Local Voices
Hicksville Resident Interviewed for Apollo 11 Anniversary Special
A Hicksville resident was interviewed by WABC-TV for a special broadcast commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Hicksville resident Mike Lisa, a former Grumman employee, was interviewed by WABC-7 for his role during the Apollo lunar landing project as part of the station’s retrospective on the 50th anniversary of Man landing on the Moon, July 20, 1969. WABC-7 will air a half hour special commemorating that historic milestone at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday evening, July 20th.
Lisa started at Grumman as an instrumentation engineer which he viewed as an extraordinary opportunity to be part of the company’s Lunar Module team. He told WABC-7 that he was, “floored to be working on Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the Moon.” He reminded that, “We had to get it right…to get them to the moon and get them home safely.”
Eyewitness News meteorologist Lee Goldberg will explore this landmark event from a variety of perspectives—from interviews with the astronauts themselves, including two who walked on the Moon, to the Long Island engineers and technicians who were closely involved in the Apollo Program. During the WABC-7 news special Entertainment Reporter Sandy Kenyon will talk to a filmmaker about his immersive documentary made from a newly-uncovered trove of never-before-seen 70mm footage and audio recordings from NASA, and the painstaking process of working with this priceless cinematic history.
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Most importantly, the program examines the vital contribution made by thousands of Long Islanders who designed, built and perfected the Lunar Module at Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage during the Space Race of the 1960s.
WABC-7 will also take viewers inside the Grumman History Center for a look back in time to understand how the Lunar Module went from concept to the lunar surface. This complex spacecraft remains a source of pride and distinction for Long Island and the nation. It is a story kept alive at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City where visitors can see an actual full-scale lunar module, astronaut artifacts, and exhibits that chronicle Man’s quest for space travel.
