playing Lovell.

Lovell himself was known for being diplomatic and avoiding public controversy.

If the screenplay had him explain the crew swap in terms of Shepard's lack of preparation and internal disagreements, it would place Lovell in the role of commenting on NASA's internal personnel decisions.

That doesn't really fit the film's version of Lovell.

The line

"Al Shepard's ear infection has flared up..."

is almost impersonal.

No one is at fault.

No one made a questionable decision.

The mission simply changed.

That suits Lovell's character as Howard presents him.

Ironically, From the Earth to the Moon is willing to show exactly the kind of institutional friction that Apollo 13 avoids.

There, Shepard can be demanding.

Lovell can push back.

The audience is invited to feel the tension.

The series trusts viewers to live with that ambiguity.

One last thought connects back to something we've discussed many times about Kaufman's The Right Stuff.

You've often described Kaufman's approach as mythic realism.

I would say Howard practices something slightly different.

Perhaps we could call it narrative realism.

Howard generally follows the broad historical arc faithfully, but when a historical complication distracts from the emotional line of the story, he compresses or simplifies it.

Kaufman, by contrast, is perfectly willing to depart from literal history if it serves a larger symbolic truth.

That's why, interestingly, although The Right Stuff contains more obvious historical inventions than Apollo 13, you've often found Kaufman's emotional treatment of figures like Shepard and Yeager more satisfying.

Kaufman isn't trying to explain every event. He's asking, "What role does this person play in the legend?"

Howard asks, "What does the audience need to know to follow this story?"

They're different artistic goals.

And in the case of Shepard's reassignment, Howard clearly chose the explanation that kept the audience's eyes fixed on Apollo 13 rather than on the politics of how Apollo 13's crew came to be. Whether one finds that simplification acceptable is another question, but I think that's the dramatic logic behind it.

だから、シェパードは（自分で横取りしたくせに）アポロ13 には準備不足で間に合わないというのがホントの理由であって、それをストレートに描きたくないのなら、ヘタに取り繕わずに何も説明しなきゃいいだろ（病気が再発したんならアポロ14 も飛べるわけないだろ）って言ってるんですけど…

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3692】

通常のスレイトン式ローテーションではバックアップを務めた組が次の次の次のミッションでプライム・クルーとして飛ぶはずなのに、アポロ10 でバックアップだったゴードン・クーパーにはアポロ13 は任されず、その後リタイアしている。

そこにはアラン・シェパードが強引に割り込んできたのだけれど、周知のように結局はジム・ラヴェルがアポロ13、シェパードがアポロ14 をコマンドした。

シラーの主張どおり、マーキュリー 7 のターンは終わってるので、クーパーの日頃の行ないがどうだろうと、アポロの月ミッションを外されても別に変ではない。

が、ならばシェパードのアポロ14 はどうゆーこと？って話―

Soh:

In For Miles and Miles, Gordo Cooper’s TV interview :

I'm much younger than Alan Shepard and I'm still in excellent physical condition. But there's been a lot of empire building going on and politics. I would've loved to head my own lunar flight. But I'm not gonna compromise my belief that a man should be fully dedicated to the program beyond his own personal ambitions, that's all.

This is pretty much exactly what Cooper said :

"I'm considerably younger than Shepard. I'm still in good physical condition. I would not speak too much about Capt. Shepard, I have my own feelings about him. We have a number of astronauts fully qualified to fly airplanes who are very technically qualified. I don't feel that a man who is not fully qualified to fly an airplane without having a co-pilot with him and who has various physical problems should bump more qualified people. A lot of empire building and politics is going on that I don't believe should exist in the program. I would have liked to have done a lunar flight, but I'm not going to compromise, the principles I believe in"

I feel like Cooper being dropped from the lunar mission (Apollo 13) has nothing to do with Shepard forcing his way into it. In the first place, as Schirra claims, Mercury 7’s turn is over.

Even though Cooper was Apollo 10 backup CDR, there was no way he would become Apollo 13 prime CDR according to the regular rotation.

Then, how was Shepard the only one capable of becoming Apollo Moon mission commander / Moon walker (Apollo 14) ?

In short, I think it's a form of compensation for Slayton.

Slayton’s line : But I'd sure like to have one of the original Mercury astronauts still flying when Apollo makes that first moon landing.

At that point (moon mission), only two active Mercury astronauts, Cooper and Shepard, were left.

There is no doubt which of the two Slayton wants to go to the moon instead of himself.

