Alan Bean, Houston astronaut parade, August 1969. Footage of NASA astronaut Alan LaVern Bean (born 1932) and his family being driven by car at the Houston astronaut parade of 16 August 1969 in Houston, Texas, USA. Bean was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963. At the time of this footage, he had not yet flown in space, but was scheduled to fly on the Apollo 12 mission (November 1969). His second and last mission was Skylab 3 (1973). Also in the car are his wife Sue and their children Clay and Amy Sue. This parade was held to honour the Apollo 11 astronauts, but also featured other NASA astronauts. The Apollo 11 crew had achieved the first landing by humans on the Moon on 20 July 1969. Houston is the home of NASA's mission control, the Manned Spacecraft Centre (MSC), and this was among the first parades held in their honour. It featured numerous marching groups, with around 300, 000 people lining the streets. A ticker tape parade was held along the downtown Houston section of the route. |