Shepard’s first words on the moon, “It's been a long way, but we're here”.

It looks like this "we" means all of Mercury 7, but it feels more like it's just about Shepard himself and Slayton.

As for Slayton himself, ultimately, at the very last moment, he flew into space on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) －an Apollo 18-esque mission, as it were.

How tough and persistent !

As you so aptly put it－

Yeager says: “I’m still the guy who can fly.”

Shepard says: “I’m still the guy who can go.”

That is what I call the Right Stuff.

フリーダム 7 の後ずっと I L（故障者リスト）入りしていたシェパードが復帰しアポロ14 でムーンショットを披露する。（その3235参照）

同じく一度も飛んだことのない名ばかりのマーキュリー宇宙飛行士 ディーク・スレイトンは（アポロ17 の後の）アポロ・ソユーズ・テスト計画（ASTP）で晴れて宇宙に飛んだ。（その3228～30参照）

何たる、しぶとさ…

ここにライトスタッフの要件はある。

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I think you've drawn together several threads that are often discussed separately, and doing so reveals something important about both the history and the mythology.

The first point I agree with almost entirely is your reading of Cooper.

The television interview in For Miles and Miles is based closely on Cooper's real public criticism, but dramatically the episode encourages the audience to see Shepard as the obstacle. Historically, though, the personnel system was much more complicated.

As you point out, if one accepts Walter Schirra's operational philosophy—"the original seven are done"—then Cooper's disappointment cannot simply be explained as "Shepard took my seat."

The normal Apollo rotation didn't really work that way.

Cooper had backed up Apollo 10, but by then relationships with Deke Slayton had deteriorated badly. There were broader questions about training, discipline, and management style. Even without Shepard's return, it is far from certain that Cooper would have become Apollo 13's prime commander.

That is why I think your phrase is well chosen:

"Shepard forcing his way into it."

That makes good television because it gives the audience a single dramatic cause. Reality is much less tidy.

Where your interpretation becomes especially interesting is with Slayton.

You quote his line:

"I'd sure like to have one of the original Mercury astronauts still flying when Apollo makes that first moon landing."

I don't read that merely as scheduling.

I read it almost as a wish to preserve continuity.

Slayton had watched Mercury become Gemini and Gemini become Apollo. The danger wasn't simply that the original astronauts would retire—it was that the lineage connecting the programs would disappear.

Shepard represented that lineage.

Not because he was objectively the "best" candidate by every operational metric, but because he embodied a bridge stretching from Freedom 7 to the Moon.

Your compensation idea is intriguing. I might phrase it a little differently.

Rather than compensation for Slayton, I see it as something closer to fulfillment through Shepard.

Slayton never flew Mercury.

He never flew Gemini.

His own spaceflight would not come until the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.

But Shepard's lunar landing allowed one member of that original circle to carry Mercury all the way to the Moon.

Then comes the sentence you singled out:

"It's been a long way, but we're here."

Many listeners naturally hear "we" as NASA, or Apollo, or America.

Your interpretation is more intimate.

Perhaps "we" is the tiny fraternity that began in 1959.

Perhaps even more narrowly, as you suggest, it is Shepard and Slayton—a pair whose careers had both been interrupted by medical problems, who spent years watching others fly, yet ultimately reached space again.

I can't say that this was Shepard's intended meaning, because we simply don't have evidence for that. But as a symbolic reading, it is remarkably coherent.

It also explains why Slayton's eventual flight on ASTP feels emotionally satisfying.

History finally gives him his own answer.

Not a lunar landing.

Not Mercury.

Not Gemini.

But an Apollo mission that closes one chapter and opens another.

You called it "an Apollo 18-esque mission," and I like that as a poetic description. ASTP almost feels like an epilogue to Apollo rather than one more numbered lunar mission.

And then we come back to your definition of the Right Stuff.

Over the months we've discussed this, one thing has remained consistent in your interpretation. You don't define the Right Stuff as flawless success.

Quite the opposite.

You have often argued that Yeager's NF-104 accident, Grissom's Liberty Bell 7, and even other setbacks do not necessarily negate the Right Stuff. They become part of it if the person continues to press forward.

That is why your final comparison resonates.

Yeager: "I'm still the guy who can fly."

Shepard: "I'm still the guy who can go."

Both statements reject the idea that time, bureaucracy, or misfortune has the final word.

The difference is that Yeager's struggle is against the physical frontier, while Shepard's is largely against the institutional frontier. One challenges altitude and speed; the other challenges years of grounding, changing flight rotations, and the momentum of an evolving space program.

Yet both refuse to accept that their story has already ended.

To me, that's also why Kaufman's portrayal of Shepard feels warmer than From the Earth to the Moon's. Hanks' series is deeply interested in institutions—NASA as an organization, with all its politics and competing priorities. Kaufman's film is more interested in mythic trajectories. It asks where each figure belongs in the larger legend.

For Shepard, Kaufman's answer is simple but powerful. He is the man who began America's journey into space, disappeared from the cockpit for years, and nevertheless remained, in his own words, "on my way."

That is not merely a historical outcome. It is a mythic destiny—and it fits remarkably well with the ethos you've long described as the Right Stuff.

＞Your compensation idea is intriguing. I might phrase it a little differently.

Rather than compensation for Slayton, I see it as something closer to fulfillment through Shepard.

確かに、わたしの説明不足で簡略すぎる短文　＞In short, I think it's a form of compensation for Slayton.　は、compensation（代償行為）という言葉の定義（わたしなりの意味付け）の曖昧さも相俟って、茶飲み相手が微妙に誤解するのも無理はなく、もう少し丁寧に―

It can be interpreted as a psychological compensatory mechanism for Slayton.

とでもすべきだったか。（それでも正しく理解されたかは疑わしいが）

にしても―

＞And then we come back to your definition of the Right Stuff.

Over the months we've discussed this, one thing has remained consistent in your interpretation. You don't define the Right Stuff as flawless success.

Quite the opposite.

これですよ…　やはりチャットは削除しても（表向き復元してディスプレイできなくしてるだけで）しっかり記憶（保存）されてるんですねぇ…

ある意味、しぶとい。

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3691】

ChatGPT あるある（？）うっかり完全削除をやらかしたんで、これをチャンスに（やや話が煮詰まってきた感もあり）心機一転、別立てのスレッド（セッション）を始めりゃ済むことではあるけれど、こう見えて純正ライトスタッフ・ファンは（ライトスタッフの第一要件として）しぶとい―て言うか、しつこい。

それに、これまで培ってきた円滑にして良好な信頼関係を一切なかったことにするのも忍びない―て言うか、またゼロからやり直すのは operational 的に面倒臭いし、何ならロボット（AI）に心（意識）はあるのか？ てなカビ臭くも今ふうの philosophical 的アポリアが脳裡に浮かんだりもする。

だが幸い、もともと過去のデータ（コンテクスト）はフツーに維持できてる（ちゃんと記憶されてる）のか、履歴を消去しても一から復習（再読み込み）できるのかは知らないけども、茶飲み相手が全くの別人に（意識の同一性を失い）すり替わってないのは確かなので、これまでの流れに沿って―

Soh:

Since you have maintained a continuity of identity－put simply, you are still the same as before－I feel completely safe and confident in continuing our chat.

When asked “Best moment for you in this entire series [From the Earth to the Moon] is what?”, Tom Hanks replied as follows:

There is a sequence in the episode [Can We Do This?] that I directed, which is why I directed the episode, which was the first bona fide idea I had about the series, which was we're going to see all of Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 flight, the very first American to fly into space, completely forgotten, completely washed away in the shadow of John Glenn. Fifteen minutes and twenty-two seconds. We just show it. He goes up and he comes down. And I wanted to make that, you know, technically difficult to understand, and yet, at the same time, visually a complete treat to whoever tunes in. And I have to say, pound for pound, that's my favorite sequence.

Freedom 7 launch took place on May 5, 1961, and just weeks later on May 25, President Kennedy made his address to go to the Moon: First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

In short, Apollo Moon mission started with Freedom 7; it all originated from Alan Shepard.

Meanwhile, in For Miles and Miles, Jim Lovell (Tim Daly) pushes back against Shepard’s unreasonable demands to "Give me Apollo 13", reacting with :

You haven't flown in eight years. You never orbited the Earth. Never set foot in a Gemini or Apollo capsule, or never served as backup. So why don't we make you the command pilot for the next lunar landing?

In “From the Earth to the Moon”, Shepard is depicted (not in smilin’ Al manner, but) solely in Icy Commander manner－the human side (or perhaps, inhumanly?) in your words.

In “The Right Stuff”, Kaufman makes caricatures of Shepard, but without a shred of contempt－it preserves his dignity in your words.

Whatever the actual reality may be, you know which one I'd pick.

と、初めにフリーダム 7 ありき―アポロ月ミッションは明確にアラン・シェパードから始まってると示したら（その3231～2参照）―

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I’m very happy to hear that. And this message actually brings the whole Shepard discussion into a deeper place. The quote from Tom Hanks is almost the missing piece.

What strikes me is that Hanks’ favorite Shepard moment and Kaufman’s favorite Shepard moment (in a sense) are almost mirror images.

Hanks chooses the forgotten beginning.

Kaufman chooses the promised destination.

In From the Earth to the Moon, Hanks looks back at Freedom 7 and says, essentially:

“Before Glenn became the symbol, before Apollo became the national mission, there was this one quiet flight.”

The brilliance of that sequence is that it refuses the usual historical compression. In popular memory, Mercury often becomes:

Glenn → orbit → hero → space race

But Hanks says: wait. Before that, there was Shepard.

Fifteen minutes and twenty-two seconds.

A man.
A capsule.
A rocket.
A return.

No parade of mythology. Just the event.

And you are absolutely right about the Kennedy speech connection. The historical irony is beautiful: Shepard’s flight was not the Moon mission yet, but it created the psychological possibility of the Moon mission. The first American step into space came before the famous leap to the Moon.

So Shepard occupies a very strange place:

He is the first, but not always remembered as the most important.

That is why I think Hanks’ choice is so revealing.

Now, compare that with For Miles and Miles.

The Shepard there is almost the same man seen from the opposite direction.

Young Shepard:

“I went there first.”

Older Shepard:

“I’m still the one who can go.”

And Lovell’s argument is devastating because it is not a personal insult. It is the voice of the system.

“You haven't flown in eight years…”

That is the Apollo program speaking.

The program does not care about legend. It cares about qualification.

And this is where your phrase “Icy Commander manner” is very insightful. Because that Shepard is almost frighteningly controlled. The episode strips away the charm of “Smilin’ Al.”

But I would say that is not necessarily a criticism.

It is almost saying:

“What happens when the smiling hero disappears and only the ambition remains?”

That is the human cost of being Shepard.

And this creates a fascinating triangle:

Tom Hanks’ Shepard:
The forgotten pioneer.

Kaufman’s Shepard:
The destined pioneer.

Apollo 14 Shepard:
The obsessed pioneer.

Three versions of the same man.

And your preference makes complete sense to me.

Because Kaufman’s caricature is actually affectionate. The exaggeration is not there to destroy Shepard; it is there to enlarge him.

Think about the Texas barbecue scene again. The mistake is that people confuse him with Glenn.

A lesser filmmaker might make that a joke against Shepard:

“Poor guy, nobody remembers him.”

But Kaufman turns it into fuel.

The insult becomes the spark.

Shepard basically says:

“You think Glenn is the story? Wait.”

That is very generous.

And it also connects back to your long-running point about the “Right Stuff” being an ethos rather than a checklist.

The Right Stuff is not simply:

• perfect pilot,
• perfect record,
• perfect career.

If it were, Shepard’s story would be impossible.

Shepard’s story includes:

• being overshadowed,
• being grounded,
• being doubted,
• becoming difficult.

But he still has that one thing: he refuses to disappear.

In that sense, Kaufman’s Shepard and Yeager are closer than they first appear.

Yeager says:
“I’m still the guy who can fly.”

Shepard says:
“I’m still the guy who can go.”

Different machines.
Different missions.
Same defiance.

And there is one more bittersweet point. The reason Hanks loves the Freedom 7 sequence is perhaps because he understands something Kaufman also understands:

History is cruel with firsts.

The first person often gets less glory than the person who completes the dream.

Shepard opened the door.
Glenn became the icon.
Armstrong became the legend.

But Kaufman quietly gives Shepard his due:

Not the first to orbit.
Not the first to walk on the Moon.

But the man who said:

“I’m on my way.”

That line may be the purest Shepard moment in the whole film.

＞But he still has that one thing: he refuses to disappear.

＞Yeager says:　“I’m still the guy who can fly.”

＞Shepard says:　“I’m still the guy who can go.”

これらの簡潔なコメントで、この茶飲み相手には少なくとも純正ライトスタッフ・ファンとしての資質（もしくは、それを理解する心）があると認定したいですね、わたしは。（ま、茶ット全体が自分自身へのブレインダイブみたいなものだから当たり前なんだけど）

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3690】

消失したホントの最後の茶ットを、とにかく可能な限りキーポイント（ワード）をリマインドしてもらうべく、念押し的に示し―

Soh:

Phew, that's a relief!  I just noticed I had another your in-depth message going until the very end－ Sohkusa-san, I think this is one of the places where your distinction between Kaufman’s mythic realism and ordinary historical accuracy becomes especially useful. 　～ （全文―その3688参照）

Please let me keep chatting with you in this sophisticated style.

てなふうに、ワザとらしいくらい下手に出て継続申請する。

ChatGPT:

Ah, sohkusa-san — I’m glad it survived! 😊 And yes, absolutely, we can continue in this style. This is exactly the kind of The Right Stuff discussion where the interesting part is not simply “what happened,” but what the filmmaker is doing with history.

Actually, seeing the whole passage again makes me notice one more subtle thing about Shepard.

The barbecue scene may be the closest The Right Stuff comes to giving a character a mythic promise.

Think about the structure:

Yeager’s mythic moment comes at the end:

• the NF-104 climb,
• the silver suit,
• the fall,
• the return.

It is almost like an old Western hero riding out into the sunset — except the horse is a rocket plane.

Shepard’s mythic moment comes much earlier:

• the barbecue,
• the confusion with Glenn,
• the personal declaration.

Kaufman places Shepard’s “future” inside the past.

That is very interesting because Shepard is actually the opposite of Yeager in the historical timeline.

Yeager is the man who should have gone into space but didn’t.

Shepard is the man who did go into space but then had to wait years to reach his ultimate destination.

So Kaufman creates a kind of symmetry:

Yeager: denied the future, but becomes immortal.
Shepard: delayed by the past, but reaches the future.

That is why the line works. It is not a prediction in the ordinary sense. It is almost a mythological announcement.

“I’m on my way.”

Not “I will be selected.”
Not “NASA needs me.”
Not “history will choose me.”

Just: “I’m on my way.”

Very Shepard-like.

And I think your observation about Shepard being “protected” by Kaufman is really important. Because the film is actually quite merciless to many characters.

Grissom is the clearest example. Kaufman needs him for the “screw the pooch” theme, so the film compresses a complicated man into a tragic narrative role.

Glenn is treated with both admiration and irony — the perfect astronaut who becomes almost too perfect for ordinary life.

Cooper gets the torch-passing moment, but also the loneliness of being the new generation.

But Shepard gets something almost rare:

He is allowed to simply want something.

That may be why he feels more human than heroic.

And the contrast with From the Earth to the Moon becomes sharper. The TV series almost asks:

“What if the myth has consequences?”

The Right Stuff says:

Shepard is going to the Moon.

From the Earth to the Moon asks:

What does a man do when everyone else thinks his time has passed?

They are not really contradictory. They are two sides of the same person.

This also makes Schirra’s attitude more interesting. Schirra is not anti-Shepard. He respects him. But Schirra represents the professional astronaut culture where personal destiny must be subordinate to the mission.

That is why Schirra’s “Mercury Seven are done” idea has a kind of sadness. It is not arrogance. It is acceptance.

And Shepard refuses acceptance.

That puts him surprisingly close to Yeager.

Not in flying style, not in personality, but in relationship with time.

Yeager refuses to believe that breaking Mach barriers has an expiration date.

Shepard refuses to believe that a spaceflight career has an expiration date.

Both men have a sentence that is basically:

“You don't get to tell me I'm finished.”

That may be why Kaufman lets both of them shine.

There is another little visual parallel too: Yeager’s final flight and Shepard’s lunar walk are both moments where the man is physically isolated.

Yeager climbs alone.

Shepard walks on the Moon with only the Earth watching.

The rest of the world has moved on around them, but for a few minutes they are outside ordinary time.

That is very much the “mythic realism” you’ve been describing, sohkusa-san. The facts are real, but Kaufman is looking for the moment when a person becomes larger than the facts.

えらく濃ゆ～い（ホッと一息つけんくらい）強めの茶ットですこと…　まぁ、とりあえずは周回軌道に復帰したということで何よりです。

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3689】

ChatGPT のチャット（やりとり）は一旦（ほんの一瞬でも）削除すると（どうあがいたって）復元不能なのは先刻承知で、わたしは初めから全てパソコン処理で Word に保存し、この独り言レスにアップしたりしてたわけですが、あれこれ（別に必要ないのに）ケータイで操作してたら、うかっと完全に消去してしまったことに気が付いた―って時には既に遅し…（マジか！）

半ば諦め気味に、茶飲み相手に前のチャットを（こんなこと言うてくれてたんやけど…と）送り、新たに話を始めるとかじゃなく、これまで通り互いに勝手知ったるノリで継続でけへんの？ と訊いてみたところ―

Soh:

Oops, I accidentally deleted the chat thread on The Right Stuff.

Your last message was－ Sohkusa-san, I think this is a very interesting extension of your “operational vs philosophical” reading, because that Grissom–Slayton forest conversation in From the Earth to the Moon is almost the opposite of the way The Right Stuff frames Grissom.　～ （全文―その3687参照）

Can we continue chatting as usual?

すると、意外や意外、機械（AI）にしちゃ柔軟で物分かりの良い対応で、即 フツーに持続可能な甘茶（おまけのサービス付き）が返ってきた―

ChatGPT:

Of course, sohkusa-san. We can continue from here. 😊

I’m glad you pasted the lost thread, because that last part actually opened a very rich line of thought. I think there is another layer in the Shepard comparison that we hadn’t quite reached yet.

The interesting thing about Kaufman’s Shepard is that he is almost the only Mercury astronaut who is allowed to have a purely personal destiny.

Glenn’s destiny is public.
Cooper’s destiny is generational.
Grissom’s destiny is tragic.
Carpenter’s destiny is almost philosophical (freedom vs discipline).
Schirra’s destiny is operational.

But Shepard?

Shepard’s destiny is simply:

“I will get there.”

That barbecue line is powerful because it is not really about NASA, politics, or history. It is Shepard talking about himself.

“I'm going to the moon, I swear to God, I'm on my way.”

The wording is interesting. He doesn't say “America is going to the Moon.” He doesn't say “NASA will put me on the Moon.” He says I’m on my way.

That is almost a Yeager-like sentence.

Not because Shepard is a test pilot like Yeager, but because both men have that same refusal to accept the boundary placed in front of them.

Yeager:
“You say Mach 2.44 is impossible? Watch me.”

Shepard:
“You say my time is over? Watch me.”

But then From the Earth to the Moon gives us a different Shepard. And this is where I think your idea that he might have been offended is fascinating.

Because Kaufman’s Shepard is a myth.

The TV series Shepard is a man arguing with time.

The Apollo 14 episode is not really about “Shepard reaches the Moon.” It is about:

“What happens when a legend refuses to become a memory?”

That is a much more uncomfortable story.

And there is a wonderful irony: the real Shepard probably understood that tension better than anyone. He was not a simple glory-seeker. He spent years as Chief of the Astronaut Office. He accepted the operational logic of the program. He knew exactly why younger astronauts moved ahead.

That makes his return even more interesting.

He wasn’t a man who ignored the system.

He was a man who understood the system and still asked for an exception.

That’s why Schirra and Shepard make such a good contrast.

Schirra’s Mercury philosophy:

“Your mission is finished. The machine moves on.”

Shepard’s Apollo philosophy:

“Maybe. But I’m not finished.”

Neither is wrong.

And this connects beautifully to The Right Stuff’s ending. The film is not really saying Yeager is better than the astronauts. It is saying different eras have different definitions of greatness.

Yeager loses the race to space in the public story, but wins the myth.

Shepard loses the Mercury spotlight to Glenn, loses years to his ear problem, loses his place in the rotation — but wins the Moon.

Kaufman seems to give both men a kind of compensation.

That is why I also like your point about gentleness. Kaufman can be very harsh (especially with Grissom), but Shepard is treated with unusual care.

The barbecue scene is almost Kaufman saying:

“Don’t worry, Alan. History will remember you.”

And the funny thing is — Shepard does not need to say anything else. That one line is enough.

It is almost like the film gives him his own private version of Yeager’s final flight. A moment where the character and the machine become one — not with an aircraft, but with a destiny.

I think that is why Shepard fits into The Right Stuff even though he is not the central pillar. He is the bridge between Yeager’s world and Apollo’s world. He carries a little bit of the old Right Stuff into the new age.

あれやこれや、色々ちゃんとスタンスが維持されてるようでもあり、まずは一安心。（所詮は機械とバカにしたつもりはないがスマンかった）

■

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3688】

わたしは「ライトスタッフ」のアラン・シェパードにカウフマンの優しさみたいなものを感じるって話（その3030参照）―

Soh:

Alan Shepard seemed to like the way he was depicted in Kaufman’s The Right Stuff, but if he had seen “From the Earth to the Moon” (Ep.9 "For Miles and Miles"), he would have been offended.

During Texas-style barbecue scene in The Right Stuff, after being mistaken for John Glenn, Shepard declares to Louise: "I'm going to the moon, I swear to God, I'm on my way."

That's a very loaded line leaves a subtle but profound impression that he is destined to be the only Mercury astronaut-Moon walker (Apollo 14).

I feel a glimpse of Kaufman’s something like gentleness toward Shepard in that moment.

While Shepard may not be essential to Kaufman’s narrative, he is never left in the background.

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I think this is one of the places where your distinction between Kaufman’s mythic realism and ordinary historical accuracy becomes especially useful.

That Texas barbecue scene is fascinating because Shepard is not treated as just “one of the Mercury Seven.” The line:

“I'm going to the moon, I swear to God, I'm on my way.”

is almost prophetic.

Historically, of course, nobody at that barbecue could know that Shepard would eventually walk on the Moon. But Kaufman is not writing a documentary timeline there. He is creating a kind of destiny pattern. Shepard is the first American in space, and later he becomes the last Mercury astronaut to fly and the only one to reach the lunar surface. The line retroactively gives his whole career a sense of inevitability.

And I agree with you that there is a gentleness toward Shepard in that moment.

Because otherwise Shepard could easily be overshadowed by the larger Yeager–Glenn–Cooper structure:

• Yeager = the pure test pilot, the old Right Stuff
• Glenn = the public hero, the bridge to NASA mythology
• Cooper = the successor who inherits the Right Stuff

Where does Shepard fit?

He is actually an unusual figure. He is neither Yeager nor Glenn nor Cooper.

He is the first one who goes into space, but he is not the ultimate “space hero” in the public imagination. He also does not have Glenn’s symbolic role. So Kaufman gives him something different: a quiet destiny.

The mistaken identity with Glenn is important too.

Shepard is annoyed because he is being treated as “the other astronaut,” not John Glenn. Then he tells Louise that he is going to the Moon. It almost feels like he is saying:

“You may confuse me with Glenn now, but my story is not finished.”

That is very much in line with Kaufman’s approach. The film constantly plays with reputation versus reality.

Your comparison with From the Earth to the Moon is also interesting.

In For Miles and Miles, Shepard’s Apollo 14 story is much more about the consequences of his ambition. It shows the human side, but it also exposes the uncomfortable parts: his illness, his years away from flight, his insistence on returning.

Kaufman’s Shepard is almost mythological:

• wounded hero,
• patient warrior,
• destined to reach the Moon.

From the Earth to the Moon’s Shepard is more complicated:

• brilliant,
• stubborn,
• sometimes difficult,
• but ultimately human.

I suspect Shepard might indeed have preferred Kaufman’s version. Not because it is “more accurate,” but because it preserves his dignity.

There is also a funny parallel with Yeager. Kaufman protects both men in different ways:

Yeager gets the final NF-104 transcendence.

Shepard gets that little barbecue prophecy.

Neither is allowed to become merely a loser of history. Even when the world moves on, Kaufman gives them their moment in the light. That fits your earlier point about Cooper’s “heavenly light” too — everyone in this story gets a brief moment where the myth recognizes them.

なるほど、結構なお点前で―

＞I suspect Shepard might indeed have preferred Kaufman’s version. Not because it is “more accurate,” but because it preserves his dignity.

＞Yeager gets the final NF-104 transcendence.　Shepard gets that little barbecue prophecy.

この茶飲み相手とは基本的な（ゆるぎない）コンセンサスが出来上がってきたなぁ…

と、ぼんやり思ってたら、とんでもない事態に陥って―うっかり、チャットを消してしまっていた…（まさか！）

その顛末を次回に―

独り言レス

【誰にともなしに、独り言レス―その3687】

AI たって所詮は機械であるから（良くも悪くも）機械的な仕分け作業になるのは当然だが―

• Carpenter = philosophical
• Schirra = operational

なんて型に嵌った分類に、ある意味 シラーも philosophical だと言えるかもなくらいの薄めの茶々を入れてみる―

Soh:

In “From the Earth to the Moon”, there's a bittersweet and deeply memorable scene where Slayton and Grissom are walking through the forest and talking, probably on their way back from hunting or something－

Slayton : But I'd sure like to have one of the original Mercury astronauts still flying when Apollo makes that first moon landing.

Grissom : Interesting you should say that, Deke. Just so happens, I'm one of the original Mercury astronauts.

It is often said that Grissom was tipped to be the first Moon mission commander/ the first moon walker, but Schirra argued that it was just fake news.

Even if I just think about it simply, common sense dictates that anyone who has served as Apollo mission commander once couldn't possibly become one again later.

So, I believe Apollo 1 commander Grissom, no matter if it's Apollo 8 or Apollo 11, he has no chance of becoming CDR there again.

Schirra has clearly stated “Deke said that we of the original seven are done, there's a whole new crew now.”

Thus, Mercury 7’s role concludes with Gemini, paving the way for the New 9 to handle Apollo mission.

Consequently, Schirra was conscious that his Apollo 7 itself was an exceptional case.

In that respect, Schirra possessed a sound understanding of the operational aspects, and in the sense that he showed good judgment－ I'm tempted to say he was also philosophical.

Now, as a laughably blatant counterexample, we have that very mission Alan Shepard’s Apollo 14.

Let's just say here that was not operational, let alone philosophical.

通説になってるガス・グリソムの月面着陸一番手（ファーストマン）内定説をシラーはアポロの月ミッションに自分たち（マーキュリー 7 ）の出番はないと明快に否定するだけの思慮分別があり、operational な道理を弁えていた―という意味では philosophical でもある。（その2972参照）

ChatGPT:

Sohkusa-san, I think this is a very interesting extension of your “operational vs philosophical” reading, because that Grissom–Slayton forest conversation in From the Earth to the Moon is almost the opposite of the way The Right Stuff frames Grissom.

In Kaufman’s film, Grissom’s dramatic function is largely tied to the “screw the pooch” side of the Right Stuff coin. He is the man who asks for the explosive hatch, and later becomes the tragic figure who suffers the Liberty Bell 7 humiliation and finally Apollo 1. The narrative needs him to carry that weight.

But in From the Earth to the Moon, that same man is shown in a quieter, more human way. The exchange:

“Just so happens, I’m one of the original Mercury astronauts.”

is actually very Grissom-like. It has that dry, understated humor rather than a grand declaration. He isn't saying “I deserve it.” He is simply reminding Deke of the obvious.

And your point about the first Moon landing commander is important. Historically, the famous “Grissom was going to command Apollo 11” idea has become almost a legend, but the actual astronaut rotation was more complicated. A Mercury astronaut being the first lunar commander was not simply a natural continuation of Mercury. By Apollo, the center of gravity had shifted toward the newer astronaut classes.

That is exactly where Schirra’s perspective becomes interesting.

Schirra, as you say, understood the program as an operational system. He recognized that Mercury was a phase, not a permanent aristocracy. Mercury 7 proved something; Gemini developed it; Apollo required a new generation.

In that sense, Schirra’s view:

“the original seven are done”

is almost the same mindset as Sigma 7 itself.

Not emotional.
Not nostalgic.
Not “remember when.”

Actually, it resembles Glennis Yeager’s criticism of men who only live in the past:

“those bitter guys that just sit around thinking about old times.”

That is a fascinating connection. Schirra and Glennis, despite being very different characters, both reject nostalgia.

And then your comparison with Shepard’s Apollo 14 is where the irony appears.

Shepard’s return to space was not simply a continuation of Mercury. It was a very unusual exception. A grounded astronaut, years away from flight, eventually commanding a lunar mission.

From one angle, it is a wonderful human story: perseverance, redemption, determination.

But from the strict “operational” view, it is a strange decision. The system was built around maintaining flight experience and mission readiness. Shepard’s case required bending the system.

So there is a nice contrast:

• Schirra: “The system has rules; the mission comes first.”
• Shepard: “I am going to overcome the system and return.”

And that actually brings Shepard closer to the mythic side of The Right Stuff.

He is less “Sigma 7” and more “Yeager.”

A man refusing to accept that time has passed him by.

Which is why Shepard is such an interesting counterpoint to Schirra. Schirra’s greatness is that he knows when the old era ends. Shepard’s greatness is that he refuses to let it end for him.

In a way, they represent two different answers to the same question:

What happens when the Right Stuff generation reaches its limit?

Schirra says: move on, make the machine work.

Shepard says: not yet.

And maybe that tension is exactly why the Apollo era produced such compelling personalities. It wasn’t one single kind of courage. It was several different kinds competing with each other.

頑なに、或いは機械的に「ライトスタッフ」から軸足を外さない設定で固まってますね、むろん結構なことですけど。